Review:
"The Duke of Burgundy"
Release Date: Feb. 6, 2015
Rating: Not Rated Running Time: 105 minutes For all the S&M games played in The Duke of Burgundy, director Peter Strickland’s intensely erotic homage to 1970s Euro-sexploitation cinema never equates pleasure with physical pain. Instead, the daily role-playing activities that take up most of The Duke of Burgundy’s time serve a vital purpose in establishing balance in the relationship between the lovers played by Sidse Babett Knudsen and Monica Swinn. That’s not to say that this pursuit of balance necessarily creates harmony between Knudsen’s Cynthia and Swinn’s Lorna. As the “stern, unforgiving lady of the house,” Cynthia’s grown weary of her domination of Lorna’s “submissive maid.” There are times when Cynthia just wants to cuddle with Lorna instead of ordering her to clean the house and locking her up at night in a box. Lorna, though, can’t get enough of Cynthia’s mock vindictiveness. But it’s getting to the point that Lorna is neglecting Cynthia’s needs to satisfy her own desires. Finding intrigue in the physical, emotional and psychological ties that bind Cynthia and Lorna, Strickland asks what it would take for one to lose interest in the games that seemingly define their romance. He slowly reveals the true nature of Cynthia and Lorna’s relationship, so the consequences of Cynthia pushing back against Lorna take on greater implications. While Strickland places the relationship in jeopardy, he doesn’t fall into the trap of allowing The Duke of Burgundy to take on a cruel, spiteful nature or to let things spiral out of control just because of the unusual games that this couple enjoys. Instead, Strickland loosely equates the relationship between these two entomologists to the life cycle of the butterfly from which the film derives its title, its sensual disposition, and its alluring sound cues. Like the butterfly itself, The Duke of Burgundy is a beautiful creation that exists on its own terms. It warmly embraces Cynthia and Lorna without judging them while expressing curiosities about the games most of us have no interest in playing. Robert Sims Aired: Feb. 5, 2015 Web site: http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/the-duke-of-burgundy |
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