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Sandra is a deeply sensitive young girl whose discovery of
death changes her developing sexuality. As she grows to adulthood
a growing awareness of her difference grows, but so does her
acceptance of herself. As an adult Sandra gravitates towards
a job in a mortician's where she is able to explore her desire
to commune with the dead. When she finally meets a young man
he tries to understand her and her desires, but some desires
only lead to tragedy...
Kissed (1997) was directed by Lynne Stopkewicz. The film
justifiably won six awards and was nominated for a further
eight. The script was written by Lynne Stopkewicz and Angus
Fraser from an original story by Barbara Gowdy. Lynne has
gone on to work on television shows, but on the strength of
this film you can't help but hope that she increases her output
as a director. Her follow up film Suspicious River
was released in 2002.
Ok,
so it would be so easy to do all the "I shag dead people"
jokes, but the truth is that this is a very sensitive, almost
spiritual, look at a difficult subject. Anyone looking for
cheap thrills from a fetishist view of sexuality are looking
in the wrong direction. Lynne travels deep into David Cronenberg
territory, where sex and death collide, often producing something
beautiful and if nothing else this film is a deeply moving
experience. Although the film is about necrophilia it could
just as easily have been about a deeply religious or spiritual
experience. The film is never gratuitous in its use of sexuality
or its subject matter and at the end of the film the audience
is neither reviled by Sandra's practices or her reasons for
engaging in them.
The script is well constructed, making the narrative all the
more compelling. Molly Parker, who plays Sandra, does it in
such a way that you would never think that there was anything
wrong with necrophilia. She communicates the love and beauty,
which is at the heart of Sandra's desires, with a level of
persuasive honesty, and it is truly a tour de force performance.
You can understand that when she meets Matt (Peter Outerbridge)
why he reacts with perfect calmness when she tells him, at
their first meeting, that she has sex with dead people. Her
obvious innocence belies any thoughts of seediness.
There is little in the way of extras, only the original theatrical
trailer and this is a real shame. Whilst I think that the
film requires no apologists standing up in its defence, it
would have been great to have had a director's commentary.
The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen and for the
most part it is a good transfer, though there is evidence
of artefacts, especially at the beginning of the film. Audio
comes in stereo, 5.1 and DTS flavours, though, given its subject
matter there's few benefits to the soundscape above the stereo
option.
If you liked Crash (1996), Tie
Me Up, Tie Me Down
(1990) or Secretary (2002), then you're going to love
this film. The movie could be viewed on one level as shocking
and subversive, but after viewing it I can only see it as
a moving story of love and spirituality, this is one that
will stay with you for days.
Charles
Packer
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