He lives in an apartment out of Architectural Digest, plays violin in the symphony, and believes that the object of sex is bliss (which is nine on his personal scale) and not orgasm (which is down around four). His character is written not only at the edge of the law but also at the edge of parody. Amazing, how good acting can find the truth in well-written material.Īlthough Craig Sheffer and Sheryl Lee are courageous and convincing in very challenging scenes, the key to the film's success is Terence Stamp's performance. This material could, with just a slight tilt, easily become a Woody Allen movie.
Meanwhile, Joseph has confronted Baltazar in anger but stayed to listen, and is being led through a course of sexual training that includes tantric theories, the art in "injaculation,'' and yoga breathing exercises while hanging by the heels. Eventually a repressed memory surfaces: She was abused by her father, whom she loved, and so she fears love because she fears betrayal. Maria fakes her orgasms, Joseph claims he never masturbates, they love each other, but when they try getting closer, it's so frightening to Maria that she insists Joseph move out. Lance Young, who wrote and directed the film, moves confidently among enough sex-related topics to fill six months of Cosmo covers. Because the material is fraught with pitfalls, there's always the danger we might laugh to cover our embarrassment what's remarkable is how well the actors handle scenes that, in the wrong hands, would have been unplayable. Within six months they're telling their problems to a therapist ( Spalding Gray), who uses a traditional psychoanalytic approach, and before much longer Maria is sneaking to secret sessions with a sex therapist named Baltazar ( Terence Stamp), who "operates on the edge of the law.'' The movie is awkward at getting to this point, but once the Stamp character appears onscreen, the film finds its rhythm and its confidence, and becomes the story of a search, not for the perfect orgasm, but for the healthiest route in that direction. Joseph ( Craig Sheffer) and Maria ( Sheryl Lee) are both apprehensive on their wedding day he knows she's compulsive and neurotic, and while he's ostensibly better-adjusted, that may be because he's better at hiding things. The movie tells the story of two people who are in love with each other, but bring to their marriage many problems that prevent them from having a fulfilling sex life. You can snicker about anything sexual in our society, but sex when it's taken seriously makes people squirmy, and here's a movie that's grown-up, thoughtful and surprisingly erotic.
"Bliss'' is a daring movie not because of the sexuality it contains, but because it is so intent about it.
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