Sexo, mentiras y video

"sex, lies and videotape" is a low-key drama that REALLY showcases Stephen Soderbergh's true talents. The film was made on a modest budget and is mainly dialogue-driven, yet I was deeply fascinated from start to finish. This is another film that sends out a message to all aspiring directors: You don't need a large budget to make a truly great motion picture! Soderbergh hasn't received worldwide fame until recently with the hit "Traffic." As much as I loved "Traffic" I urge everyone--who's curious of Soderbergh's work--go check out this initial effort.

The element that impressed me the most was the succint, yet brutally realistic dialogue. I've never been more impressed with a film's dialogue and actually screamed out, "Now THAT'S how people talk!" The interactions between each character are so intense and down to earth, and gets the audience deeply engaged. James Spader shines in this career-making performance as a documentary filmmaker who gets his rocks off filming women talking about sex. We never know why he developed this unusual interest, but that's what's so great. And the way Spader carries his character is so subtle and powerful. His character is quiet and mysterious, and he expresses this enigmatic role perfectly with every silence, every facial gesture, every tone of voice. That's another element that I loved. Soderbergh expresses to his audience that people don't always mean what they say. And you can tell by every hint of body language. During these character interplays, you get a feel for what the characters are really thinking with their every subtle nuance. And that's what creates most of the film's tension.

And of course, the film has great depth and treats its subject with the greatest of maturity. In one scene, Spader interviews this young woman who talks about her first experience with masturbation. That could've easily been transformed into something gratuitous and heavy-handed. The subjects of sex and infidelity are treated with a sense of reality, and I'm sure many couples who are involved in relationships where one of the mates are cheating will find the whole situation with Andie McDowell and Peter Gallagher haunting. Everything is low-key and some might find the rhythm slow-moving, but that's what I liked about it. It slowly unfolds and takes its time developing the characters and their situations. Many filmmakers would've taken the subject of infidelity and made it into a melodramatic soap. But Soderbergh is very patient. He never once thinks, "Maybe the audience is not interested anymore," and speeds things up. He goes at his own pace, and works with it consistently.

I don't know if others will get the same effect I did out of this movie, but appreciate a film that respects its characters and respects its dialogue. Sure, I also appreciate a film with massive entertainment value, but other times I'd rather watch something with depth and realism. This is one of those films that just has a subtle energy. Looking at "sex, lies and videotape" from the outside, it's hard to explain the power of Soderbergh's masterpiece. All I say is go see for yourself! I hope you'll be just as astounded.

My score: 10 (out of 10)

Spader's character was the reason I enjoyed the film so much. I could identify with him and his dilemma. It seemed he felt like a stranger in an even stranger land. Who were these humans that seem so happy in the same world he could not find happiness within? What is this life we live? More importantly, what is the point? Why bother? His great battle with existence was a philosophical one. He, like myself, felt infinite sadness over the knowledge that are no concrete answers...

The movie is also interesting because it attacks the main sexual organ, the mind. Graham while trying to distance himself from the human experience by capturing sex confessionals on videotape, perhaps unwittingly became more intimate with his "partners." Roger Ebert points out that the films' argument is that conversation is better than sex.

Personally, I think the movie is about trying to find happiness with another person. Some Modest Mouse song lyrics come to mind. "And it's hard to be a human being/ And it's harder as anything else/ and I'm lonesome when you're around/ I'm never lonesome when I'm by myself" Graham finds it hard to be a human being and live in this human world full of values that he finds strange, confusing, and most importantly unfulfilling. What do you do when your ideology and needs don't mesh in the society you live within? How does one deal with feelings of loneliness in a society that spurns him? This movie is about one man's way.

James Spader does such an excellent job as this character. In fact, great acting all around by the entire cast and excellent writing and directing by Mr. Soderbergh. Go see this movie now!

It is a film about relationships, dilemma, courage and more. What works in life and what does not. Honesty does and (crudely speaking) at a very basic level that is the message. At the very heart are the three protagonists who are stuck. The therapist is spectacularly wrong in his interpretation to the apparently frigid wife: 'If you think about it ...you are obsessed about things you have no control over'. But she demonstrates at the end that she did have the control. All she needed was a better, more 'intimate' therapist; a catalyst : Graham ; who ends up uncluttering the cheating sister in law's mind and forces the husband to confront his problems in the process. It is a remarkably optimistic film in its content and therefore perhaps slightly unrealistic.

It is a film about masterful use of contrasts; the two women and the two men could not have been more opposite in every possible respect. In a way Graham is also a perfect contrast to the imperfect Psychoanalyst. This helps the director bring out the message clearly.

The whole film is crafted in a minimalist way, flows smoothly and does not carry much 'garbage'! Music, camera and the narrative are almost perfect in that they are almost invisible. So are the actors, especially James Spader and to a large extent Andie MacDowell. Gallegher is probably less than perfect but very good nonetheless. Laura Giacomo portrays a rather difficult character really well. It treats the audience with respect as the message is subtle and very personal, as it should be. My only grievance is the last office scene involving Gallegher was probably unnecessary.

