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.

Not much of a thriller if you ask me. Maybe for the Americans it is but for a Belgian like me it isn't. And by that I mean that here in Belgium we could not care less what a politician does in his private life. If he cheats on his wife then that's his problem and certainly not ours. As long as he does his job like he should it's not of our concern. And that's the big difference between puritan America that loves their so called scandals and Europe where privacy still means something. So to me the movie was just kind of boring. Not bad though, just average, nothing to be thrilled about. And that's just about the story because the actors were good, nothing bad to say about them. It's just the story that lacks of action and entertainment. Well that's my opinion about it. American reviewers will probably not think the same because they are used of the whole brainwashing circus that is going on with their elections and political campaigns. And that's a pity.

"Zipper" made me think a little about "House of Cards", despite having seen just a few episodes from the first season. Its political theme, unmeasurable ambition and unscrupulous individuals. On those parameters, "Zipper" succeeds on presenting complex and divided characters, whose ultimate goal is a seat in power.

Patrick Wilson and Lena Headey both stood out. I'd never seen one of his films fully and I was kind of surprised with his acting and commitment to the role. After seeing Headey on "GoT" I wasn't surprised with her acting, because, at some extent, in this one she plays a modern version of Cersei Lannister - the cheating husband, the obsessive care and protection for her children (its all there). They both are great on their respective roles, portraying a troubled couple, which has been married for a long time and in which routine is deeply established. They have the chemistry and the acting chops.

Aside from the main actors, we have Ray Winstone and Richard Dreyfuss with particular small roles but roles which give the movie more credibility. The feminine cast is a committed one, not afraid of touching the level of soft-core porn on some scenes.

In what concerns directing, I must say I liked the overall look of the movie, very sober and clean, but above all, real. The script is well- written, with well-developed characters. The ending,in general, is somewhat predictable but the last scene, well, the last scene, simply wasn't and reveals the intelligence of the filmmaker.

Why take the risk?

"Zipper" is a good movie to watch, pretty good performances and well- directed.

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.

It's a funny title for a serious film. I have heard the film was loosely based on a real scandal. This is the story of a federal prosecutor whose life has been decent until he becomes addicted to the escort service. As his wife is pushing him for entering the politics, on the other side, he's unable to come out of his new habit. The time comes when both these things can't go together, he has to pick the side and that brings the end to the tale.

Really an interesting story aspect, but slightly I was not happy with how it was presented on the screen. Though the characters were excellent and the perfect executions by its actors. Patrick Wilson was good, even in a small screenspace Lena Headey excelled. The other characters influenced quite strongly in the film. Like their intentions over the film events which played a major twist in the storytelling. The people can go any length to achieve the bigger thing is the one of the main messages of the film.

The theme was strong, but there were some weaker spots in the narrations. Although, an acceptable and enjoyable film. The end was totally unexpected, but unbelievably not that smart from the character's perspective. Surely an average film, but definitely not a bad or an awesome film. Its about the scandal of a high profile figure or at least trying to be, though everything were told from a single angle. So I hope you watch it and give an honest opinion than going against it from even before the start just because everybody already doing that.

6/10