Laboured, boring anti-cinema, stolidly edited and grimly acted. Head shots of couple conversing incessantly interspersed with graphic sex scenes that must be amongst the most unerotic and off-putting ever filmed.
Director Gaspar Noé should be confined to making porn for his own satisfaction. He can’t make feature films.
but I couldn't finish this one. I wanted to check it out for myself despite the bad reviews but I found that I agreed with the majority of criticisms. The script and performances (particularly by the lead actor) are absolutely woeful, and the sex scenes themselves feel very disconnected and odd. It's very similar to Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs and fails in all of the same ways, but at least it had the distraction of a good bit of music now and then!
Make no mistake this is pornography. It has all the hallmarks; explicite sex, no story, poor acting. Add to that a complete absence of empathy or sympathy for any of the characters and it added up to a waste of 90 minutes. The film is actually a very, very long 2 hours, but I couldn't bare it any longer than that.
Find answers to frequently asked questions and contact us should you need to
See prices and levels and find out how Cinema Paradiso service works
Invite your friends to join and get free subscription each month