Lie with Me (2005)

REVIEW
An elegant yet raw study of sex, love and commitment, Lie with Me is pleasing to the eye in virtually every way, from its attractive, up-and-coming stars to the beautiful (sometimes shaky) camerawork — this is one fine, fine looking film. And that is, ultimately where the films succeeds. Regrettably, this too may be the film’s greatest liability, given that it’s quite easy to get lost in the superficial beauty and lusty happenings, and neglect the underlying narrative and weighty questions posed (even if it is as much of an after thought to the filmmaker as the audience). The graphic nature of the film is established from the start, opening with redhead Leila pleasing herself to porn. From there it only gets hotter, with the two leads baring it all and indulging in all sorts of sexy play.

David (Eric Balfour) and Leila (Lauren Lee Smith) are two fairly awkward yet very attractive 20-somethings whose sole focus lies in the realms of sex and carnality, yet both seem incapable of expressing (or even identifying) their true feelings. They meet to some extent at a party/nightclub, where both engage in outdoor play with someone else (she with a stranger, he with his girlfriend Polly), gazing at each other from across a parking lot. David maintains eye contact with Leila as she goes at it against a brick wall, insisting repeatedly to her partner that he not cum.

Sometime later, after a few chance encounters, they eventually get it on at David’s apartment. It is only after the act itself that they introduce themselves properly, telling each other their names and agreeing to going out on a date (evidently in Canada they do things a little differently). We learn that each has their individual problems at home; Leila is coping with her mother leaving her pothead dad, while gallant David must tend to his ailing, pervy father (horrifyingly revealed when Leila observes David helping his father out of the bathtub, prompting some particularly unsettling, and unnecessary wet, sudsy over-60 skin).

Eventually, jealously rears its ugly head and when time of hard times approach, David and Leila are painfully ill-equipped to help one another — as neither one is capable of expressing themselves beyond the physical. The inclusion of husky narration from the lovely Leila adds little to the picture, other than hammering home even further her emotional clumsiness. Lie with Me is great to look at, with its good-looking, frequently naked leads and hushed, almost dreamy sex scenes. All the same, the misplaced sentimentality and a predictably sappy and sluggish ending almost ruins any satisfaction gained from this alone… Almost.