The Little Death (2015)

Absolutely brilliant

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Who would have thought a movie I had suggested to me by Netflix could be so darn good? It would be one thing if it was a great plot only but I can't think of anything about this movie that isn't top notch. The casting, writing, acting,editing, and production are all superb. If you are not put off by the adult nature (and even if you are a bit) you should see this one.

I felt so deeply moved after watching this lightly treated, yet deeply moving film that I could not wait to recommend it to my friends. The writing is eloquent, the production value is simple yet graceful. The stories are flawlessly emotional, deep and meaningful without being sentimental and clichéd. Lighting, camera work costume and sets all contribute to making you feel you really can be part of these stories. The reality is solid and the characters are humanly real at just with just the right touches. There is something that anyone out there will be able to relate with in these characters. The story centres around 5 different couples and they are weaved together seamlessly without you feeling at any point that you are being raced around to different places and yet at the same time you do not feel that they have been forced together. Sex and sexuality has become such a headline in topics in the media, film and just about everywhere today. I have never seen it dealt with with so much taste, sensitivity and respect. A gentle approach to that little death that sits deep within us all.

Shot as a series of vignettes, the film is quite uneven. It is very loosely tied together by a man canvassing the neighborhood to inform people that he's a registered sex offender, using a unique and amusing device to distract them from his message -- by gifting nostalgic cookies that evoke happy childhood memories, that are long- discontinued because they were racist (an American equivalent would be "little black Sambo" cookies, if such had existed). This is the first film for the writer / director, and it seems quite obvious that he took a psychology class on Deviant Sexual Behavior, utterly didn't understand the material, formed the conclusion that anyone with out-of-norm sexual interests is doomed, and decided to write a comedy about the subject. Four-fifths of it doesn't work, (unless you like your comedy about people whose lives and relationships are falling apart due to lack of communication) and the end appears to have been desperately cobbled together because he ran out of inspiration.Apparently, there's no Internet in modern Australia, so no one can use it to find out anything about exploring non-standard sexuality, nor is there any open and honest communication between long-standing couples, such that they could discuss their desires in a productive way. Therefore, the "comedic" elements of the film consist of increasingly desperate spouses discovering an interest that excites them, then spiraling out of control and destroying their relationships while trying to either trick their significant other into satisfying their interest, or complying with that interest so outlandishly that it meets with disaster. Or both. The saving grace of the film (and the only reason I didn't rate it a "3", is the beautiful and luminous 5th vignette about the public service sign-language-interpretation-for-the-deaf operator who inadvertently gets stuck interpreting a call to a phone sex line by a deaf person. Because the writer didn't understand the paraphilia of making obscene phone calls, he wasn't able to make "light" of it, and instead the skit becomes about two people making an hauntingly- intense, if brief, connection while coping with an awkward situation. If the entire movie had been like this one skit, it would effortlessly have been a "10".

"WHAT Happened TO ME? WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MYSELF",I was mumbling while a tear came down trough my cheek.If someone would tell you that THIS will be happening to you after you watch this movie,I bet you'll all run and watch it to satisfy your curiosity,to discover whats that talking all about.To make a long story short,this movie,in it's SUPER FUNNY-SAD-CLEVER way, forces us to acknowledge our deep, not-easy-to-deal-with nature. It forces us to stop and think about what damage,yes damage,is caused to our brain's structure,to our PERSONALITY while we over- abuse "adult" contents. What happens to our RELATIONSHIPS due to that.The extreme scenes in the movie leave us with no other choice but to ask these hard questions,and the answer is not easy to "digest",but it's said loud and clear in one of the scenes,you will know when you see.BUT. Is there something deep inside that still gives us something to hold on to? Not like any other comedy.not even close.