Seks, kłamstwa i kasety wideo

It is a joy to find out that Soderbergh was already making fully grown-up films at the age of 26. Sex, Lies and Videotape is a less accessible affair than one would expect from a festival hit (and it shows well the direction taken by the Sundance Film Festival, which has recently raised the visibility of much more gratifying films). ___ Each character has a problem that can be perceived as a symptom of more far-reaching social ills, thanks to which the film is a multi-layered psychosexual portrait of a generation. Graham, a man who adheres to the philosophy of one key, fights his (emotional) impotence by parasitising on strangers’ lives. Despite his obscure hobby, which satisfies a certain need (YouTube fulfils a similar confessional function today), he is the most emotionally well-balanced character, which seemingly enables him to attract the emotionally distracted Ann. Thanks to his composure, Graham is also the sincerest character, which encourages greater openness in others. ___ In art films, a popular narrative formula is when a third person enters the relationship of a couple, a disruptive element that gradually casts doubt on all certainties. Soderbergh was able to make that formula special through the atypical redistribution of power. The marriage of Ann and John, an all-too-typical 1980s yuppie, is not idyllic, so Graham’s influence on him is not destructive, but liberating. ___ Though the absolute majority of Freudian dialogue scenes take place in interiors (exteriors serve only to separate larger plot segments), those scenes are very “filmic”, although that may not be too obvious at first glance (the only formal element revealing debutant enthusiasm is the “expression” of an orgasm by means of the vertigo effect). Just as in the dark relationship dramas of the 1970s (Five Easy Pieces, The Last Picture Show), which served as Soderbergh's inspiration, the characterisation of the characters is aided by the mise-en-scène and slow camera approach. The increasing frequency of cuts increases the tension, the shots follow one another graphically or with the aid of sound transitions (overlapping dialogue), which create the impression of the fateful interconnectedness of the characters (without the convulsiveness found in some later dramas with a webbed narrative). The self-consciousness of the narrative is also outstanding. While the characters lie, the images create an ironic effect by “telling” the truth; some information is intentionally withheld to magnify the surprising effect of the revelation, some cuts are “invisible” to the point that they amount to confusing time-space connections (Ann only sits in cars and she is suddenly in front of Graham’s house, a long flashback with an interview between Ann and Graham begins without warning so that we are taken back in time). ___ Therefore, the maturity praised in the introduction to this review does not refer only to the film’s thematic maturity, but also its formal maturity. As early as with his debut, it became clear that Soderbergh ranks among those filmmakers who actually think things over for a long time before shooting anything. 80% (14.02.2019) (mniej) (więcej)