Retrospective Film Review

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) • 35 Years Later — modern sexual politics in excellent indie cinema

A sexually repressed woman’s husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.

“Let’s talk about sex.”

The main characters in Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape do precisely that — a lot. Amidst political subtexts, moral qualms, and concerns regarding emotional and physical distance in late-20th-century relationships, a preoccupation with sex pervades: voyeurism, masturbation, extramarital affairs, and the female orgasm all take centre stage.

John Mullany (Peter Gallagher) is married to the beautiful Ann Bishop Mullany (Andie MacDowell). However, blaming Ann’s frigidity for causing him dissatisfaction in their marriage, John begins an affair with Cynthia Bishop (Laura San Giacomo), Ann’s sister. Although the deceitful pair appear content in their betrayals, the arrival of John’s old friend Graham (James Spader) soon…