“Bitter Moon” rising
By: Dan Jones
The MPAA gives “Bitter Moon” an R rating for the strong depiction of a perverse sexual relationship.
For example, Peter Coyote (as Oscar) shares a revelation which involves him having a BLANK through his eyeballs. Through his tale, he reveals how Emmanuelle Seigner (as Mimi) once BLANKED before the television. He had to get the BLANK on his face. (And this is the edited version.)
Most scenes, however, are craftily told rather than shown. (Most, but not all.)
“Bitter Moon,” directed by the provoking Roman Polanski (“Rosemary’s Baby,” “Carnage”), may not be for those who still use the phrase “gratuitous sex scene,” but what isn’t gratuitous these days? And do we want to be warned if a film is sexually explicit?
Too late. The MPAA and I have warned you.
I perversely find it fitting, though, to indulge ourselves with an erotic, sadomasochistic film choice this February 14th. Why? Because there’s a bitterness to every Valentine’s Day. And for varying reasons.
- You don’t have a sweetheart.
- This fabricated holiday you’re forced to get your significant other a gift they don’t rightfully deserve at present.
- The price of roses is raised to the moon, and you simply don’t have the cash (or time).
For whatever reason, at this time of year, love is sweet but can also be bitter.
The one you love has trapped you. They’ve brought you into their world, because they were lonely. They don’t want to die alone. They, at times, don’t care enough for you; but you can make them care deeper than they ever imagined. They want their freedom and a chance to experiment (take this how you like); but you’re willing to try anything if it keeps them at your side. You can forgive them, forever, for anything, because you’re that desperate.
Too sour? Hey, this is love. It stinks, it hurts, it’s blind, it’s real, and it’s all you need. Or as Shakespeare put it: “Love is not love.” (You’re stuck if you’re struck.)
Polanski doesn’t want you to forget how significant love is to the depressed, the failures, the bizarre, or the innocent. But it’s not all his fault. “Bitter Moon” is based on the novel by Pascal Bruckner, who had scratched his mighty pen to paper in 1981 only to place us prudes on a cruise ship where there is no getting off.
We’ll “get off” all right, but to what end? Are we Lovers of the World searching and staying together to make babies, to push the limits beyond love and into sexual desires and urges? Sigmund Freud, Oscar Wilde, and The Marquis de Sade said it.* Our fascination with fetishes. Our fear of obsession, and our obsession with fear. If we have dirty thoughts, we’re sick and must not tell. If we’re the ordinary, then fetishes are all the more dangerous and obscene. So we’ll watch if only for a moment.
Stuffy Nigel (played by a young Hugh Grant) is simultaneously immobilized and mortified by the story he’s told. But he stays, because it’s only natural to be curious. Therein lies the message to the viewer: If you don’t witness all 139 minutes of “Bitter Moon,” you’re closing off a piece of yourself.
Or maybe that isn’t all that bad of a decision. The film deserves watching, but one never knows what a fictional film can do to the mind until the damage is done. (I’ve seen the film three times within the last year. I think I’m good.)
This month, remember, love can be a powerful sword used to protect or stab. Proudly carry the love dagger in your sheath. Grab your valentine (by the hair if you have to), find “Bitter Moon,” and peep to your heart’s desire. You’ll hate me for it.
(At least watch for Peter Coyote and Emmanuelle Seigner who give the best performances of their cinematic careers.)
FILM RATE:
*
