Female Perversions (1996)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Susan Streitfeld

Writers:

Louise J. Kaplan (book)
Julie Hébert (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Dare to let yourself go where you've never been before.

Plot:

An ambitious female attorney wallows in excess and meaningless sex with both male and female partners, while dealing with her personal life problems including helping her kleptomaniac sister.

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Jail | Lawyer | Lipstick | Judge

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tilda Swinton	...	Eve Stephens
Amy Madigan	...	Maddie Stephens
Karen Sillas	...	Renee
Frances Fisher	...	Annunciata
Clancy Brown	...	John
Laila Robins	...	Emma
John Diehl	...	Jake Rock
Paulina Porizkova	...	Langley Flynn
Dale Shuger	...	Edwina
Sandy Martin	...	Trudy
Marcia Cross	...	Beth Stephens
John Cassini	...	Gas Station Attendant
Shawnee Smith	...	Make-Up Salesgirl
Nina Wise	...	Lingerie Saleswoman
Judy Jean Berns	...	Boutique Saleswoman

Also Known As:

Phantasien einer Frau (Germany)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Mindy Affrime

Quotes:

Madelyn Stevens: I steal to stop me from killing myself.

Soundtrack:

Yo Mi Mariachi

A brilliant look at women struggling with their identities

This is a terrific film about women struggling to discover a way to find and develop their identity. While some of the allusions and metaphors can be a bit heavy handed, they are effective.

Eve (Tilda Swinton) is a lawyer about to be nominated for a judgeship. While her professional life is as much as she could wish, her personal life is a mess. She is involved with an architect (male) and a psychotherapist, Renee. But she is unable to connect with either. Her upbringing, devotion to her work, and desperate desire for control have left her emotionally stunted, unable to make a real connection to anyone around her.

One day, her sister is picked up for shoplifting. Eve rides to her rescue, and spends several days in the middle of nowhere, with an exotic dancer, a young girl just entering puberty, and a brilliant but shattered friend.

Many critics hated this movie (most guides give it just 2 or 3 stars) but I think they couldn't get past Eve's coldness. But this movie is a study in coldness, in emotional death and rebirth. But it is not Eve who is reborn. See it and judge for yourself.