Sex, Lies, and Videotape

This movie was awesome. This is the film that set Steven Soderbergh's career on fire as a director, it also kick started many actors' careers like Andie MacDowell, James Spader, and Peter Gallagher. This movie is credited with being the first real independent film because there was no studio backing it and many people thought this would turn out to be a "skin flick." Instead, it turned out to be a masterpiece of all of cinema, with one of the best scripts ever delivered on screen breaking down every taboo you could think of in the movies. This is one of the most sexual movies I have ever seen. This is not sexual in a way like "Basic Instinct" or some flick with a ton of sex scenes and nudity. This movie is sexual only through dialogue. I do not really want to give away any of the plot because this is the kind of thing you need to watch and then read about afterwards but let me just say once again the script is fantastic, the performances are great, and the movie has become in many ways a landmark in cinema. It has been referenced on lists as one of the most powerful movies ever made because of its influence on independent film making. It is not even the influence that makes this movie great but the incredible dialogue and story. This is the kind of script where if one thing was said wrong or awkwardly the audience would burst out laughing, instead the audience is gripped in intensity and their eyes are glued on the screen. The quiet and mesmerizing soundtrack by Cliff Martinez is also notable because when it hits it underlines the films emphasis when it brings out the big guns. He also did a fantastic job working on the soundtrack for this past years "Drive." This movie has one of the most intense endings ever for reasons that are almost unknown to everyone. It is weird how this sort of subject brings us to the edge of our seat. Hearing about this sort of thing just keeps us gripped, the secret sexual fantasies of other people. It is something everyone knows about and does but no one ever brings it to the table openly and talks about it much like the character of Graham Dalton. He is one of the most mysterious and best movie characters in all of history. He is honest and gets people to be more honest with themselves then they ever were before. This movie is intense and the questions it raises will keep you thinking. I watched it one night and then once again the following night showing it to a big group of friends. Be careful who you watch this with, it could maybe lead to discussions you do not want to have but then again you may not want to take my film advice. Like Graham said, you should never take advice from someone that you are not intimate with.

5 out of 5 Stars