#bliss 1997

[zanephillips]

Craig Sheffer in Bliss (1997)

[zephyrinthesky]

Bliss (Lance Young, 1997) 

Starring Craig Sheffer, Sheryl Lee, Terence Stamp.                                                                              

"Bliss'' is a daring movie not because of the sexuality it contains, but because it is so intent about it. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

 (Roger Ebert)