| RATING: | 80% |
| FORMAT: | DVD |
Stylish Hitchcock pastiche with the unusual twist of openly-lesbian protagonists. Their mannered performances make the central couple’s relationship compelling although not entirely convincing.
However, here the accent is on subverting sexual-stereotypes for the heterosexual viewer – along with psychological plot twists-and-turns that make this thriller sexy, unpredictable and suspenseful.
That said, attempts at gallows humour fail to raise a laugh amid the deft and technically-accomplished direction. Nevertheless, this is an entertaining exploration of betrayal in sexual affairs and how they can become problematic when mediated by US$2,000,000 of Mafia money! The essential theme of loyalty in a world of Mafiosi – presents virtues that cannot possibly exist, of course, for such people. Thus, the movie quickly becomes a treatise on false loyalty and false trust with sex and violence as neurotic replacements for these things.
This is a good effort at something different albeit with an uncertain tone between comedy, suspense thrills and pornography. This jack of all trades sensibility demonstrates a lack of awareness of what the filmmakers are trying to achieve other than to prove that they can actually make a reasonably entertaining film.
Although the leading actresses are good, they are unable to get under the skin of their characters – presumably because they, themselves, are not homosexual. This is good fun and technically adept, but the script contains no insights into the sexuality on show.
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