Female Perversions

Female Perversions
Female Perversions
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Susan Streitfeld
Screenplay by	Julie Hébert; Susan Streitfeld;
Based on	Female Perversions: The Temptations of Emma Bovary; by Louise J. Kaplan
Produced by	Mindy Affrime
Starring	Tilda Swinton; Amy Madigan; Karen Sillas; Frances Fisher; Laila Robins; Paulina Porizkova; Clancy Brown;
Cinematography	Teresa Medina
Edited by	Curtiss Clayton; Leo Trombetta;
Music by	Debbie Wiseman
Production; companies	Trans Atlantic Entertainment; ARD Degeto Film; Starhaus Filmproduktion;
Distributed by	October Films
Release dates	22 January 1996 (Sundance); 21 November 1996 (Germany); 25 April 1997 (United States);
Running time	120 minutes
Countries	United States; Germany;
Language	English
Box office	$926,954

Female Perversions is a 1996 erotic drama film directed by Susan Streitfeld (in her feature directorial debut), based on the 1991 book Female Perversions: The Temptations of Emma Bovary by American psychoanalyst Louise J. Kaplan. It stars Tilda Swinton, Amy Madigan, Karen Sillas, Frances Fisher, Laila Robins, Paulina Porizkova, and Clancy Brown. Aspects of female psychology, particularly the more morbid, are explored through the interactions of the characters and through their fantasies.

Plot

Eve Stephens, a successful trial attorney in Los Angeles, is close to the high point of her career, which is being appointed as a judge. Her private life is less successful, however. She has occasional intense sex, sometimes with a male geologist John and sometimes with a female psychiatrist Renee, but the relationships lack warmth or commitment on her part. She is troubled by erotic nightmares and by flashbacks to the lives of her parents, centering on her unfeeling father and the suspicious death of her mother.

Both her professional and personal lives start unravelling when her intelligent but disturbed sister Maddie, who lives in a desert cabin, is arrested for repeated shoplifting. In the end, the two sisters begin to recognise the malignant influence of their parents on their lives and the unsatisfactory responses they unconsciously adopted, one seeking compensation in stealing and the other in sex.

Cast

Tilda Swinton as Eve Stephens
Amy Madigan as Maddie Stephens
Karen Sillas as Renee
Frances Fisher as Annunciata
Clancy Brown as John
Laila Robins as Emma
John Diehl as Jake Rock
Paulina Porizkova as Langley Flynn
Dale Shuger as Edwina
Sandy Martin as Trudy
Marcia Cross as Beth Stephens
John Cassini as gas station attendant
Shawnee Smith as make-up salesgirl

Reception

The film was rated 3.5 out of 4 stars by Roger Ebert,^[2] 4 out of 5 stars by The Austin Chronicle^[3] and 3 out of 5 stars by Empire magazine.^[4] Entertainment Weekly gave it a C grade.^[5]

References

^ "Female Perversions (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
^ Review by Roger Ebert, accessed February 15, 2021.
^ Review by The Austin Chronicle, accessed February 15, 2021.
^ Review by Empire, accessed February 15, 2021.
^ Review by Entertainment Weekly, accessed February 15, 2021.

External links

Female Perversions at IMDb
Female Perversions at Rotten Tomatoes
Female Perversions at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Female Perversions at AllMovie
Female Perversions at the TCM Movie Database

This article about a drama film with a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender theme is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Female Perversions (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

[2] Review by Roger Ebert, accessed February 15, 2021.

[3] Review by The Austin Chronicle, accessed February 15, 2021.

[4] Review by Empire, accessed February 15, 2021.

[5] Review by Entertainment Weekly, accessed February 15, 2021.

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