Review of sex, lies, and videotape (1989) by Harry W — 07 Apr 2014

Sex, Lies and Videotape was said to be the first film to truly prove just what Steven Soderbergh is truly about as a filmmaker.

A lot of films are afraid to touch upon sexuality, while others prove to rely on sexual imagery to empower their sexual themes. Sex, Lies and Videotape puts all the focus of it into talking without turning into an awkward series of conversations full of naughty words or just a series of dull lectures. While the pace and the effect of the film sort of decreases as it stretches past its first hour, the film is still an interesting look at humanity and sexuality.

Admittedly, I found Sex, Lies and Videotape to be rather dull at times since there are a few periods of not much happening and simply a lot of waiting around for something to come next. And also, the film was rather slow and felt that it was a lot longer than 96 minutes. But still, Sex, Lies and Videotape is a strong exploration of the human mind thanks to Steven Soderbergh's intelligent skills as a screenwriter and film director which caused Sex, Lies and Videotape to be a breakthrough for him.

The film doesn't have way too much it can do due to its limited budget of a mere $1.2 million, but thanks to Steven Soderbergh is proves to be an insightful and thought provoking journey into the human psyche which explores our approach to sexuality as well as how we deal with relationships. The film is a very insightful one which follows a simple story full of complicated characters, and it never misses a chance to get into their heads and really identify who they are and what makes them tick. Thanks to a very intelligent, not to mention Academy Award nominated screenplay from Steven Soderbergh, Sex, Lies and Videotape is a lot more creative and well written than one might expect it to be. It is very easy for a film like Sex, Lies and Videotape too be poorly conceived, but in his wisdom Steven Soderbergh manages to use his best skills as a writer and within a period of 8 days he was able to conjure up the script for Sex, Lies and Videotape which gave it strong roots, and he simply build on it from there.

Sex, Lies and Videotape also benefits from some strong visual qualities. The cinematography is great because it takes a lot of long shots and requires minimal editing, and within its budget constraints it manages to capture a lot within the location of a few houses and such.

Basically, most of the importance in Sex, Lies and Videotape rests on the screenplay because Steven Soderbergh takes a very intelligent look at his subject matter and respects audiences enough not to dumb down the script into generic language and keeps it as richly conceived material which gives the film the sophisticated edge it needs to maintain Steven Soderbergh's vision. A film like Sex, Lies and Videotape has its importance rest in the screenplay and the delivery of it by the cast, and luckily enough the cast manage to keep the material intelligent and strong with their rich talents.

Leading the story is the intelligent James Spader who deals with the script as naturally as it comes to him. His character has a certain sense of wisdom to him which comes with James Spader's ability to deliver his lines without seeming like he is acting. He establishes a certain sense of realism which makes Sex, Lies and Videotape feel like more of a realstic film. There is a lot to learn from a film like this, and thanks to the way that James Spader deals with Steven Soderbergh's material it is really easy to take in and entertaining in the process because his performance maintains his characterisation on a consistent basis without ever really dropping in quality, and it allows the material to unfold naturally as he charters through the territory as an actor. James Spader is a genial presence in Sex, Lies and Videotape and a very good casting choice, and he proves just what kind of talent Steven Soderbergh can bring out of his actors.

But the strongest performance of the film is easily Laura San Giacomo. To put it blankly, her performance is a fearless and honest in depth look at a complicated female character which she characterises with ease. She has a certain charm to her which is an attractive quality simply because her honesty in the role makes it feel all the more real. The way that she interacts with the surrounding cast makes the experience more dramatic and powerful, and frankly she just steals the screen when she wants to. The talents of Laura San Giacomo are undeniable in Sex, Lies and Videotape, and it scored her a well deserved Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Andie MacDowell is also a great lead. Her character Ann Bishop Mullany feels like an everywoman but has a complicated psychological depth to her which is one of the things that Sex, Lies and Videotape sets about exploring. Thanks to her performance, it is an easy thing to do without being excessively melodramatic about things. Her performance is a largely restrained one but doesn't neglect the truth that lays within her. Andie MacDowell's performance makes her easy to sympathise with and think truthfully about, and the unflinching honesty in what she says makes everything feel more truthful in Sex, Lies and Videotape.

Peter Gallagher also does a good job in his performance.

So while Sex, Lies and Videotape is a somewhat slow film and is very theoretical because it is all about talking and looking at the human mind through that, it is an insightful exploration of the human psyche and sexuality which is well acted and scripted with the kind of skill that would later win Steven Soderbergh an Academy Award, as well as the nomination he got for writing the script to Sex, Lies and Videotape.