Review of Lust, Caution (2007) by Todd S — 11 Nov 2008

Beautifully shot, and well directed, this movie has stayed with me for the past week. It is amazing the complexity a director like Lee can convey through such a simple plot.

I quite disliked the first hour of the movie and felt it was superfluous and contrived. Much of it could have been cut to make a tighter, shorter movie. The sex scenes are gratuitous, but I think ultimately necessary; I'm not sure I've ever seen sex scenes of this type wherein both pleasure and terror are interwoven so gracefully by the actors and the director.

Lee continues to make strong, unexpected choices in his directing near the end of the movie, and continues to surprise the viewer with the depth of the characters. The result is a haunting, complex film which is definitely worth seeing...preferably alone.