Bitter Moon

Directed by Roman Polanski 

Starring:  Peter Coyote,

Emmanuelle Seigner,

Hugh Grant,

Kristin Scott Thomas 

Released: 1992 

Length: 139 minutes

People that know me know that I am a genuine movie buff. My favorite date night is dinner and a movie and I’ve been known to go to the movies all by myself. I have a large collection of movies on DVD and VHS, I subscribe to all the movie channels on Direct-TV, and I am an avid watcher of Sundance, IFC, AMC and Turner Classic Movies. Given all that, I was not too surprised when back in 2005 I was asked by Elise Sutton to do a movie review column for her e-zine dedicated to female domination. I figured I would have to watch a lot of “Adult” films but I was pleasantly surprised with how many so-called mainstream movies that had Femdom themes or at least Femdom imagery.  

How on earth did I not know about “Bitter Moon”? It was released in 1992, it starred Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott Thomas, and it was directed by none other than Roman Polanski. Perhaps I missed this film because it was theatrically released back in 1992 in Europe but neglected here in the United States. “Bitter Moon” made it to VHS in 1994. I must have overlooked it at the local Video store. The film is also known as Lunes de fiel (The moons of Gall) in France. The script is inspired by a book with the same name, written by the French author Pascal Bruckner.  

Is "Bitter Moon" worthy of a Femdom movie review? Let’s see, it has sadomasochistic sex, D&S mind games both inside and outside the bedroom, a scene where a man describes the erotic quality of golden showers, fetish clothing worn by the shapely central female character, and cuckolding. I’d say the movie is Femdom worthy, wouldn’t you?  

Roman Polanski was criticized for casting his own wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, in the central role of an insatiable seductress with black widow tendencies, whose amusement is to use her sexuality to enslave men. But Seigner never seems miscast in the role. In fact, she is perfect for the part combining her youthful and girlish face with her tall and statuesque body. And when her character takes on a dominant and cruel persona, Seigner embodies the male ideal of the Femdom fantasy.

 

 

 

The main premise of the film is the chance meeting of Oscar (Peter Coyote), a paraplegic, and Nigel (Hugh Grant) aboard a cruise ship. Oscar has a story to tell and he warns, and tempts, Nigel about his wife, Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). As Oscar describes how he met Mimi, we see their marriage in long flashbacks. Oscar is not a paraplegic when he meets Mimi. In fact, he is an inspiring American writer with big dreams and an enthusiasm for Paris.  
 

At first, Oscar and Mimi’s relationship is pure romance. Oscar is a struggling writer who meets Mimi on a bus. Oscar becomes obsessed with finding her again, looking all over the city, until he finally frequents the restaurant where she works as a waitress. The more mature Oscar asks Mimi out on a date and their romance commences. Then boredom begins to creep in, and with it the antidotes to boredom. Mimi enjoys sadomasochistic sex and D&S mind games, and naturally Oscar is fascinated. 
 

It begins one day when Oscar is shaving. Mimi asks him if she can do the honors. Oscar is hesitant but she insists, so he relents and turns the sharp razor over to her. Mimi accidentally cuts him and she literally licks his wound.  
 

Oscar continues to tell Nigel how the relationship unfolded and he recalls the event that launches them into the world of kinky sex; 
 

“The seasons came and went. Mimi’s face still held a thousand mysteries for me, her body a thousand sweet promises. But lurking in the back of my mind was an unspoken fear that we’d already scaled the heights of our relationship. It would all be down hill from here on. But then something happened, something that would put things on an entirely different plane. We were … on a skiing vacation, I rented a Chalet there…Mimi on the floor wearing just a T-shirt and nothing else, watching television, and me on the couch watching her.  
 

All at once, she got up, stalked over to the set, spread her legs and pissed on the screen, like she wanted to blot it out. Time stood still for an instant, then I rolled off the couch, I crawled over to her like a lunatic. I wormed my way between her legs and right away I was engulfed with this warm, golden cascade. It spattered my cheeks, it filled my nostrils, it stung my eyes, and something jolted my brain … there was this blinding flash in back of my eyeballs and I experienced the orgasm of a lifetime.” 
 

After Nigel expresses his disgust to this sordid tale, Oscar adds; 
 

“Have you ever felt unbridled passion? Have you truly idolized a woman? Nothing is obscene in that kind of love. Everything between you becomes a sacrament.”  
 

Oscar continues on by describing how the two of them retreated into their relationship, shutting out the outside world. They bought S&M toys at a fetish store and they go deeper and deeper, acting out all kinds of kinky fantasies. 
 

We see Oscar bound in a chair, with duct tape on his mouth.  
 

“I always had a suspicion that it might be extremely pleasurable to be humiliated by a beautiful woman. It was only now that I realized what this could entail.” 
 