Sex and the videotapes are incidental to the storey and perhaps misnomers therefore.

It is like reading a rather well written short storey and I would recommend 'Days And Nights In The Forest' (perhaps slightly more realistic and understated than this film) by Satyajit Ray to those who have enjoyed this film.

My rating 8/10.

A strange, but very rewarding movie. Soderbergh has went on to create many wonderful films since "Sex, Lies and Videotape" but what has captured my attention about this film is his how he kept the film simple and concentrated on the details around the four characters. He mentions in the commentary of his influence of Eric Rohmer (who created the popular films as part of his "Six Moral Tales") and the long dialogue between characters. Maybe it made no impression to me back then but now, any director who can have their characters engage in dialogue with meaning and profoundness is wonderful.

Andie MacDowell was the surprising star because in the beginning, I thought she would be the typical jilted housewife but we see her character emerge as one that is confused to one that finally gains perspective. Laura San Giacomo did well in portraying the free-will Cynthia (which she would go on to do again in "Pretty Woman"), John Mullany (Peter Gallagher) was the ultimate sleezeball and for Graham (Spader), his character was mysterious and although the viewer doesn't know exactly what had happen to him, it's how the character was changed after changing the character he videotaped. As the film itself, one can see how this independent film helped revolutionize indie films and allowing media coverage. Sure, we see independent films, art-house films receive media coverage today but in the context of independent films getting seen by a wide audience, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" was definitely instrumental in being part of that small group of films that Hollywood would give a chance to.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Steven Soderbergh's debut film is voyeuristic, intense, gripping, and intriguing. It's the story of four people. Ann is a sexually repressed woman with an obsession for cleanliness and organization. Her husband, John, is a lawyer and he is cheating on his wife with her own sister, Cynthia. Ann lives oblivious to what is going on behind her back, despite her deteriorating sex life with John. But things really start to change Graham, an old friend of John's comes in town to visit. Graham is a strange man with an odd set of ideals who also has a fetish of filming women talk about their sexual fantasies. When these personalities conflict and intertwine things start to change dramatically and the tension rises all the way through Soderbergh's ingenious script and his quiet yet intensely focused direction of some fantastic performances.

sex, lies, and videotape is a very risky film which graphically examines sex with the utmost seriousness. In this film sex isn't made into a joke like American Pie, and it isn't turned into some sadistic and grotesque motif like Se7en or Silence of the Lambs. Sex is looked at under a very dramatic and very sincere scope which treats it like any mature and significant piece of subject matter. This is what sets sex, lies, and videotape apart from so many other films of its nature. It is serious, but doesn't give the feeling that it takes itself too seriously. It has to be serious and it just wouldn't feel right for this film to not be as sincere as it is.

The conversations Soderbergh has constructed here are something that need to be serious and need to be focused in order to get the artistic point across. And it is amazing how well the script is constructed. The dialouge feels incredibly real and it knows just when to pull out all of the dramatic stops. The script doesn't feel like it needs to be profoundly eloquent at all times. It is lighthearted and casual at the appropriate times, like when Graham first arrives and he, Ann, and John all sit around the dinner table casually discussing the past, the future, and life in general. But where the real genius comes in is when we realize that despite the present conversation being casual on the surface there is that constant underlying tension which escalates throughout the entire film until it all comes into fruition at the end of the film. The script has all these intelligible nuances that are absent in most "serious" films these days; something you don't really realize is missing until you see how well it can be done in a film like sex, lies, and videotape.

Now obviously this is a very character driven story and I will admit that it is hard to build an emotional connection with any of the characters. To call them imperfect would be a grotesque understatement. The four of them are incredibly flawed people who in retrospect, aren't really good people at all. They all have serious issues that affect their lives dramatically and create situations that are inescapably awful for everyone involved. But what the film lacks in emotion it makes up for in sheer intelligence. The film is so ingeniously crafted that a strong emotional connection to the characters would only cause a distraction to the film's clever craftsmanship.

It's a common misconception that you need to feel strong sympathy for your protagonists in order for a film to be good. sex, lies, and videotape doesn't intend for you to connect with these people. We are only supposed to be fascinated and awestruck at their twisted and bizarre lives. And so to me, this film does its job and it does it well. However, you do feel a strong connection to the film itself and you do want to know what will happen to these people because of the enthralling way this story is told. The absolute beautiful intensity of the script with draw you in so strongly that you won't want to miss a second of it. There comes a point where you begin to feel you must know what happens to these people because you must know how Mr. Soderbergh intends on wrapping this intriguing drama up.

sex, lies, and videotape is well written, well directed, and well acted so its already set up to be a great film. But then you add the pure ingenuity of the way the story is told and what a profound examination of human relationships it is and it is now a fantastic film. This isn't one of those films where you pick out particular scenes that you really liked or specific moments that really wowed you. The entire film cumulatively works together as one single wow moment that you just adore. This isn't a film that you will be strongly moved by and it won't bring you to tears, but it isn't trying to. It is a clever and sincere drama that treats mature adult subject matter the way it should be treated. Not as a joke, but as a basis for ingenuity.