Morgan BellREVIEW: Shortbus
March 15th 2008 14:49
Directed & Written: John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig)
Starring: Sook-Yin Lee (Hedwig), Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, Jay Brannan, Miriam Shor (Hedwig)
This is a film I heard a lot about before watching it, friends telling me of how graphic and bizarre the sex scenes are, reviewers describing it as gratuitous and thin on plot, a vehicle for displaying shocking sex . . . noone could articulate what this film was actually about as they were too busy gasping in awe at how hardcore the sex was . . . so I presumed it was going to be porn . . . but its not . . . it is so much more substantial. Yes this film opens with a very full-on and seemingly unnecessary sequence of sexual scenes. Our protagonist Sofia is an asian lady who we see having sex, all kinds of sex, in multiple positions, hard and fast sex, karma sutra sex that she seems to be enjoying . . . but only after she puts her clothes on an we enter the story behind the sex do we really see her naked and exposed. We learn that Sofia is a couples-counsellor/sex-therap ist who has never experienced an orgasm, the man in her opening scene sex is her husband, and she is extremely unhappy as she feels a failure as a woman, wife, human being for not being able to orgasm, it shames her personally and distracts her professionally, she doesn't feel like a complete person. This is essentially what this film is about, that looks are deceiving. The opening scenes may appear erotic and sensuous and titillating but as we explore the characters behind them we realise none of them were actually enjoying doing the sexual things they were engaged in, and we learn about the myriad of different reasons people are motivated to participate in sex other than pure "pleasure". Other characters include James and Jamie a long-term gay couple deciding to make their relationship open and look for a third, and Severin the dominatrix who is unable to connect with others emotionally . . . as fulfilling as all these raunchy situations may seem, it is remarkable how miserable all of the characters are . . . a lot of their despair stemming from a growing anxiety that the magnitude of their sexual feelings and experiences are not "normal", they worry that they are desensitised, they fear that they are inadequate because they are different . . . this film is essentially questioning why we inherently associate sex with closeness and joy . . . and also examines the role of the voyeur in sexual culture . . . this film is a multi-layered, rich, deep and thoughtful . . . but do be warned: the nudity and sex scenes are extremely explicit not for the feint hearted!
Starring: Sook-Yin Lee (Hedwig), Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, Jay Brannan, Miriam Shor (Hedwig)
This is a film I heard a lot about before watching it, friends telling me of how graphic and bizarre the sex scenes are, reviewers describing it as gratuitous and thin on plot, a vehicle for displaying shocking sex . . . noone could articulate what this film was actually about as they were too busy gasping in awe at how hardcore the sex was . . . so I presumed it was going to be porn . . . but its not . . . it is so much more substantial. Yes this film opens with a very full-on and seemingly unnecessary sequence of sexual scenes. Our protagonist Sofia is an asian lady who we see having sex, all kinds of sex, in multiple positions, hard and fast sex, karma sutra sex that she seems to be enjoying . . . but only after she puts her clothes on an we enter the story behind the sex do we really see her naked and exposed. We learn that Sofia is a couples-counsellor/sex-therap ist who has never experienced an orgasm, the man in her opening scene sex is her husband, and she is extremely unhappy as she feels a failure as a woman, wife, human being for not being able to orgasm, it shames her personally and distracts her professionally, she doesn't feel like a complete person. This is essentially what this film is about, that looks are deceiving. The opening scenes may appear erotic and sensuous and titillating but as we explore the characters behind them we realise none of them were actually enjoying doing the sexual things they were engaged in, and we learn about the myriad of different reasons people are motivated to participate in sex other than pure "pleasure". Other characters include James and Jamie a long-term gay couple deciding to make their relationship open and look for a third, and Severin the dominatrix who is unable to connect with others emotionally . . . as fulfilling as all these raunchy situations may seem, it is remarkable how miserable all of the characters are . . . a lot of their despair stemming from a growing anxiety that the magnitude of their sexual feelings and experiences are not "normal", they worry that they are desensitised, they fear that they are inadequate because they are different . . . this film is essentially questioning why we inherently associate sex with closeness and joy . . . and also examines the role of the voyeur in sexual culture . . . this film is a multi-layered, rich, deep and thoughtful . . . but do be warned: the nudity and sex scenes are extremely explicit not for the feint hearted!
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Comment by Luke
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Funny, too... I laughed quite a bit through the movie, though parts of it were sadly reflective. Great soundtrack, too...
Comment by Luke
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Comment by Jason King
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Sook-Yin Lee is amazing - I wish she would do more!!
PS: Luke - Hahahahahaha
Comment by Morgan Bell
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deary me, how many penetration shots would it take to keep you satisfied? haha
i cant think of another non-porn movie with real sex in it . . . any suggestions?
Cibbuano,
yes i agree it didnt feel exploitative, it was shocking at first but ultimately very clever and well-rounded
Jason,
well i thought about it a long time! haha
i often find myself defending this film to other gay men who are tired of gay culture always resorting to nudity and sex to push the boundaries
thanks for the comments guys!
Comment by Luke
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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ive seen 9 Songs at the video store but i havent seen it yet . . . perhaps i should look into it?