Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Andie MacDowell, James Spader, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo, Ron Vawter, Steven Brill. [R]

Unsettled drifter Spader visits old college pal Gallagher, who’s married to frigid MacDowell while having an affair with her uninhibited sister (San Giacomo), and his arrival soon after upsets the deceitful dynamic of their lives, especially in the way it relates to his unusual hobby—recording very intimate conversations with women where they share their private sexual fantasies and memories. A subtle, intelligent, incisive and darkly funny film, edgy without being insincerely provocative, verbose without being stilted or writerly; not always deep, per se, but it doesn’t feel contrived or conventionally structured either. Smartly performed by all four principals, with MacDowell doing some of the most naturalistic work of her career, and Spader approaching his tricky role in a refreshingly “un-Spader” way (how easily the character could have fallen into the trap of his patented insidious menace, yet…). Something of a game-changer in the independent filmmaking scene as it transitioned from the 80s to the 90s, capturing the attention of adventurous adult audiences, becoming a financial success on word of mouth, and even winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Writer/director Soderbergh’s fictional feature debut.

87/100