The Principles of Lust

At last, a British movie with a degree of ambition, even if the ambition remains unfulfilled by the film's fade-out. Basically, this is the old tale of the blocked male protagonist becoming enervated by an encounter with his dark side before ultimately realising the error of his ways (see also FIGHT CLUB). As a meditation on machismo and the male psyche, this certainly passes muster, with the dark side manifestation Billy (a truly scary and, hopefully, career-defining performance by Marc Warren) proving that the devil really does have all the best tunes (literally, as the soundtrack really rocks when the characters get down to their darker doings). However, the invention and insight runs out around the halfway mark leaving us with some sub-Georges Bataille musings and a conventional wrap-up which seriously detract from an interesting set-up which promises much but delivers merely a light cuff when a sucker punch is needed. Still, it's dark, challenging and occasionally disturbing work (the corruption of innocence theme is particularly well handled, as is the direction of all the child actors), and the explicit sexual detail will almost certainly result in a truncated or unrated version being released Stateside. On the basis of this, director Penny Woolcock and saturnine star Marc Warren look to be emergent talents well worth watching. Recommended, albeit with reservations.

Granted the Principles of Lust is patchy, but it's nothing like as bad as you would conclude from other user reviews. It pushes at the boundaries, challenges the viewer with explicit images you would never expect to see even in an 18-cert movie, but does also say a lot about relationships in the process. Paul and Juliette's instant attraction and failure to communicate effectively echoed much of the love-hate nature of real life relationships in my experience, right down to the closing shots where love and bitterness combine while Juliette's son looks on, uncertain. Secondly, Paul's uncertainty about himself and his status as a writer speaks volumes - and thereby he represents the vast majority of us. Ultimately, do we know what we really want? Maybe we are all drawn to the dark side but are afraid to admit it, even to ourselves?

So from my perspective, bravo to Penny Woolcock for making this film, which inevitably will polarise its audience - but remember its nod to Fight Club, and the fact that it is adapted from a novel by Tim Cooke. It's hard to imagine a feistier adaptation than this.

I watched this film primarily as a fan of Sienna Guillory. To be honest, she was the only thing worth hanging around for, the film became so boring at stages I felt myself drifting off to sleep. It feels incredibly long, especially once you reach the end of the movie and realise not a whole lot has actually happened. It doesn't feel original (the same ideas have been dealt with in countless better films), the acting was hardly top notch, and the characters were thoroughly unlikeable and unoriginal. Unless you're really into these types of films, or you have a *really* strong fascination with one of the actors involved, I wouldn't recommend it. You're not missing much.

I found the philosophy of what this film was after very persuasive. Looking at the schism that forms in any artist serious about their work, and the agony of the personal choices that come out of sacrificing for one's work. The film looks at how artists make this choice. The characters are well defined and the acting is compelling. I felt the tension of the central character's choices palpably. The motivations behind the actions of each character were well exposed and added depth to what, in less able hands, would have resulted in inexplicable behavior. This central theme of choice, the choice of what type of life we pursue and the conflicts that emerge between desire for adventure and comfort are beautifully drawn in this film.

I was startled by how poor this film was.

All the male characters that were supposed to be "cool" laughably sported identical black leather jackets and stubble, looking every bit like middle class drop outs, but getting their kicks from hanging around illegal bare knuckle fights... the scenes in which the naughty posh boys were knocking about with psychotic hard-men bottling each other in a strip bar were extremely cringe-worthy and utterly unbelievable.

Also did anyone notice how much Marc Warren looked like Eddie Izzard in the orgy scene with that diamanté dog collar?! That chuckle was the only thing I enjoyed about the whole film.

Oh - the kid was an excellent actor too - really good.

Other than that it was RUBBISH!