Bitter Moon (1994)

Unquestionably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Roman Polanski (Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist) turns his talents to the realm of sexual perversity and its emotional toll. While on a Mediterranean cruise, Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas) find a young French woman named Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner) crying in a bathroom. Mimi's paraplegic American husband Oscar (Peter Coyote) forces Nigel to listen to how Oscar and Mimi fell in love--as well as how they discovered kinky erotic games and finally arrived at a curdled, mutual sadism. Bitter Moon veers erratically from salacious erotica to black comedy to clumsy psychodrama, but individual scenes have a definite punch. Coyote chews the scenery with glee, Seigner (Polanski's wife, adding a hint of lurid autobiography) flounders moodily, and Grant seems miscast, but Scott Thomas gives the movie some actual dignity. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Uniquely Entertaining yet mind provoking!

The story line is twisted to put it mildly but never boring for a second and interestingly making for great conversation after viewing...

I will not divulge any of the plot (too much has already been spilled in other reviews) and while the plot is amazingly thought out and delivered by Scorsese, the plot really does not matter as much as the characters and their stories.

What matters more in my mind is the characters (all brilliantly acted) who show sides that are deeply engraved in all of us (thankfully in less extreme denominations in most cases). The movie take the obsession, anger, feeling of guilt, revenge, pity, dependence, lust to the extreme but with a bit of soul searching we can relate to the underlying urges and feelings and if we allow it, the movie leaves one thinking afterwards remembering our own experiences and our own behavior in difficult situations over the years.

No one can ever claim this movie did not touch something in them and even its harshest critics are spellbound to the screen throughout the movie.

A must see. October 31, 2008

One of my all time favorites

Bitter Moon is not necessarily Polanski's best film but it certainly ranks as one of my favorites, at least on a personal level rather than film critique as such. Its a very tight film, very romantic, almost too romantic in fact the higher we go the greater the fall. A great story with most interesting characters in it and a very seductive narration. I definitely recommend you take this journey, a great lesson in love. October 8, 2008

Extremely disturbing film

Hugh Grant delivers a surprising performance in Bitter Moon, a sexually perverse movie.

Nigel and Fiona, played by Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott, are a married couple that set out to take a cruise vacation of a life time, to India of all places.

The couple meets a young beauty by the name of Mimi, played by Emmanuelle Seigner, who seems to be ill by the voyage. Fiona takes her to the ladies room and they strike a friendship of sorts. They soon meet Mimi's husband, who is on a wheel chair, paralyzed from the waist down.

Peter coyote plays the part of the husband, a man that seems desperate for conversation and engages Nigel, who out of respect and pity, starts to listen to the man's stories and soon finds himself spell bound by the eroticism of the stories he tells.

The stories center on how he met Mimi, how their relationship started, developed and progressed to what it is today. As the hours go by you will find the stories so malevolent in nature, so sadistic, that you can not help but hope it all ends well, and yet you know the end shall shock viewers.

Definitely not the type of film we expected because we have gotten used to comedy when we purchase a Hugh Grant movie. Without a doubt, Bitter Moon is an extremely emotionally disturbing film.
September 2, 2008

Riveting

I could not stop watching this movie. Not because of the erotica but to see how it turned out. What would unfold. I was not prepared to rate it very highly but darnit! I enjoyed this well done movie with an unusual tale to tell. June 29, 2008

Disturbing intrigue

The only question left at the end of this effective film's explicit emotional savagery is: who is cruelest? August 14, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...