Lost And Delirious Reviews

What a thought-provoking movie

OK, so I wasn't expecting this to be much. I have an extremely naive ideology that any movie that hasn't cost a fortune, and been promoted more than a McDonald's employee, is going to be pants.

I was expecting this to look like a low budget channel 5 drama... and have worse acting.

On the contrary, the film is beautifully lensed (by French Cinematographer Pierre Gill) and looks stunning.

As a plus, the DVD isn't presented in CinemaScope Extra Wide Wide Very WideScreen and will fill up all of the telly that you paid for.

There aren't any extras or special features that I remember, except for a trailer.

I admit that I got this film originally just because of Piper Perabo. I had no idea what I was about to see, and frankly, I didn't care... as long as she was in it.

What I saw was incredibly touching and tragic.

Dispite what I have read about the movie since, it is not a Lesbian porno. This is good and bad. The scenes you will probably remember the most are all executed beautifully, and very tastefully.

The story is loosely based on 'The Wives Of Bath' and revolves around three girls in a boarding school, who all have very different backgrounds. The film is narrated from the POV of 'Mouse' (The O.C's Mischa Barton) who discovers that her 2 roommates, Paulie (Piper Perabo) and Tori (Jessica Par?), are a little more than 'mates'. She accepts it, but Tori's sister finds out when she bursts in on them in bed together (apparently, in movies, people don't knock first, or say 'goodbye' when finishing a phone-call). She is, how you say?, Pas tr?s heureux. Scared that her little brat-of-a-sister would tell mummy and daddy that sister is a lesbo, Tori breaks off the relationship with Paulie, and gets herself a boyfriend. Paulie is devastated, and sets about trying to win back Tori - through a series of rather mannish stunts.

The film is best described as being about 'Love'and the destructive effect it can have to someone in the teenage years. It's also equally about acceptance. A line from the film that describes it best is when Paulie says to Mouse 'I'm not a Lesbian, I'm Paulie in love with Tori'.

It is a very serious, tragic and moving film. If you're a bloke watching it with your girlfriend, make sure you have a large supply of tissues on hand (OI! I mean't for the inevitable crying) and be prepared for 'the talk' that WILL follow afterwards. I'm not going to give away what happens, but it's a moving ending that will make you think.

The soundtrack complements the film nicely, with highlights including 'Beautiful' by Me'Shell Nd?geocello, and 'You had time' by Ani DiFranco. The original score by Yves Chamberland isn't great, but does the job. If Thomas Newman had scored the film though... I would of wept like a baby girl.

The film largely takes place in an anonymous year (I read somewhere it was supposed to be set in the 70's, but I saw modern cars, so I guess it's set in the here-and-now), and touches on the fact that society still doesn't see same-sex relationships as 'appropiate'. Let's make it clear, this is not a Lesbian or Gay film. I'm not gay, but I still felt for the characters.

Give it a go, it's worth it.

So... Don't watch if:

You're into special FX. The most technologically advanced thing I saw in this film was a Gardener.

You're into comedies.

You fancy Mischa Barton from 'The O.C'. She's 15 in this film. That's wrong.

Your expecting a Lesbian porno with the hot one from Coyote Ugly. It's nothing like that, and she can really act. In fact, it's her dynamic performance that powers this film.

Do watch if:

You want to watch a challenging, entertaining and insightful film. This isn't called a 'movie' for nothing.

It will move you.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Thank God its more than lesbianism in a girl's school

You may not have heard of this film before and if you came to it (like me) because you wondered what Mischa Barton has done since her remarkable debut in 'Lawn Dogs' then you may be in for a positive surprise.

This is the story of three girls and their discovery of love both straight and lesbian in a rich boarding school. Newcomer Mary (Mischa Barton) learns that her two roommates are lovers and when this relationship breaks up she becomes involved in events that threaten to spiral out of control...