We see Mimi in a leather trench coat. She pulls out his razor, filling him with fear as she rubs it across his face before using it to cut off his clothes, coming dangerously close to his genitals. She finally pushes the chair over, she takes off the coat, her naked ass shaped by her garters, her legs encased in stockings, she towers over him with hands on hips. Mimi squats over his face, making us wonder if she is about to administer another golden shower or is she going to make him go down on her. But we never find out as the scene fades to the fireplace as the camera pans over all their S&M toys, the whips, the paddles, the bondage devices.
 

 

 

Oscar continues the tale and explains that eventually the relationship lost that initial passion. Mimi loves the older Oscar, perhaps he is like a father-figure to her, and she doesn’t want to lose him. Conversely, the selfish Oscar wants out of the relationship. Once the thrill of the sex is gone, he has no further need for Mimi. In order to rid himself of the ever dependent Mimi, Oscar reverts to treating her like dirt. He is cruel to a fault, taking every opportunity to humiliate her and to tear her down.  
 

Mimi puts up with it, and we are not sure if she is indeed a victim or if she embraces his cruelty as another D&S game, with her being in the submissive role this time. I suspect it is the latter, with Mimi giving Oscar many opportunities to humiliate her both in public and in private. She gains weight, cuts her own hair in an unflattering style, and she purposely allows her beautiful looks to change into those of a woman with a low self-image. When Oscar verbally puts her down, Mimi never looks overly hurt but rather she seems to soak it in, absorbing the emotional pain, perhaps for sexual reasons, or perhaps to fuel her ultimate fantasy, the turning of the tables. 
 

The turning of the tables occurs when Oscar is injured. Prior to his accident, he finally rids himself of Mimi after he persuades her to have an abortion. Whilst recovering from the ordeal, Oscar visits her and promises her a holiday somewhere exotic. We next see them together on the plane and just before it takes off, Oscar fakes illness and abandons the flight with her on board. Oscar doesn’t see her again for two years.  
 

Oscar immerses himself in a world of parties and one-night stands for the next two years. The hedonistic lifestyle ends when he drunkenly steps in front of a vehicle. A much more confident-looking Mimi visits him in the hospital, where he is recovering from minor injuries and a broken leg. By manipulating Oscar's traction device, Mimi cripples Oscar in an extremely cruel display of violence. Oscar becomes a paraplegic.
 

Mimi informs Oscar that she will look after him and moves back into the apartment to be his full-time caretaker. She revels in dominating and humiliating him. The beautiful Dominatrix Mimi, the woman that fascinated Oscar in the beginning of their relationship with her desire for kinky sex and D&S mind games, was back. But this time Oscar was not a willing participant. This time Oscar was the helpless victim of her cruel whims.
 

 

 

Oscar becomes filled with self-loathing and often talks about ending his own life. For a birthday present, the cruel Mimi buys him a gun, tempting him to either put up or shut up. 
 

As part of her D&S games, Mimi regularly cuckolds Oscar, constantly humiliating him that he is no longer capable of having sex, yet making him watch her with her lovers. At first, she leaves him alone while she is out all night. Later she brings home one of her dancing partners, a Black man that had made Oscar jealous one time prior to his accident, back when he was madly infatuated with Mimi. Oscar is forced to watch Mimi dance seductively with her well-built partner. They make their way to the bedroom and Mimi has sex with the man, keeping the door open, forcing Oscar to watch. 
 

Oscar is deeply humiliated and hurt but he soon accepts his lot. He marries Mimi and he comes to enjoy watching her seduce men. In fact, Oscar even plays the game, living his sex life, a life confined only to his mind since he is incapable of using his penis, by trying to secure lovers for Mimi. Oscar only has his memories and it is those memories that he enjoys sharing with Nigel.
 

 

 

The other story line of the film involves the prim and proper British couple, Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas) and Nigel (Hugh Grant). Fiona and Nigel are on this Mediterranean cruise ship to Istanbul, en route to India, when they encounter the seductive French woman and her paraplegic American husband. The well-behaved and bashful Nigel desires Mimi and he gets swept into the mind games of the exhibitionist Mimi and her now voyeuristic husband.  
 

Nigel’s wife, Fiona, is a sophisticated woman, yet a cold, distant, and somewhat dry woman who on the surface would seem to offer little competition for the dangerously seductive Mimi. 
 

In classic Polanski style, the film is full of twists and turns, keeping the audience guessing wrong about what will occur next. Nigel finally gives into his temptations and surrenders to the advances of Mimi, only to be rejected. In total shock and disbelief, he watches as his wife dances with Mimi at the ship’s New Year’s Eve party.
 

The two ladies take to the dance floor and are encouraged by the crowd to dance passionately. Together the ladies leave and Nigel looks devastated. Oscar's attempts to philosophize only serve to enrage Nigel. He goes outside and screams his frustration into the wind and waves. 
 

Later, we see Nigel awake from a drunken stupor and he goes looking for Fiona. He finds her in Mimi's cabin, both women naked in bed. Oscar is sitting there in his wheelchair. He has clearly watched the ladies exhaust themselves sexually. In a moment of rage, Nigel grabs Oscar's throat only to have a gun pointed at him.  
 

