Bitter Moon
1992
On a cruise to Istanbul in celebration of their seventh wedding anniversary, uptight British couple Nigel (Hugh Grant) and Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas) encounter American expatriate Oscar (Peter Coyote), a wheelchair-bound unpublished novelist traveling with his young French wife, Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Nigel is immediately .. Read more
| Starring | Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott-Thomas |
|---|---|
| Director | Roman Polanski |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
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Bitter Moon
On a cruise to Istanbul in celebration of their seventh wedding anniversary, uptight British couple Nigel (Hugh Grant) and Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas) encounter American expatriate Oscar (Peter Coyote), a wheelchair-bound unpublished novelist traveling with his young French wife, Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Nigel is immediately drawn to the sexy but distant Mimi, and Oscar, sensing the other man's fascination with his wife, takes him aside to recount in exhibitionistic detail the sordid tale of their once-passionate love affair, which gradually deteriorated into a series of increasingly sadistic and degrading sex games. In flashback scenes, it soon becomes clear that the self-serving Oscar represents the corrosive element in the couple's relationship--though the tables will eventually be turned. BITTER MOON provides several jarring twists, the last of which is especially unexpected, and no one escapes unscathed from this titillating yet excruciating menage-a-quatre. Polanski's erotic melodrama received mixed reviews but earned ardent praise from fans who appreciated the filmmaker's return to the themes (first treated in 1962's KNIFE IN THE WATER) of dark sexuality and thinly veiled violence in intimate relationships.
| Starring | Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Victor Banerjee |
|---|---|
| Director | Roman Polanski |
| Studio | UCA |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 13 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 16 Aug 2004 Production year: 1992 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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It's not often that you see a film that needs therapy more than the characters that appear in it. But Roman Polanski's slickly told psychological drama — set on board a liner — is just such a film, trying to make sexual sadism into a metaphor for human relationships. Innocents Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas become entangled in the fantasies of paralysed writer Peter Coyote and Emmanuelle Seigner (Polanski's wife). It should have been played as a Buñuel-esque comedy, but it's no laughing matter, and ponderous solemnity finally makes it seem too much like a psychiatric casebook of the kind only Polanski could love.
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Incoherent melodrama of the corruption of innocence; but we've all been here too many times before for this treatment to carry any appeal.
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Most helpful member's review
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16 out of 17 people found this review helpful
Excellent
The story starts by describing a true whirlwind paris romance between an ageing american writer and a young french waitress. Things however do not last long and as the relationship starts to change in nature we see the worst in human nature. Lots of plot twists and spills... this is a MUST SEE!!
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Most recent members' review
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3 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Interesting exploration of sexual perversions
A crippled Frenchman reveals to Hugh Grant the history of his relationship with his beautiful wife.
The tale of this relationship covers more sexual experimentation than most of us will attempt; infatuation, initial romance, watersports, role-play, domination and cuckoldry.
Don't get me wrong this is a proper film by a respected director and not a shoddy piece of adult entertainment. In fact, Polanski should be respected for being able to explain how this relationship managed to change so dramatically. -
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Bitter Moon
On a cruise to Istanbul in celebration of their seventh wedding anniversary, uptight British couple Nigel (Hugh Grant) and Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas) encounter American expatriate Oscar (Peter Coyote), a wheelchair-bound unpublished novelist traveling with his young French wife, Mimi (Emmanuelle ...
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