The film is very entertaining mainly because of the strong performances of all three main characters, especially Piper Perabo as the uncompromising Paulie. Don't expect a sex film although there are some moderate erotic scenes. The focus of this film is on a strong story line and character development which holds bothe the attention and affection of the viewers very well.

So why haven't you heard about it before? Maybe because the plot doesn't sound that special or maybe because it hasn't got the really big names. But like 'Girlfight' it's a powerful film about ulimately strong young women and certainly well worth watching.

This movie will touch your heart in undescovered places. The acting outshines any teenage movie ever made. Do yourself a favour and make this one a priority.

Enjoyable...

I think this film started off really well, the girl who played 'Mouse' was great. Really good acting. But for me, the girl who plays Pauline was it? Was just too annoying. She grated on me from the get go.And she seemed very OTT unlike the other actors.

But i enjoyed this film for the most part, but about 2/3 of the way thru, it just got too 'out there', and i just detached totally from it then, and wasnt bothered what happened.

But great performances from the 2 other main characters tho. 'Mouse' in particular. Put it this way, I nearly bought this once, and now im glad i just rented it instead.

Oh one thing, the musical score was really good tho, one of the first things i thought when i was watching it. :O)

One to be avoided

More like a videoclip/bad TV series than a proper film, with puppet-like characters and a laughable script. This was just painful to watch...

Excellent

This was a film of many layers, it was wonderfully executed and the actors were well cast. Some of the past reviewers thought this should be a mouthpiece about lesbianism in the 21st century, they missed the point. this was a film about love, it could have been any two people regardless of sex. It was a film about growing up and the inevitable relationship breakdowns we all have and it touched on grief and mental illness. It had some poignant scenes and I would happily watch it again.

Utterly Beautiful

A beautiful and tragic film, Piper Perabo is amazing as Paulie, a teenage girl caught up in love and obsession. This is a film about confused identities, passions and growth; and the three female leads all represent a different side of girls growing up - Perabo as the love fuelled cavalier, Barton as the younger outsider and Pare's Tori a passionate but religious girl caught between her wants and her parent's expectations.

This film blew me away, particularly Perabo's performance, with its passion and emotion. The lighting and direction is first class and the story told tenderly but forceful. Beautiful and deeply moving.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Amateur Dramatics

From the beginning I realised that I'd made a mistake in choosing this film...... opening to a bunch of boarding school girls running around in their uniforms and spiking the tea at opening day i thought ' Here we go'

However it was a mistake for entirely different reasons.

The plot was pretty standard... 2 girls fall in love, Paulie is a snappy, forward and confident girl and her girlfriend, Tori is slightly more reserved but happy and popular.

Tori's sister catches them in bed eventually and ofcourse this leads to denial, heartache and some truly cringe inducing scenes that i had to actually hide behind me eyes during.

I don't really understand why they were so open infront of their roommate, new girl Mary ( a respectable performance by a very young looking Mischa Barton) and not expect something to happen and the painfully contrived inclusion of long Shakespeare quotes just makes it all seem like an almost promising school play. If it wasn't for the (relatively tame) lesbian scenes I'd expect to see this on television in the afternoon.

Many scenes border on being so over the top as to be painful and the soundtrack epitomises teenage school girl angst yet the film tries it's hardest to be serious. The acting is melodramatic but I got the impression this was more to do with the script than the talent.

Overall it was disappointing and immature, cliched and hard to get emotionally invoved with.

Really... I wouldn't bother.

Had promise, but turned into slushy pap

The first half of the film was pretty good, but then a sad bit came along. Over emotional? Times that by ten and you get the picture. They kept playing really soppy music with lyrics to make you cringe. In one scene you just watch one of the girls crying. This poor actress had to pretend to cry for about two whole minutes with a camera stuck in her face and awful music wailing away - I had to turn it off.

designed for the young

I thought this was a really good film that would be suitable for the younger end of the gay market. It's based within a school setting and tackles many issues of leading a lesbian lifestyles, including 'coming out', I reccommend this for under 20's