In one final Polanski twist, Oscar becomes highly distressed and shoots the sleeping Mimi several times as Fiona cowers beside her. Oscar then turns the gun on himself and blows off the back of his head. Finally, we see the bodies being stretchered off the ship and Fiona and Nigel are left embracing one another.  
 

“Bitter Moon” was both praised and brutalized by the critics. The critics either loved the movie or despised it. Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs up with Ebert writing;  
 

“The word ‘lurid’ was coined to describe films like this. Well, of course "Bitter Moon" is wretched excess. But Polanski directs it without compromise or apology, and it's a funny thing how critics may condescend to it, but while they're watching it you could hear a pin drop.” 
 

Perhaps the critics thought it bad taste for Polanski to make such a controversial and sexually explicit movie since he, in 1977 at the age of 44, became embroiled in a scandal involving 13-year-old girl. It ultimately led to Polanski's guilty plea to the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and he became a US fugitive when before sentencing, Polanski was tipped off that the judge was going to disregard the plea bargain, in which case he would likely have faced a 50-year prison sentence. On February 1, 1978, Polanski fled to London before moving to France. As a consequence, Polanski has avoided visits to countries that are likely to extradite him and he mostly travels between France and Poland. 
 

So what do I think about this film? “Bitter Moon” is nowhere in the same league as Polanski’s better films, such as Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974) and The Pianist (2002). However, since I write reviews for an e-zine dedicated to Female Domination, I must give credit to this mainstream motion picture for its D&S scenes and its D&S references.  
 

I’m not quite sure if a movie like “Bitter Moon” is a positive or a negative for those of us who practice D&S. It’s definitely not the kind of film I would recommend to watch in order to begin a dialogue with a novice on the subjects of Femdom or D&S.  
 

People will draw their own conclusions about the moral of this movie. Some will find it to be about the dangers of sexual obsession (Oscar). Some will say it is about the dangers of sexual infidelity (Nigel). Some will say it is about the dangers of relationship dependency (Mimi). Some might think it is about the dangers of the proverbial seven year itch (Fiona and Nigel). And some might even think it is about the dangers of kinky sexual practices.  
 

The scene where Oscar and Mimi play hide and seek with barnyard sounds being played on a tape recorder and Oscar wearing a Pig mask while the whip-wielding Mimi searches for him, will make both D&Sers and Vanilla alike cringe. I’m sure this was the film’s attempt at humor, and hey, if that is what turned Mimi and Oscar on, so be it. But to a vanilla audience that scene just solidifies the misconception that people who engage in D&S are freaks.  
 

Then there are those who draw no moral conclusions but agree with Roger Ebert that the movie is a lurid drama and a black comedy. There were some wonderfully erotic scenes in this movie. I enjoyed the erotic dance between Mimi and her lover as she cuckolds Oscar, the scene where Oscar is bound to the chair with duct tape over his mouth, and the scene when Mimi dances for Oscar in a room full of candles.
 

 

For me, the movie is broken into three acts. I enjoyed acts one and three, but I felt act two was slow, tedious and grueling to watch. The first act is the beginning of their relationship, where Mimi introduces Oscar to S&M and her kinky fantasies. Although Oscar is the dominant partner in the relationship, Mimi uses her sexuality to seduce him into her sexual desires. Mimi is dominant in the bedroom. I think the readers of my blog will enjoy this part of the film.  

The second act of Mimi and Oscar’s story was painful to watch, especially if you are into Femdom. Seeing Oscar humiliate and treat Mimi like dirt, and not in the bedroom but in their everyday life, was a real downer. I kept thinking, “just leave the bastard already!” 

However, the third act of their story, although shocking and at times pathetic, brought Femdom back to the forefront. This movie works best when Mimi is dominant and in command. I think the movie almost falters from act two. Can you imagine “Basic Instinct” with Sharon Stone being submissive to a man in the middle of the movie? Even if you interpret Mimi’s submission as calculated, abiding her time until she can turn the tables, you are still conflicted.  

The characters of Nigel and Fiona were necessary as a means to show that even prim and proper people have hidden sexual desires. Oscar was a pathetic and vile character but Nigel tolerated him because he wanted to hear his sordid sexual stories. Nigel was also obsessed with Mimi, thus in that regard, he and Oscar were alike. And in the end, Fiona joined them in being infatuated with the sexual Mimi.  

The shocking and violent ending left me unsatisfied but I couldn’t seem to get the film out of my mind, and the next day I found myself pondering some of its scenes. My personal experience with D&S and female domination allowed me to re-think the characters. I still find Oscar vile but I am more sympathetic of Mimi. After all, at various times most women display the many sides of Mimi: Innocent, daring, naïve, experienced, romantic, kinky, devoted, passionate, loving, sexual, nurturing, and cruel. Her ultimate downfall is that she fell in love with the wrong man, a man she could arouse with intense passion, both positively and negatively. She finally pushed him over the edge, past the point of no return.  

“Bitter Moon” is the kind of film you will not easily forget. It will titillate you, perhaps offend you, and most definitely shock you. The middle of the film not withstanding, I definitely recommend it.

 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars