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7
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7 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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SNEAK
PREVIEW
|
DVD Release Date:
March 31, 2009
Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
Lena
(Christina Lindberg) is a teenager looking to explore her sexuality,
but when a sadist (Heinz Hopf) takes salacious pictures of her
and uses them for blackmail, her world is turned upside down...
In
the supplementary section of the DVD, the director of Exposed,
Gustav Wiklund, freely admits that this was a film born out
of desperation. Wiklund had long been trying to break into the
film industry, but after a steady stream of disappointments
he opted to make a softcore sex film, figuring it would be something
of a sure fire deal. His intuition was correct.
The film charts the
trials and tribulations of its teenaged protagonist with a dispassionate
eye. Lena isn't a particularly deep character, but Wiklund and
Christina Lindberg (Anita,
Maid in Sweden,
Thriller: They
Call Her One-Eye) make her sympathetic for what she represents:
adolescent curiosity. Lindberg shows no inhibitions in portraying
the character, refusing to resort to mawkish sentimentality,
and the end result is an oddly compelling characterization,
especially when one considers how little the audience really
knows about her. She moves between her relationship with the
sadistic Helge and an equally unfulfilling one with a spineless
mama's boy (Björn Addelly), and the impression is one of marking
time. Her world becomes complicated when Helge takes some lewd
photos of her and threatens to show them to her mother if she
doesn't obey his wishes — being a confused teen, she goes along
with this... but only to a point.
As erotica, Exposed
is a reminder of a time when sex films really could cross over
to the arthouse circuit. Loaded with kind of emotional ennui
and passages of hushed silence typical of Ingmar Bergman, the
film ambles along at a deliberate pace, with Wiklund encouraging
the audience to involve themselves in the narrative instead
of passively kicking back to enjoy some lighthearted sex antics.
The director alternates between Lena's sexually charged fantasies
and cold reality, and the finale leaves one with more questions
than answers. The sex on display is artfully shot, with Lindberg
naturally dominating the proceedings (moral watchdogs, calm
down: she plays a teen, but Lindberg was actually 21 at the
time of filming). Apart from being an exceptionally beautiful
young woman, Lindberg also proves to be a capable actress in
the role. She conveys the character's confusion and anguish
with a series of telling looks and nuances, never overplaying
in the process. The supporting cast is capable enough, especially
Heinz Hopf as bad boy playboy Helge, but this is very much Lindberg's
picture. Skin fans will be pleased to know that she has an ample
quantity of nude scenes, and if the sex scenes are done in such
a way as to emphasize alienation over hot and steamy 'action',
they are still erotically charged.
Ultimately the film
is a little too slow and rambling for its own good, but Exposed
is still well worth a look for the discerning erotica buff.
It's a reasonably engaging character piece on its own terms,
though the controversy it elicited in the early '70s may seem
out of proportion in our current climate.
|
|
|
| Synapse
have another winner on their hands with Exposed.
The film makes its R1 DVD debut completely uncut. Mastered from
very good source materials, the film is presented in its original
1.66 aspect ratio, and has been enhanced for widescreen TVs. The
color scheme leans towards a brownish hue, but this seems to have
been intentional on the part of the filmmakers. Grain is evident
throughout, but this, too, is as it should be and shouldn't be
construed as an error on Synapse's part. Some minor defects, such
as scratching, are intermittently evident, but on the whole it's
a very pleasing transfer. The mono Swedish soundtrack is in good
shape, as well; removable English subtitles are included, and
are clear and easy to read throughout. Extras include the Swedish
trailer, a laughably lurid U.S. trailer (it was retitled The
Depraved over here!), a still gallery, two music tracks
performed by Lindberg, and a featurette titled Over-Exposed,
which features interviews with Wiklund and a gracefully aging
Lindberg. It's a good, informative featurette and offers a frank
insight into the film and its origins.
3/26/09 |
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