The Actress

admin — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:02:00 +0000

The Actress is nothing more than another chauvinist movie that transforms the woman into the “foul temptress.” The “foul temptress” in this movie is an actress who moves in with three roommates: two men and a lesbian woman. The men have less than glamorous jobs, and one is a chronic masturbator. The lesbian roommate seems to be the most level-headed of the three, although she and her girlfriend have just broken up when the actress comes to stay.

This "actress" never goes to an audition while staying with the roommates and never pays rent. Instead, she proceeds to sleep with her three roommates. This is when she is not doing her laundry or lounging around hitting the bong. She begins with the male roommate who brings her to the house her first night there. Then she quickly moves on to the other male roommate and, finally, to the female roommate. She does tell the roommate, who foolishly thinks she is his girlfriend, what she is doing, and from then on the roommates, especially the two male roommates, start fighting each other for her affection.

A party thrown for the actress turns into a brawl between the two male roommates. The female roommate asks the actress to explain her behavior, and the response is a vague smile and silence. The actress even invites the female roommate’s ex-girlfriend to the party without the woman's knowledge. All the actress ever accomplishes is creating havoc. It is unclear whether or not the roommates will stay friends or continue to live together by the end of the film. Suffice it to say that, considering the movie so far, the ending was predictably unsatisfying.

No explanation is ever given as to why this woman is doing what she is doing. She seems bloodless, her actions pathological. She is the harpy, the temptress, the witch, the castrating bitch who comes into these people’s lives and hurts all of them. What is one supposed to take from this movie? Why does this character do these things, and why are her actions never explained? I am sick of "art" that depicts women in such a manner: that they are trouble, evil or put on Earth solely for the purpose of ruining men’s lives. Indeed, it is the men in the movie who fight over the woman. The female roommate is the sensible one who even says to one of the men, “No one is going to win here.” And even though the only sensible character in the film is a woman, she is a lesbian. What is one supposed to take from that? That only straight women are truly base, but lesbians are, at least, tolerated according to the male definition of sexual politics?

I found this movie pointless and offensive. The writer and director should be ashamed of himself for creating a work that depicts women in such a tired, clichéd manner.

Written by: Kent Page McGroarty, June 24th 2007

Zak Hilditch

The Actress