Review of Guilty of Romance (2011) by Simon P — 23 Jan 2012

While Guilty of Romance is not Sion Sono's best film, it is an endlessly fascinating examination of the depraved and often misunderstood world of prostitution. What is always fascinating about Sion Sono's films is that he loves playing with these moral expectations and manipulates them into something completely original that bucks the perceived expectations of the viewer.

A strange and bizarre film, Sono uses this story of a shy housewife foray into depravity as a way to comment on the psychologically archetype of the female on both societal and primal levels. The films psychological study of the pure power of desire and humans ability and inability to contain or control it is really quite fascinating.

Out of all of 'Guilty Romance' is his first to really focus on the female psyche and this film has some fascinating female characters. I could see how some people could find the film unfocused, but this is a raw filmmaker who has created a raw but detailed exploration into passion, love and desire even if it does go a little overboard at times.