MovieChat Forums > Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) Discussion > What do you think of this twist? SPOILE...

What do you think of this twist? SPOILER


***SPOILERS***

I saw this for the first time last night and thought this twist would have been interesting...

When Graham is telling Ann that he was a pathalogical liar. Wouldn't it have been interesting if instead of fantasizing about these women he recorded he actually murdered them. His pathological lie would be that he only videotapes them. Cynthia would already be dead and he was going to kill Ann.

I don't know, just an odd twist to the movie. I was actually expecting something like this when he was spilling his beans. As messed up as Graham was it wouldn't have surprised me. I guess how it was made made the ending even more surprising.

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try Peeping Tom by Michael Powell great film about voyeuristic sadism

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If "Peeping Tom" is the one with Anna Massey in it, then she was in "Driftwood" with Spader (though I don't think they shared any scenes). In case anyone likes the 6 degrees game.

I think that would make a great twist and that the original poster should try and get that made into a screenplay that plays hom(m)age to "sex, lies and videotape" but that works in its own right!!!!!!

Never sure how to spell "homage". One is version is English and the other is French. If I have just used the French one, then I am being pretentious on purpose, okay?

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Dude, I hate to sound like an elitist - but I guess that's what I am...

Anyhow, YOU'RE AN IDIOT! This isn't a slasher flick. If I had to spell it out for you, I'd say that it's a movie about trust and the nature of sexual intimacy. Graham's videos with the sisters turn out to be much more private, erotic and emotionally moving experiences than the actual sex that John is having with the both of them. That's the gist of it, at least. Turning Graham into someone unworthy of the women's trust would totally change the focus of the picture, and killing people would just be plain stupid.

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I have to say I agree with your reaction to the initial post.

The suggestion that Graham be a murderer shows that one has totally missed the enjoyment of this excellent film. As the last poster said, this movie is about adult relationships...not about serial murders! Could we have one, intelligent movie that is not about serial murders?!

Suggesting he should be a murderer is like suggesting that Scarlett O'Hara turn out to be from New Hampshire, or that Rosebud turn out to be a small green alien that Charles Foster Kane hears inside his head, or that Hannibal Lecter turn out to be Starling's long-lost brother. Now every movie has to have a "twist". Doesn't matter if it makes sense or enhances the film, or if any of the rest of the film is any good. Just make sure it has a "twist".

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[deleted]

"This type of behavior can frequently escalate - to where the "interviews" aren't enough - he wants still more power and control over the women, and it could lead to rape and even murder."

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I don't see why. I don't think he wanted to be violent. He was obviously trying to change his the non-verbal behaviour that had alarmed people in the past.

Nor do I think that he wanted power and control over the women. He doesn't have power or control over Cynthia by taping her. She is the one who has the power. He seems to be seeking not control but intimacy. But intimacy in a safe way.

Yes, Spader is good at playing creepy characters, but also at playing non-creepy ones. A lot of his fans have said that they first got to like him because of "Stargate". Although, actually, giving virgins in marriage to passing strangers who may be sent by the god Ra IS a little sexist and creepy. But that is not Daniel's fault.

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-tenpercent-

I think your looking at Grahams character in comparison to other like characters, from either other movies or other live cases. Grahams character, in my opinion, is unlike any such character. Also, since he isn't a real life person, it can't really be said that if he were a real person, he would actually be more twisted. He is the figment of someones imagination. I think its interesting how his character was created in the context of the film, and how his character developes. I can see how some people might conclude that making him into a killer would add to the movie, but in my opinoin, it would more likely take something away from it.

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I think I would feel safe with someone like Graham as portrayed in the actual film. So I am disagreeing with tenpercent's view that he would turn violent.

However, I still think that it would be interesting for GordonGekko to write a separate story about a guy who does turn out to be a serial killer. I would regard that as loosely inspired by the original story but NOT an actual projection of what I think Graham would have turned into had Ann not intervened.

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[deleted]

I'm only guessing, andersaugust-1, but have you seen Spader in "Two Days in the Valley"? Or "Striking Back" (US title: "The New Kids")?

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