Lunes de fiel

Bitter Moon once again sees the master of the macabre, Roman Polanski, doing what he does best. With echoes of his earlier film 'Knife in the Water', Bitter Moon is a story of lust, revenge, betrayal, dependency and most of all; love, wrapped tightly around a coil of taboos and sexual perversions. While not as good as some of Polanski's other works, Bitter Moon still stands out as a highlight of his filmography and is certainly a lot better than many people have reputed it to be. The film follows two very different couples on a cruise ship; An English couple, Nigel and Fiona and an American cripple, Oscar, who is married to the French seductress Mimi. After meeting Mimi in the ship's bar, Nigel becomes entranced by her and later meets her husband and proceeds to learn his and wife's story...and it's not exactly pretty. With this movie, Polanski has obliterated the barriers of decency, and sometimes even makes you, the viewer, uncomfortable due to the goings on. And that's the mark of someone that knows how to handle his audience!

The acting in the movie really is first rate and there isn't a weak link there, especially not within the four leads. I'm no fan of Hugh Grant, in fact I hate the man, but he's exactly the right casting choice for this movie and it's almost a shame that he went on to make lots of rubbish movies after it. The two women, played by Kristin Scott Thomas and Emmanuelle Seigner are well done in terms of the characters and the acting, but it is Peter Coyote who steals the show as the abominable Oscar. His character in this film is the sort that actors can really get their teeth into, and Coyote bites down hard in this movie. Polanski's direction is excellent as usual and the gritty style mixed with the great director's edgy camera-work help to create a claustrophobic environment that allows Polanski to perfectly portray his characters' mindset. The themes on display are impressive, and in spite of the fact that it oversteps the mark on several occasions, Polanski's film always feels real and the lesson in the love that the film teaches is duly noted. Bitter Moon is a film that will get under your skin and stay there and not only that but there's enough happening to ensure that this is always a fun watch. Recommended viewing.

This film is utterly compelling - it will have you glued to the screen. It's about 2 hours and 15 minutes long, yet it never loses its grip. Although there are a few "funny" moments, you can never be sure whether they were intentional or not. The pacing is slow but wonderfully methodical. But what really makes this picture delightful is the level of the acting of the male stars. While the female leads are also wonderful, the cynical Coyote and, especially, the charmingly shy Grant (his performance here is underrated) provide two different ways for the viewer to enter the story and their interplay is offbeat and endlessly entertaining. This is methodical, first-rate filmmaking by Polanski.

This movie, despite what many reviewers seem to think, is about the differences between men and women with respect to sex and love. Whether it is with Oscar and Mimi's intense, wild, no holds barred relationship, or with boring, bland Nigel and Fiona.

Generally speaking, men can have sex with any amount of women, in any way or intensity. If she is up for it, chances are we will be too. Women on the other hand, require more of an emotional connection to the men they sleep with. The need to develop trust and comfort before completely letting go.

Oscar is the ultimate poon hound and became instantly infatuated with Mimi. They start with a normal passionate relationship, but ultimately, the excitement wears off. This happens in any and every relationship. They hike up the intensity by getting into bondage, S&M, etc. All the while, Oscar is all to aware, they are heading for the their peak and once it hits the top, it is only down hill from there.

The thing is, for the man in this case, it is only about the sexual passion. The woman is truly in love and the sex is the connection to her man. Even when the sexual excitement wears off, Mimi is still in love.

So, enter the conflict. Oscar is done, wants out. Mimi can't handle it and doesn't understand why he could possibly not love her the way she loves him. He tries to be compassionate and break up but she refuses to be let go, ultimate agreeing to be his slave just to stay near him.

This story is being told to a couple who have also been together for 7 years and are off to reignite their marriage. I believe that the same factors are in play with the stuffy British couple, Nigel and Fiona but only in a far more repressed manner. He's bored because he and his wife are doing the "normal" thing. No wild, kinky sex for them. But the emotion of love is there. If a couple is going to stay together forever, they simply have to get over the fact that physical passion is fleeting and if the bond of love is strong on both sides, they can make it work. Nigel isn't clear on this until the climactic ending.

This commentary isn't so much on the details of the plot, but what I believe the movie is trying to get across. Read the other posts for more details, but to understand what the movie is saying, understand that sex is sex for men and sex is love for women.

Every man should watch this film, it is a Polanski masterpiece. The parts are wonderfully played and the script is menacingly accurate. Why it didn't get greater exposure at the time or since baffles me, particularly as two of the principle characters have since become "famous" , Hugh Grant and Kristan Scott Thomas.

Most men will empathise with the morality or lack of in this confused relationship between an older man obsessed with his sexual object in the form of the stunning French actress, and her adoration for him. The haunting reality is that for so many the lack of depth in a relationship is frightening once the sexual desire diminishes. An awesome film 10 out of 10.

The film begins with the camera focused on the sea and the waves, and the music with the piano playing to good effect, then an increasingly enlarging zooming shot of a porthole. Then to the cruise liner where the four main characters are based. It is a story narrated and told by Oscar, played by Peter Coyote, who is wheelchair-bound, to Nigel, played by Hugh Grant, a man he meets on the cruise. Nigel is intrigued by an entwining and serpentine tale Oscar tells him, and so are we, and even though it starts to sound incredulous, he has to return to Oscar's quarters to hear more. The tale is so engrossing because it concerns Oscar's beautiful, sultry and seductive wife, Mimi, played mesmerisingly by Emmanuelle Seigner. Oscar is entranced at first with her and delves into all kinds of sexual games, then his passion for her begins to subside and he rejects her and leaves her alone on a plane. All the while Nigel's wife (Kristin Scott-Thomas) is becoming disillusioned with Nigel's fascination with Mimi and Oscar. I do not want to unveil anymore, just to implore you to watch this film and let it mesmerise you, like it did me. I felt as though I had to keep watching and somehow I did not want to leave and let go of it until the end.