Feeling Sexy
Written and Directed by Davina Allen
Produced by Glenys Rowe
Opens nationally December 23
Review by Melanie Sjoberg
This film offers a promising journey into the passionate world of fantasy and young love intruded upon by the harsh reality of married life.
Vicki, an impetuous young art student, falls in love and marries her shy medical student boyfriend, Greg, who refused to have sex with her before the wedding. The routine of married life soon imposes itself, and the couple grow apart as he spends long, dutiful days at the hospital and she falls into the pattern of a stay-at-home mum.
Excellent visuals and sound convey the intensity of life with new babies' crying and nappies. A wonderful long shot of Vicki pushing a pram along a huge sterile corridor captures the path of motherhood. Vicki becomes frustrated by the kid talk, messy feeding times and lack of passion in her life, while Greg bemoans the hardship of working as the head of the family.
Eventually, Greg acknowledges Vicki's obvious frustration by suggesting that she try doing a part-time job — a brilliant solution which leads to different problems.
Vicki succumbs to the thrill of having an affair after a sexy proposition from a student. She is, however, consumed by guilt and eventually confesses to Greg, whose pain is glaringly apparent. He reacts by bringing home a vicious dog that literally tears the house apart. This extreme action results ultimately in a reconciliation and an apparent return to marital harmony.
Before long, however, Vicki finds herself sexually attracted to a classic sun-tanned hunk. She has learned from her previous experience, however, and pursues the feeling only in fantasy. Her passion is played out in frenzied painting in the spare room, which eventually becomes a symbol of her love for her husband.
Vicki's torturous domestic isolation evokes some sympathy but, in between her moments of vibrant passion, she is sickly sweet. Her shy, "all work no play" husband who turns spiteful cuckold is hard to believe.
As well, the film reeks of sexual moralism and concludes as an affirmation of the sanctity of marriage and fidelity. It left me feeling anything but sexy.