Review of sex, lies, and videotape (1989) by Christopher M — 18 Jun 2007

So, this was a well written film with a good cast and some solid performances, but plagued with a great deal of technical problems which could not help but affect it. I definitely liked it, although Andie MacDowell starring is a sort of on-and-off experience - James Spader, who I've always really liked, puts in a phenomenal performance as an impotent recluse struggling in a world of upper middle class falseness; he is always fun to watch and this is the best performance I've seen from him.

Peter Gallagher plays the sort of role that is tailor made for him (very similar to his role in Donnie Darko) and does it well. If it wasn't for the technical problems, mostly the editing, this could have been a much better film.

I had a real problem with both the editing and sound mixing - voiceovers were often used, especially during telephone conversations, and the voice levels during these sequences were really unbalanced and off kilter.

The video editing was also very awkward, transitions and scene overlays were handled poorly. This was Soderbergh's feature debut, I believe, and his lack of expertise at that point is self evident.

Maybe it was more a question of style, but it just didn't mesh well for me, and it affected how much I could enjoy the film. A decent film, but underwhelming.