Luxúria e Poder

I had this movie sitting in my drive for awhile. I knew about the premise (i.e. some hot shot lawyer who cheats repeatedly on his wife) and I wasn't interest.

Well...after seeing it, this is overall a good movie because of the strong performances and some semi-provocative little twists near the end that, although predictable, they show some hard truths about the values of the world we are living and how easy is to disavow our values for things that are in the end meaningless.

Despite the numerous sexual encounters of the main character the film is not erotic or sensual but focuses into his fear and his inner struggle with his newly developed passion that might cost him everything, his job, his family.

But the world we are living ...it is what it is, and in the end, everyone will play the role that he or she supposed to play...

Overall: Check it out.

This film tells the story of a married lawyer with a promising political career, who gets side tracked by experiences with ladies from an escort agency.

"Zipper" keeps me engaged because the I like the story. The first half is more erotic while the second half is more of a thriller. How Patrick Wilson does a good job portraying his character, who lets his urges overtake his sensibility. His guilt in the diner with the reporter is piercingly good. I think the story is well presented, easy to follow and engaging. The scenes are nicely shot as well. I enjoyed watching "Zipper"!

First, let me reveal that I think Patrick Wilson is one of the most under-appreciated, naturalistic actors working today. His pairing with Kate Winslett in the film of Tom Perotta's brilliant "Little Children" was sublime. I even liked him in Joe Carnahan's over-the-top (but still lovable) "Stretch". So when I read the summary of "Zipper" and knew he played the lead, I had to see it, despite the uniformly negative reviews.

Mora Stephens' film revolves around a seemingly straight-laced upstanding guy, Sam Ellis (Wilson), who --- perhaps subconsciously --- lets his sexual addiction spin wildly out of control only a few months before being prepped for a senate seat bid. I say subconsciously because there are a lot of indications, through the script and Wilson's largely underplayed performance, that Sam's not a real happy guy. His "career" has been architected and steam-rolled by his passive-aggressive wife (Lena Headey), their marriage is on the rocks (though on the surface it seems fine) and he's constantly being given the stink-eye for even mentioning ethics to his jaded boss.

Wilson imbues Ellis with so many shades of gray and doubt that it really is quite riveting watching him unravel, back-pedal, and flail madly as his world threatens to crumble around him. And that's really all there is to this movie. It's a potent character (not plot) piece on the subject of addictive, compulsive behavior and sex addiction in particular. It really treats the dysfunction as just as potent an urge as the one a junkie craves in hard drugs. You can *see* the helplessness and frantic drive in Wilson's face and really believe that he believes he *has* to surf to that porn site, he *has* to call that escort... in his mind he has no alternative.

This is brave, unflinching stuff and not many people will empathize or even care to see such repugnant behavior in action, yet Stephens and Wilson don't spare us anything, even a brutally uncompromising, cynical, and quite believable ending.

It's amazing that people say things like "How could Ellis be so dumb?" Like ANY kind of addictive behavior is something people actually sit down and mull over, weighing the pros and cons, before getting their fix! Do addicts have the control to change their behavior? Of course. They just can't conceive of it. And that's the point of "Zipper".

I only watched this because I think Patrick Wilson is an appealing lead. There is something so All-American about him, yet he plays characters faced with potentially compromising situations.

First off, some reviewer from Belgium who hates America (big surprise there)said, "Who cares what politicians do in their personal lives?" Sorry pal, but this guy did not have an affair. He was using prostitutes. That's against the law and he works in the U.S. Attorney's office. Do you understand? The dialog here is excellent. I never expected that in what I thought would be a routine infidelity drama. There is a great speech when the main guy is talking to some college students and he explains that you cannot be anything you want, despite that clichéd speech staple. You can only be what you have the aptitude for.

There is another moment of dialog where an FBI agent speaks about guys who cheat on their wives. Nice job. Writing rarely gets enough credit. In this case, the Writer was also the Director and a woman.

This picture is set in the South, yet we never hear which state and the main guy is the only one with a strong accent. That was awkward. I'll assume it was Baton Rouge.

The acting was outstanding. I have never seen Wilson show that kind of range. The wife character was perfectly cast. She looked like someone who may have been attractive years ago, but was well past her prime.

What I got from this story was that men never stop craving young women. Once their wives go past 36, the men start craving younger options. It's just the way things are in a world where we live to such old ages.

The sex scenes were more tastefully done than I have ever seen in any such film.

Like some other reviewer mentioned, there was a key scene where our protagonist shows his humanity, but still can't stop his need to indulge his addiction. Nicely done. The girl involved flashed a brief and subtle look of disappointment that spoke a thousand words.

The picture is a tad slow. That was my only complaint. I gave it a 6 because the plot is not original and the pacing dragged. But it's worth watching for sure.

The best part of this ¨true tv¨ style (or is it Lifetime TV?) production is its dark, film noiresque twist. Everyone is corrupt and succumbs... An interesting take on the more general phenomenon of addiction.