The Loss of Sexual Innocence | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mike Figgis |
Written by | Mike Figgis |
Produced by | Mike Figgis Annie Stewart |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Benoît Delhomme |
Edited by | Matthew Wood |
Music by | Mike Figgis |
Production companies | Summit Entertainment [1] Newmarket Capital Group [1] New Line Cinema (uncredited) [2] Red Mullet Inc. [2] |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
Release date |
|
Running time | 106 minutes |
Countries | United States United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.5 million [3] |
Box office | $400,000 [4] |
The Loss of Sexual Innocence is a 1999 drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis. [5] It tells the story of the sexual development of a filmmaker through three stages of his life, in a non-linear and disjointed manner. [6] The film stars British actress Saffron Burrows, [5] whom Figgis dated for several years. [7]
The story at the center of the movie is the tumultuous life of Nic (Julian Sands), a British director beginning a new film project in Tunisia.
The Loss of Sexual Innocence was based on a script called “Short Stories,” which Figgis had written in 1982. [8] His original concept was to have been a multimedia show featuring film, live performance and music. The success of Leaving Las Vegas allowed him to finance the making of the nearly two-decades-old cinematic project. [9]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, "Those with no patience for avant-garde films will want to avoid The Loss of Sexual Innocence...Everyone else will find moments of surpassing beauty in this courageous, deeply flawed film." He was effusive in his praise for Figgis creating the film's atmosphere "through its mixture of music, beautiful outdoor cinematography and somber, silent acting." What he considered flaws were the Adam and Eve storyline and two scenes which he considered irrelevant involving an airport encounter between identical twins separated at birth and the humiliation of an obese 12-year-old Nic by a gym teacher. [10]
Like Holden, Roger Ebert delineated what type of movie it is by explaining it as "an 'art film,' which means it tries to do something more advanced than most commercial films (which tell stories simple enough for children, in images shocking enough for adults)." He rated it three and a half out of four stars, adding that it "plays like a musical composition, with themes drifting in and out, and dialogue used more for tone than speech....Not all of it works, but you play along, because it's rare to find a film this ambitious." [11]
Taking a more playful approach in his review, Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle came to a similar conclusion as Holden and Ebert and explained, "If you are an adventurous filmgoer, interested in technique, certainly go. If you like stories with 'stories,' which go from Point A to Point B with conflicts along the way, this film may be a little too atonal for you." [12]
Emanuel Levy of Variety was critical of the movie as commentary on Nic’s loss of innocence and the entire state of civilization, stating that "it’s in this intent that the film fails most conspicuously, giving Figgis’ skeptics the strongest ammunition to dismiss his work as pretentious and overreaching." [3] Desson Howe of The Washington Post was more scathing in his analysis and declared, "For me, at least, The Loss of Sexual Innocence is the highly cinematic equivalent of a smoke-and-mirrors job." [9]
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Loss of Sexual Innocence | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by various artists | |
Released | 1999 |
Genre | Postmodern, classical |
Length | 65:48 |
Label | Philips |
Producer | Mike Figgis |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performed by | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Africa" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 4:24 |
2. | "Der Dichter Spricht" | Robert Schumann | Joanna MacGregor | 2:10 |
3. | "Doppelgänger" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 2:06 |
4. | "Traumerie" | Robert Schumann | Joanna MacGregor | 2:47 |
5. | "Tango" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 7:08 |
6. | "Nocturne In E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2" | Frédéric Chopin | Joanna MacGregor | 4:56 |
7. | "Twins" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 6:40 |
8. | "Piano Sonata In C, kv. 545, The Ardento Section" | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Joanna MacGregor | 5:29 |
9. | "Tree of Knowledge" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 4:05 |
10. | "Pathetique Sonata - 1st Movement(excerpt)" | Ludwig van Beethoven | Joanna MacGregor | 4:26 |
11. | "Dukes Award" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 1:58 |
12. | "Moonlight Sonata - 1st Movement (excerpt)" | Ludwig van Beethoven | Joanna MacGregor | 5:51 |
13. | "Accident" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 2:30 |
14. | "Loss of Sexual Innocence" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 2:59 |
15. | "An Eye For An Eye" | Mike Figgis | Mike Figgis | 1:21 |
16. | "Symphony No. 9 - Allegro Ma Non Tanto (excerpt)" | Ludwig van Beethoven | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | 1:44 |
17. | "Nocturne In D Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2" | Frédéric Chopin | Joanna MacGregor | 5:14 |
Waking Life is a 2001 American rotoscoped animated film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams and lucid dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, free will, and existentialism. The series of insightful philosophical discussions at the core of the film are progressed by a young man who wanders through a succession of dreamlike realities wherein he encounters a series of interesting characters.
