Bitter Moon

A perverse, dark-humored comedy drama, Bitter Moon crosses the line into intentional camp more often than not in its tale of a kinky cripple Oscar (Peter Coyote) and his beautiful wife Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner). Oscar ensnares a proper British man, Nigel (Hugh Grant) on an ocean-liner and makes him ...more

Comparable to David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Polanski's adult fairy tale is a parable about loss of innocence. The key to the film is Hugh Grant's Nigel and his relationship with the audience. Grant does a fine job of having the audience win his trust in the early scenes of the film. As Nigel becomes increasingly attracted to the dark tale of marital hell that Peter Coyote's Oscar spins, the audience accepts him as their pathway into this story. His shock and dismay (as well as his growing interest) ...more