Fourplay - Sara Sevigny

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Fourplay (Tales of Sexual Intimacy)" )

directed by Kyle Henry
USA 2012

The Kickstarter-funded film festival-bait - having played at Cannes, Sundance, Frameline36, and Outfest among others - FOURPLAY is more provocative than profound. The four sections of this portmanteau film are set in different American cities for reasons that are not readily apparent other than the utilization of local talent in front of and behind the camera. In SKOKIE, Gale (Sara Sevigny) secretly fosters a sexual attraction to married choir colleague Marcy (Amy Jean Johnson) but finds an unlikely substitute when she babysits Marcy's Yorkie Myra. In AUSTIN, stuck-in-a-rut practically-married Lily (Danielle Rene) and Kai (Atticus Rowe) "change the game" with by introducing a little mystery into their sex life. In TAMPA, repressed and under-endowed Luis' (Jose Villarreal) surreal visit to a mall mensroom leaves him even more frustrated until he receives a little help from the source of his guilt. Finally, in SAN FRANCISCO, transsexual sex worker Aliya (Paul Soileau, OUT OF SIGHT) forms a meaningful connection with paralyzed Tom (Gary Chason); but is it genuine or all-in-a-day's-work (and does that matter)? Executive producer Michael Stipe (of the band R.E.M.) calls it "Puritanical America's wake-up call..." and it may indeed only truly shock the extreme right (who may indeed have tuned out by the fourth story or been totally turned off by its subject if not already by the overall film's concept). The stories are rather elliptical with only the fourth (and longest) impressing on the basis of performances, sustained pacing, deft music selection (particularly Mahler's Symphony No. 5 which will immediately summon up memories of Visconti's DEATH IN VENICE for cineastes), and eliciting an emotional response (if not a connection) from the viewer.

Eric Cotenas

Poster

Theatrical Release: 17 June 2012 (USA)

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DVD Review: AOK Productions - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from: HERE
Distribution	AOK Productions Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:19:00
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.22 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: AOK Productions Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by director Kyle Henry • 'Tampa' Behind the Scenes (16:9; 8:38) • 4 Trailers (16:9; 3:57) • Interview with Chloe (text) DVD Release Date: May 14th, 2013 Digibook Chapters 6

Comments

Shot in high definition, FOURPLAY on DVD sports a slick image for the most part but also an inconsistent one (the credits suggest the Red One camera was used on at least one of the episodes, but behind the scenes footage for the TAMPA episode show the director of photography using a Canon DSLR). The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is more consistent overall. Director Kyle Henry appears on a commentary track joined (some via Skype) by the writers, lead actors, and director of photography; as such, Henry is more of a moderator, making the track more listenable than most obligatory DVD/Blu-ray-ready tracks as his questions to the other participants make for more focused responses than the usual funny anecdotes and cracking jokes during awkward bits (other than TAMPA which is played mainly for humor). There is much conveyed about the shooting process of each of the stories, as well as discussion of the thematic aspects by the writers. Henry refers to the episodes as shorts, and they might play better instead of linked together under loose themes about human frailty and desire.

The only behind-the-scenes footage comes from the TAMPA shoot emphasizing the multiple roles some of the participants played in front of and behind the camera and the rigging of certain effects (and prosthetics). There are four trailers for the film included on the disc. The first samples images and dialogue from all four films and affirms its status as an anthology while the other three focus on individual stories (either the one for SKOKIE was left out or never created). The last extra is a series of texts from a blog by production assistant Chloe, a transsexual sex worker whose views on her work definitely informed the tone of the final story (which is perhaps why that is the only story in the film that has any sort of depth).

- Eric Cotenas

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