Entrapment is a 1999 caper film directed by Jon Amiel and written by Ronald Bass. It stars Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones and includes Will Patton, Ving Rhames and Maury Chaykin. The film focuses on the relationship between investigator Virginia "Gin" Baker and professional thief Robert "Mac" MacDougal as they attempt a heist at the turn of the New Millennium. Simon West and Antoine Fuqua were both in talks to direct before Amiel was hired. The film was released theatrically in the United States on 30 April 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1999.
Tadpole is a 2002 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick, written by Heather McGowan and Niels Mueller, and starring Sigourney Weaver, Bebe Neuwirth, Aaron Stanford, John Ritter, Robert Iler, and Kate Mara.
Election is a 1999 American black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne from a screenplay by Payne and Jim Taylor, based on Tom Perrotta's 1998 novel of the same name.
Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 American science fiction horror film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J. It is the first film of the film series by the same name. Set in an isolated underwater facility, the film follows a team of scientists and their research on mako sharks to help fight Alzheimer's disease. The situation plunges into chaos when multiple genetically engineered sharks go on a rampage and flood the facility.
Saffron Domini Burrows is a British and American actress who has appeared in films such as Circle of Friends,Wing Commander,Deep Blue Sea,Gangster No. 1,Enigma,Troy,Reign Over Me, and The Bank Job. On the small screen she starred as Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal, Dr. Norah Skinner on My Own Worst Enemy, Detective Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Victoria Hand on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She appeared as Cynthia Taylor on the Prime Video series Mozart in the Jungle and as Dottie Quinn in the Netflix series You.
Eve's Bayou is a 1997 American Southern Gothic drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this film. Samuel L. Jackson served as a producer, and starred in the film with Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Meagan Good, and Diahann Carroll. The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters on November 7, 1997. The film grossed $14 million domestically on a budget of $4 million, making it the most commercially successful independent film of 1997.
Timecode is a 2000 American experimental film written and directed by Mike Figgis and featuring a large ensemble cast, including Salma Hayek, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Suzy Nakamura, Kyle MacLachlan, Saffron Burrows, Holly Hunter, Julian Sands, Xander Berkeley, Leslie Mann and Mía Maestro.
Infinity is a 1996 American biographical film about the romantic life of physicist Richard Feynman. Feynman was played by Matthew Broderick, who also directed and co-produced the film. Broderick's mother, Patricia Broderick, wrote the screenplay, which was based on the books Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, both written by Feynman and Ralph Leighton. It is the only film Broderick has ever directed.
The Daytrippers is a 1996 independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola in his feature directorial debut. It stars Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne Meara, Parker Posey and Liev Schreiber.
The Public Eye is a 1992 American crime thriller film produced by Sue Baden-Powell and written and directed by Howard Franklin, starring Joe Pesci and Barbara Hershey. Stanley Tucci and Richard Schiff appear in supporting roles.
Mixed Nuts is a 1994 American Christmas dark comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, based on the 1982 French comedy film Le Père Noël est une ordure . Co-written by Ephron and her sister Delia, the film features an ensemble cast which includes Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rita Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia, Garry Shandling, Rob Reiner, Juliette Lewis, Adam Sandler, and Liev Schreiber in his film debut.
One Night Stand is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski, Kyle MacLachlan, Ming-Na Wen and Robert Downey Jr. The first draft of the screenplay was written by Joe Eszterhas, who had his name removed from the project following Figgis's rewrite.
"Girl Don't Come" is a song, written by Chris Andrews that was a No. 3 UK hit in the UK Singles Chart for Sandie Shaw in 1964–65.
"Long Live Love" is a Chris Andrews composition which, in 1965, gained Sandie Shaw the second of her three UK number one hit singles.
Hotel is a 2001 British-Italian comedy horror-thriller film co-written and directed by Mike Figgis. It stars Salma Hayek, Rhys Ifans, David Schwimmer, Lucy Liu, Burt Reynolds, and John Malkovich.
Moonlight and Valentino is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by David Anspaugh starring Elizabeth Perkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kathleen Turner, Whoopi Goldberg and Jon Bon Jovi. The screenplay, by Ellen Simon, is based on her semi-autobiographical play of the same title, written after the death of her husband.
Twist and Shout is a 1984 Danish drama film directed by Bille August. It was entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival where Lars Simonsen won the award for Best Actor. The film saw a release in American theaters in 1986. Twist and Shout was also selected as the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 58th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.