Les insatiables

Since this movie will probably never be released widely, I was truly fortunate to get a copy of the DVD through a friend of mine who was visiting Andre Schneider in Germany earlier this year.

A weird film, I must say, but it's highly entertaining, dark and sexy. As a gay man, I was hugely attracted to Mr. Schneider who gave a tour-de-force performance in this movie. I haven't seen any of his other performances yet, but this one was electrifying. Equally good were Miss Kowa and Mr. Wittenauer who played an incestuous pair of siblings. But despite of their good performances, "Deed Poll" entirely belongs to Andre Schneider's face and presence: raw and sensitive, sexy and vulnerable, tender and fierce, seductive and ugly. It's his face and the great script that makes the viewer forget about the inept direction, the hilariously bad sound and some goofs.

Too weird for American audiences, this movie will sooner or later become a cult classic. I watched it more than a dozen times and made copies for many of my family members and friends. This is a movie with a message.

"Deed Poll" is the movie to prove that Barbara Kowa is the next Sharon Stone. Her sexy performance reminded me of Stone's performance in "Basic Instinct".

Like Catherine Tramell, Ivy Poll is a deeply disturbed and dangerous character: sad and vulnerable, yet deadly. After she had killed both her parents ("I was following an impulse!"), she and her brother hire a call-boy to celebrate their re-gained freedom. As the bisexual S&M sex games progress, more and more drugs are taken, and the call-boy finally sheds his skin.

After sitting through this dark and moody little shocker, I listened to Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" all night long.

Unfortunately, "Deed Poll" is hard to find, but if you get your hands on it, you will surely enjoy it. In about ten years, this will be a cult film, just like "Se7en".

First of all, "Deed Poll" was a cult movie years before it was made. The expectations were high, with or without a certain movie star from Canterbury. Finally it got made, and it became quite good. You may not be able to decide whether it's a horror film, a droll sex comedy, a psychological drama, or a thriller, but the movie will certainly not leave you untouched. IJ.Biermann directed his actors fabulously, the cinematographer did a great job with the sex scenes, and Barbara Kowa and André Schneider are lovely to look at. The best thing about "Deed Poll", though, is the editing by Christine Denck. She turned a sequence of ten minutes into a nightmare with cuts that make "Natural Born Killers" look like a slow-moving family film. Can't wait for the sequel!

"Deed Poll" is one of my favourite films of the past few years. A quiet tip of a movie, with some touching performances (André Schneider as Nathaniel, Gianni Meurer as his brother, and Martina Schaak in her portrayal of a lawyer with a chequered past are very convincing) and a great script with fabulous lines (Ivy: "I don't smoke!" - Nathaniel: "Because you consider it a weakness?" - Ivy: "Maybe." - Nathaniel: "Am I allowed to be weak, then?").

Ivy Poll (played hysterically by Barbara Kowa) has an incestuous relationship with her brother, Sean (sex on legs: Rainer Maria Wittenauer). After her rich father finds out about the sexual relationship of his children, Ivy kills him. That's where the movie starts.

The Poll siblings inherit a great mansion, a yacht, and A LOT of money. They are aimless, purposeless; they only seem to live for drugs (ecstasy, dope, cocaine, speed), card games and bizarre sex fantasies. Ivy hires a call-boy, Nathaniel (André Schneider in his best performance so far), in order to break more and more rules. The hustler has a mysterious understanding for his client - he can literally read her mind. To fulfil her kinky sex dreams, he even brings his handicapped brother, Thor (stunning: Gianni Meurer), for a foursome.

Throughout the movie, Ivy expresses repeatedly her wish to have a "hand-made set of cards: smooth, good-smelling, thick, sensual and sexual". While on drugs, Nathaniel makes a strange offer: He wants the Polls to skin him in order to make cards out of his skin.

With the words, "That's the hottest thing I've ever experienced!", Ivy takes a scalpel and cuts 32 cards out of Nathaniel...

Although I prefer Biermann's shorter films, like "Coda" or "Zwischen Flieder wandern und singen", I must say that "Deed Poll" is a high art product. A thoughtful, atmospheric picture with sexy moments, some good camera angles, and an ending that certainly leaves no-one untouched.

Thriller fans will rejoice!

I like dark movies. I like porn. I thought "Deed Poll" was a good combination. It was. A hustler's getting killed for sexual stimulation.

Pro: André Schneider's fine performance gave me the chills and Rainer-Maria Wittenauer was pure eye-candy. The fact that we get to see an erection a great bonus. The cameraman did a good job. The whole thing is well-written.

Contra: Barbara Kowa's overacting annoyed me. She's wearing a terrible wig and is hysterical throughout the movie. The whole Ivy character is horrible! The sound quality is poor, poor, poor! Why couldn't they afford a better sound system?

All in all: a good movie, made under very bad circumstances, with a great plot, a good ending, and a bad leading lady.