''Female Perversions'' is a 1996

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by Susan Streitfeld (in her feature directorial debut), based on the 1991 book ''Female Perversions: The Temptations of Emma Bovary'' by American psychoanalyst Louise J. Kaplan. It stars

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

, Amy Madigan, Karen Sillas,

Frances Fisher Frances Louise Fisher (born May 11, 1952) is a British-born American actress. She began her career in theatre and later starred as record executive Suzette 'Red' Saxon in the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Guiding Light'' (1985). In film, she is ...

Laila Robins Laila Robins is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), ''An Innocent Man'' (1989), '' Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), '' She's Lost Control' ...

, Paulina Porizkova, and

Clancy Brown Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...

. Aspects of female psychology, particularly the more morbid, are explored through the interactions of the characters and through their fantasies.

Plot

Eve Stephens, a Los Angeles trial attorney, is almost at the peak of her career: being appointed as a judge. Her private life is less successful. Beneath her cool exterior, Eve is filled with self-doubt and struggles to find satisfaction while conforming to society's expectations of her as a woman. She is troubled by erotic nightmares and flashbacks to the lives of her parents, centering on her unfeeling father and the suspicious death of her mother, Beth. Although she has occasional intense sex – initially with a male geologist called John, later with a female psychiatrist, Renee – the relationships lack warmth or commitment on her part. She also feels threatened by Langley Flynn, a younger woman being lined up to replace her as an attorney. Eve's professional and personal lives start to unravel when her intelligent but disturbed sister Maddie, a doctoral student whom Eve believes to be a

kleptomania Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main ch ...

c, is arrested for repeated shoplifting. After Eve bails her out, Maddie steals the "lucky suit" that Eve planned to wear to her interview with the

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

about her potential judgeship. During the interview, Eve's anger toward Maddie manifests itself when she tells the Governor that she has no time for family. Feeling disadvantaged as a candidate by her status as an unmarried woman, Eve fears that this admission will cost her the appointment, and subsequently flies into a rage. The two sisters begin to recognize the malignant influence of their parents on their lives and the unsatisfactory responses they unconsciously adopted, one seeking compensation in stealing and the other in sex. In the end, the Governor approves Eve's appointment. Later, Eve comes to the aid of Maddie's neighbor Edwina ("Ed"), a

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men ...

ish 13yearold who uses selfharm to cope with the struggles of puberty. As Ed prepares to attempt suicide by jumping off a cliff, Eve runs up behind her and pulls her back from the edge. The last shot is of Ed's face pressed into Eve's lap.

Cast

Reception

The film was rated 3.5 out of 4 stars by

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, 4 out of 5 stars by ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' and 3 out of 5 stars by ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' magazine. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' gave it a C grade.Review by ''Entertainment Weekly''
accessed February 15, 2021.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Female Perversions 1996 films 1996 directorial debut films 1996 drama films 1996 LGBT-related films 1990s English-language films 1990s erotic drama films 1990s psychological drama films American erotic drama films American LGBT-related films American psychological drama films English-language German films Female bisexuality in film Films about lawyers Films about sisters Films based on non-fiction books Films set in Los Angeles German erotic drama films German LGBT-related films German psychological drama films LGBT-related drama films 1990s American films 1990s German films