Chain of Desire

It's too bad this little seen gem of a film is almost impossible to rent

-- it's a real winner. From it's sexy and provocative style, to its

pulsating score, this is a film made with real commitment and passion.

Chain of Desire is life and love on the steamy streets of New York, told

through couples who lead us to other couples. It's a modern day La

Ronde, but it never feels like a rip off -- it's original, romantic and

downright hot. Linda Fiorntino is, for once in her career, vulnerable

and sympathetic. Director Lopez has drawn beautifully nuanced

performances from all his cast. And what a cast! Some of the freshest

faces, that even 10 years later hold up. Anyone that has ever spent a

hot summer night in New York will love this film. It's a love letter to

the city that never sleeps, but more importantly, it's a testament to

the spirit and permissivness of late 80's and the people who survived

it. A beautiful, sexy and haunting film that I saw at least five times

in a theatre. Everyone I dragged to it loved it as much as I did. A

sensual masterpiece. ....

I was unable to find this film at any of my local video stores and had to order it offline. I was shocked and confused when I first saw it because it seemed like there was no tangible plot and was purely for the sake of eroticism. A few months later my friend saw it on my shelf and was intrigued by the title so I told her to pop it in. This time around I paid close attention to the details of the story and I finally understood the delicate web that director, Lopez was creating. I was amazed at how much of the story had been lost on me the first time around and I was even more amazed at the lack of public attention this movie received. It's languid, sultry, plot, weaves a candid, sly tale of adult life during the 90's, subtly juxtaposing sexual innocence and promiscuity into a wonderful masterpiece that serves as an excellent social commentary of the time. Artfully, shot and produced, this movie is not for light viewing. It's an intense film that requires thought and analyzation.

I got talked into seeing this movie years ago by some pretentious friends, wasn't all that impressed by it, and insulted it gratuitously on the walk home from the theater. It's not very well-acted, the plot is incomprehensible inasmuch as it even exists, and the sex scenes, explicit and implicit, are nowhere near as titillating as the title or promotion would suggest. But somehow I remember this movie with near-perfect clarity over a decade later. Why? The structure is fascinating -- I'd never seen a narrative structured as a progression of random encounters. And even if no scene is particularly compelling and no character is especially distinctive, the movie manages to be thought-provoking. Since every scene is obviously intended to depict a seduction, you start to wonder about the nature of attraction and power relationships. On a cinematic level, New York looks pretty, Linda Fiorentino is hot, the gay boys are all handsomely lit, and Malcolm McDowell is an embarrassment to the art of acting. Stop now before you hurt someone else.

Great dramatic little movie. I didn't know it was that difficult to find CHAIN OF DESIRE until I read about it here. I watched it about 3 years ago. When it aired on late night, it was labelled as an erotic thriller but turned out to be as a great drama about urban couples. Malcom Mc Dowall delivers a fine performance, I couldn't believe that Alex from A Clockwork Orange was in this movie. Linda Fiorentino is as sexy and beautiful as always, and her acting is convincing.

Highly recommended, try to search for it, and buy it if you can. 7/10.

Max Ophuls gave us one of the great films of all time, La Ronde. A stylish seduction about the art and enterprise of seduction with an extraordinary cast. Filmmaker Temistocles Lopez marvellously modernizes what was a cautionay tale about syflis, setting it in a sexually charged Manhattan at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Again the storytelling is that of the portmanteau or multi-plot, multi-character as one character from each sexual coupling, couples with another, hence the chain of the title or "round" as in the Ophuls film taking us back to the first character. Though low budget and less elegant than the original, Lopez's actors rise magnificently to the occassion. To list these names, hardly an "A" list in the conventional sense, but there is nothing conventional about this movie, is to provide us not with a roster of famous movie stars, but a lineup of highly accomplished and versatile actors from a diverse film background in several countries. Linda Fiorentino, Malcolm McDowell (UK), Assumpta Serna (Spain), Seymour Cassel (the Bronx), Grace Zabriskie (New Orleans), Patrick Bauchau (France), Elias Kotais (Canada), Tom Guinee, Dewey Weber, etc. provide a rich, sexy and fascinating work force to weave us irrevocably into this spellbinding tale of modern urban seductions. Not to be missed!