Desire - film review
A heartwarming tale of family life in North London.
It's a situation familiar to us all, I imagine. You (Ralph) are a hard-pressed writer, struggling to come up with a film script, and the deadline is looming. Your partner (Phoebe) is a successful soap actress, always out at rehearsals, filming, or publicity events. Christmas is just around the corner, and you need a hand looking after the children.
So naturally, without seeking references, you hire an exotic French/West African au pair via the Internet, and don't bother mentioning the fact to Phoebe, who, emerging half-dressed from the bedroom one morning, is not a little put out to discover the new helper (Nene) serving the children's breakfast.
However, in a twist that perhaps doesn't mirror everyday life, Ralph's writing is based around his own domestic circumstances and he plans to enmesh Nene not only in household duties, but also into his personal life and the film script. When Nene realises she decides to take a pro-active role in the unfolding drama, and soon has Ralph and Phoebe wrapped around her little finger, and indeed other, more interesting parts of her body.
It's a neat idea, but the execution is flawed - particularly in the matter of constructing any believable characters. And Ralph's voice-over/narration of his thoughts on desire, lust, creativity, etc, serve only to detract - the viewer might be better left to make up his/her own mind as to the characters' motivations.
Although billed as a steamy psychodrama, don't go getting too excited - it's a struggle to get under the characters' skins, or inside their clothes.