Looking Through Lillian

I was fascinated with this film. And I was glad to see Essence Atkins in a drama and a feature no less. Although she seemed a little uncomfortable in the genre, I believe it's a good beginning. I was even more pleased with discovering something new, the actress that plays Lillian played by Jade Henham. There was such a naturalness to her being and performance that she completely ensconced me from beginning to end. I also enjoyed the relationship between Andrea (Atkins) and Lilly (Henham) - their portrayal of best friends that share everything was so authentic and not "Hollywoodish" at all.

The most fascinating part of the whole film though is the relationship between Gene (Sam Bottoms) and Lilly. If for nothing else, the film is worth just that in itself. The dynamics of the relationship and the psychological 'scoreboard' between the two was totally encompassing. If I have any gripe with the movie, it's that I would have liked to have seen more of what went on in that bedroom and just more of Gene and Lilly, period. Their bond, or whatever it is, is just so complicated and unorthodox that I wanted to wash the boyfriend out of the film so that I could concentrate on picking apart and studying the two of them. My only thought is that the mind is always better when left to the imagination and perhaps that what's the filmmaker was thinking by limiting how much he allowed us to see. Perhaps I wouldn't have been as intrigued if I'd seen "everything." But any way you look at it, I still came home wanting more of Gene and Lilly. Then again, if you come home wanting more of something then you obviously just saw something that was pretty damn good. And I'd have to say that "Looking Through Lillian" was that - pretty damn good. It is a bunch of unknowns and first time out of the gate talent, so after seeing what they accomplished on the first try, I will be keenly watching to see where they all go when they've blossomed and become seasoned.

A surreal peek into the life of a jaded woman striving for acceptance in a less than perfect world. Her attempts at finding her place in society are made more difficult by her dependancy on a cross dressing drug addicted businessman to pay her bills.

The scene in which this twisted, co-dependant relationship finally reaches the point of no return is both a shocking but totally organic surprise! See this film - for it's flaws, its courage and the uncompromising grittiness that makes it a true independant!!!

This film is intense. It has a totally cool European sense of style and flair. The music kicks ass and there's a PAYOFF, the likes of which I've never seen before -- Give you a clue: There's this one scene in the movie that is so completely bizarre and f*cked up that at first, and I wasn't the only one, you find yourself chuckling out of sheer nervousness and then it just keeps on going, relentlessly - and you're like "Whoa!" The filmmaker puts Lillian - who is one fine looking, classy, grunge kind of f*cked up chick - in the "driver's" seat throughout. And she's good at it. Some of the material is really uncomfortable to watch. And Sam Bottoms, who I usually don't like - not only goes out on a limb - but " Boldly " goes as far as I've ever seen an actor go physically. I have just one conclusion: This material is so utterly personal and emotional that it's either REAL - and I mean based somewhere in reality - or these guys are GOOD.

Either way, they sure are original. And they got my vote - WAY UP!

"Looking Through Lillian" tells of a young single woman who is mistress to a middle aged man into kinky sex. A narrow slice-of-life indie and a commendable first outing for the Torem/Henham team, though it suffers from the usual newbie claustrophobia, low budget leanness, mediocre jukebox score, etc., "Looking..." starts off with promise which is unfulfilled in the playout. Henham (Lillian) makes a solid centerpiece showing some range and nailing her nuances as her character grapples with the issue of keeping the easy money which is fueling her low self esteem or ditching them for the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, the film fizzles with a much-ado-about-nothing sort of denouement which will likely leave the viewer feeling like they just ate Chinese. An okay chick flick for females into serious drama with shades of kinkiness. (C+)

OK, so I'll admit to not seeing the movie but I was actually a member of the production team (low level) and could not believe it when a friend of mine introduced me to this site asking what the most obscure film I could think of was. I was willing to test his enthusiasm over a site that "has every movie you've ever heard of on it." Well, I lived in LA for a few years and worked on a few indies and had no idea this film had even made it to release when I blurted out this title. As you know, it was here, shocking the hell out of me!

To the crew and Jake (and the DP I can picture jerking his head around like a chicken for laughs) I say congratulations! I did not know much at the time but the weeks I worked were an eye-opening experience. I won't say the set was like "Living in Oblivion" but it was close. I met some great people on-set and got to say goodbye to a few before I left. ("We need more wind.") I can't bring myself to divulge any messy off camera details although it was tense, loud at times, obviously bawdy and a bit hard to merely standby at times. The crew, for the most part, were professionals and held up their end which is why I will definitely watch this film soon.

Just had to chime in and express my amazement that this site truly has "every movie you've ever heard of." If you're a crew member then no, I brought you coffee(and drove from the cliffs to Tony Roma's or the Stinking Rose, I can't remember which).