Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer (WGA):

Steven Soderbergh (written by)

Release Date:

18 August 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.

Plot Keywords:

Affair | Sex | Interview | Yuppie | Trust

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 12 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

James Spader	...	Graham Dalton
Andie MacDowell	...	Ann Bishop Mullany
Peter Gallagher	...	John Mullany
Laura San Giacomo	...	Cynthia Patrice Bishop
Ron Vawter	...	Therapist
Steven Brill	...	Barfly
Alexandra Root	...	Girl on Tape
Earl T. Taylor	...	Landlord
David Foil	...	John's Colleague

Also Known As:

Sex, Lies... (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:10 (1989) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:7 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Outlaw Productions (I)

Trivia:

David Duchovny and David Hyde Pierce both auditioned for the parts of Graham and John.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John watches Anne's tape, it doesn't match what we saw when she recorded it.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ann: Garbage. All I've been thinking about all week is garbage. I mean, I just can't stop thinking about it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Step by Step: Sex, Lies and Videotape (#6.3)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Garbage

Lies and Videotape, but mostly talk

Yes, "Sex, Lies and Videotape" is about sex, lies and videotape. And, while the sex is mostly served in dialogue-form and not a single shot of nudity is present, there is some graphic lying and some explicit videotape. Kinky, right?

Well, not really. "Sex, Lies and Videotape" is Steven Sodenbergh's first film and it's not a bad one. It's just not entirely worthy of the praise it received, at Cannes for example. The situations in the film do create a fair amount of tension that moves the story along. But then, it'd be hard not to have some tension in a film about a woman whose husband is cheating on her with her sister, while she starts interacting with a stranger who is the husband's old college roommate and has a strange videotape fetish and may or may not be a pathological liar. (How do you believe someone who just confessed to having been a pathological liar to not being one anymore? The film doesn't really riddle that one for us.)

Clearly, these characters clash together. But it's not as heated or interesting as it was in later Sodenbergh's films like the spectacular "Traffic." The dialogues in "Sex, Lies and Videotape" range from good to incredibly awkward. But the real strength of the film is the actors. While James Spader clearly stands out - I have never seen him deliver such a subtle performance where every scene simply works for him - Andie McDowell is phenomenal, Peter Gallagher playing the scummy, treacherous husband yuppie lawyer type is great and Laura San Giacomo as the vulgar sister / lover is fabulous. Their performances make the script work, which, under normal circumstances with inferior actors would have seemed rather silly.