Synopsis
Lydia (Sara Wiseman) is in her thirties, is a costume designer, and is desperately in love and lust with her childhood friend Christian (Philip Brown), though he clearly doesn’t think of her in the same way. One day, on the run from an angry pursuer, Luella Miller (Sia Trokenheim) turns up in Lydia’s home, and our heroine gives the interloper shelter. She soon comes to regret this kindness, as Luella begins to weave a destructively sexual web around all the men in the small town, including C…ristian.
Wiseman’s performance is excellent, quietly capturing a yearning sexuality whose repression is causing more and more damage. The rest of the cast is strong, too, in conveying the simmering rage, disappointments, and potential violence lurking beneath the small town exterior. The almost supernatural power that Luella wields, however, isn’t entirely believable, and the way in which the male characters take complete leave of their senses seems more driven by plot necessity flowing naturally from the characters.
Audio
The ratings for sound and picture aren’t going to be great, but it should be borne in mind that this is not a major studio production, and what would be unforgivable in one of those releases should be cut a bit of slack here. So, that out of the way, the sound is just good enough to make the viewing tolerable. The 2.0 sound is completely indiscriminate – absolutely everything plays in all speakers all the time. In addition, the dialogue distorts noticeably. You can still make out what everyone is saying, however.
Video
The movie is shot on video, and the picture has all the drawbacks one would expect from that format. The blacks are good, and the colours are acceptable, but the image, as one might expect, is a bit soft, often murky, and prone to pixelation. On top of that, there is some noticeable aliasing, too. Again, though, as with the dialogue, one gets by, and the picture is certainly watchable.
Special Features
The only extra is a making-of featurette, and it’s a very good one. The menu’s main screen is scored and has a little bit of animation.
Closing Thoughts
The film may not hit the ball out of the park, but it swings hard and honourably. The picture and sound are pretty much as good as could be reasonably expected.
Special Features List
- Making-of Featurette
