Review of Lila Says (2005) by Mike C — 10 Mar 2011

Wow, a sexed up version of The Usual Suspects. I was going to watch a documentary but they seemed boring, so a romantic comedy seemed in order (but I don't like watching real movies on my laptop), so I went foreign in the "steamy romance" category. Like many other foreign films, it rises to a nice level of sensuality and emotion with basically no actual nudity. Bravo!

It's French, so the language helps set the mood as a new girl in the neighborhood becomes a tease of sort to a local Arab boy. She uses raw language, and I was ready to count this as a strike against the movie...over selling the sex and all that, until the ending suggests what it was really all about. A scene near the start is the most sexual and enticing of the entire movie. She is riding a moped in a short skirt, evidently with nothing underneath, and gives him a ride. This is the only slight nudity scene, but it's well-done and that one scene, if done consistently through the movie, would have been gold.

Throughout, this girl tells stories of her sexual endeavors. They are believable when she wants them to be. She is obviously damaged by the death of her parents and her pedophilic (is that a word?) aunt, so it is not unreasonable to believe her stories, especially given her forward behavior toward the boy.

Won't spoil it for anyone, but turns out to be a pretty solid drama. The steamy romance thing never really lived up to its billing and I think I wish it would have. The lead actress was quite attractive. Still, though many movies can pull that off and still be serious, I think it would have damaged this one. The story really plays itself out in a nice fashion and makes for a dramatic finish.