Post by The Narrator Returns on Jun 16, 2013 8:40:29 GMT -6
The 1989 Cannes Film Festival. The films in competition for the Palme d’Or that year that year included Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train, Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso, and Jane Campion’s debut Sweetie. Wim Wenders (who won the Palme d’Or in 1984 for Paris, Texas) was the Jury President (other jury members included Sally Field and Krzysztof Kieślowski). What ended up winning the Grand Prize that year? A film called sex, lies, and videotape, directed by a first-timer named Steven Soderbergh (well, first-timer in narrative cinema). It also won Best Actor for its lead James Spader, as well as the FIPRESCI Award. It was picked up by Miramax for distribution in the US (back when they were barely-known). It was a hit, one of the first independent films to break out into the mainstream. Without it, the indie boom of the 90s might not have been possible. And of course, it launched Steven Soderbergh, and he would have to crawl back up after his next five projects failed miserably with audiences. But most importantly, it is an amazing film in its own right.
sex
John (Peter Gallagher) and Ann (Andie MacDowell) are not having it. She’s become slightly disgusted with the idea of sex, as she explains to her therapist (Ron Vawter) at the beginning of the film. Meanwhile, John has been carrying on an extramarital affair with Ann’s free-spirited sister, Cynthia (Laura San Giacomo). He’s been canceling meetings to have sex with her. And John’s college friend Graham (James Spader) comes over to visit. He’s impotent, though he hasn’t always been. He has only one surefire way to maintain an erection.
lies
Graham says that he hates liars. He recognizes that John is a liar. And this much can be said, at least Graham doesn’t hide the hidden side of himself, which is more than can be said about John. In a way, Ann is lying to herself as well, conning herself into remaining with a man who doesn’t love her and hasn’t for a while. The only honest one is Cynthia, and she serves as a force that brings all these people together. By the end of the film, lies have destroyed lives and careers, and people have been cured of lying through each other.
videotape
These are the things that Graham uses to get off (he happily admits this to Cynthia, without a moment’s hesitation). He films women talking about their sexual experiences. First, Cynthia records one, possibly because Ann was so disgusted by them when Graham explained them to her. Eventually, Ann records one too. The most powerful and pivotal scene in the film comes when Graham is taping it, and the tables are soon turned, all while John watches.
Admittedly, on the surface, this may not seem to have much in common with any of Soderbergh’s other films, not his follow-up Kafka (or its follow-up King of the Hill), nor his escapist movies (like Out of Sight or the Ocean’s movies), nor his later character-based dramas, like Solaris and Erin Brockovich. But it manages to hint at some of his future talents. The direction of the film is subtle, but manages to shift the story in interesting ways. Just take a look at the dinner table scene with Graham, Ann, and John. At first, the camera goes around the table, but eventually, it focuses solely on Graham and Ann, with John being completely off-screen. This shot doesn’t call attention to itself, and you may not have noticed it, but your brain did. And of course performances across the board are excellent, even from the sometimes annoying Andie MacDowell, with Soderbergh’s knack for getting naturalistic performances shining through. But James Spader steals the show as Graham, a man who would come off as a creep in the hands of somebody else, but here, he’s the film’s most sympathetic character. This is one hell of a way to begin a career, and fittingly, I’ll be ending the series with the way Soderbergh goes out.
Grade: A
Lester Scale: Masterpiece
The Soderbergh Players: Peter Gallagher would later play the lead in The Underneath, and Ron Vawter would play the hotel manager in King of the Hill, one year before dying of a heart attack on a plane from Zurich.
Soderbergh would edit the film himself, under his own name this time, as he would for his next two films. Cliff Martinez was a collaborator with Soderbergh from the start, creating a haunting ambient score, reminiscent of his later work on Solaris and Traffic. Cinematographer Walt Lloyd would work with Soderbergh for his next film, Kafka. And sound mixer/re-recording editor Larry Blake was there from the start, and would never leave.
sex
John (Peter Gallagher) and Ann (Andie MacDowell) are not having it. She’s become slightly disgusted with the idea of sex, as she explains to her therapist (Ron Vawter) at the beginning of the film. Meanwhile, John has been carrying on an extramarital affair with Ann’s free-spirited sister, Cynthia (Laura San Giacomo). He’s been canceling meetings to have sex with her. And John’s college friend Graham (James Spader) comes over to visit. He’s impotent, though he hasn’t always been. He has only one surefire way to maintain an erection.
lies
Graham says that he hates liars. He recognizes that John is a liar. And this much can be said, at least Graham doesn’t hide the hidden side of himself, which is more than can be said about John. In a way, Ann is lying to herself as well, conning herself into remaining with a man who doesn’t love her and hasn’t for a while. The only honest one is Cynthia, and she serves as a force that brings all these people together. By the end of the film, lies have destroyed lives and careers, and people have been cured of lying through each other.
videotape
These are the things that Graham uses to get off (he happily admits this to Cynthia, without a moment’s hesitation). He films women talking about their sexual experiences. First, Cynthia records one, possibly because Ann was so disgusted by them when Graham explained them to her. Eventually, Ann records one too. The most powerful and pivotal scene in the film comes when Graham is taping it, and the tables are soon turned, all while John watches.
Admittedly, on the surface, this may not seem to have much in common with any of Soderbergh’s other films, not his follow-up Kafka (or its follow-up King of the Hill), nor his escapist movies (like Out of Sight or the Ocean’s movies), nor his later character-based dramas, like Solaris and Erin Brockovich. But it manages to hint at some of his future talents. The direction of the film is subtle, but manages to shift the story in interesting ways. Just take a look at the dinner table scene with Graham, Ann, and John. At first, the camera goes around the table, but eventually, it focuses solely on Graham and Ann, with John being completely off-screen. This shot doesn’t call attention to itself, and you may not have noticed it, but your brain did. And of course performances across the board are excellent, even from the sometimes annoying Andie MacDowell, with Soderbergh’s knack for getting naturalistic performances shining through. But James Spader steals the show as Graham, a man who would come off as a creep in the hands of somebody else, but here, he’s the film’s most sympathetic character. This is one hell of a way to begin a career, and fittingly, I’ll be ending the series with the way Soderbergh goes out.
Grade: A
Lester Scale: Masterpiece
The Soderbergh Players: Peter Gallagher would later play the lead in The Underneath, and Ron Vawter would play the hotel manager in King of the Hill, one year before dying of a heart attack on a plane from Zurich.
Soderbergh would edit the film himself, under his own name this time, as he would for his next two films. Cliff Martinez was a collaborator with Soderbergh from the start, creating a haunting ambient score, reminiscent of his later work on Solaris and Traffic. Cinematographer Walt Lloyd would work with Soderbergh for his next film, Kafka. And sound mixer/re-recording editor Larry Blake was there from the start, and would never leave.