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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Tearing down the walls of the most taboo subjects imaginable., 14 July 2002 Author: Juan from Atwater Village
A surreal peek into the life of a jaded woman striving for acceptance in a less than perfect world. Her attempts at finding her place in society are made more difficult by her dependancy on a cross dressing drug addicted businessman to pay her bills.The scene in which this twisted, co-dependant relationship finally reaches the point of no return is both a shocking but totally organic surprise! See this film - for it's flaws, its courage and the uncompromising grittiness that makes it a true independant!!!
10 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Finally a chick flick with the guts to tell it like it is!, 16 July 2001 Author: cnmantx from Los Angeles, California
Forget about the fairy tales, this is the way it really is. Pretty girls who get the prince find themselves trapped in twisted castles. Lillian is a kept woman and has it all - stunning looks, great body, expensive clothes, she even drives a Porsche. But wait til you find out what she has to do to keep it! Jade Henham could have just stood there and let the camera photograph her, but no. Henham can actually act. She gives us another side of Lillian - the scared, vulnerable little girl who's falling apart at the seams. Sam Bottoms is worthwhile in a skirt. His full frontal nudity scene is worth my $9. The movie is slow in spots and the rest of the cast is weak, though Luke is not bad on the eyes. But the end is worth the wait. Who is this Jake Torem and what else has he done? Man does this guy have the guts to give it to you raw!
9 out of 13 people found the following review useful: P.T.A. look out..., 8 September 2002 Author: BeckH73 from Los Angeles, Ca
A lot of people look toward the 20 something generation and still aren't sure what to make of us. This movie shows you that anyone can be screwed up and that we all have our share of dark little secrets. The story gives a perverse look into the lives of three people that are very much like anyone you know.First there's Lillian, and it's cool cause through out the movie that's just what we're all doing - looking at her from all directions (Looking Through Lillian). The actress reminded me a little of Jane March - exotic and aloof - and by the end of the film, even though you still don't quite know who she is, she tears your heart out.Then there's Luke, who's portrayed as this sort of smug, sarcastic writer. I could really relate to some of the things he said and there's this great scene where he throws Lillian for a genuine loop and I was like "I should try that some time" (you'll know what I mean when you see the movie).Last but not least, there's Gene (who I'm happy to say is not part of my twenty something generation), who has this twisted creepy little secret. At first, you're like "No Way", but I honestly have to say he pulls it off pretty scarily.It's a trip to watch where this movie lands and since Trainspotting came out, I've been waiting for someone in America to pull off something new and do it with some style. Jake Torem is a filmmaker who does just that.P.T.A. look out...
9 out of 13 people found the following review useful: A Beautiful Film, 1 August 2002 Author: FlHooksIII from San Jose, Ca
I was really surprised to see IMDb list this film as a Drama/Thriller. For those of you yet to see this film, it is in no way a thriller. That being said, it is a drama, more precisely - a character study driven drama - and a beautiful one at that. The movie has us follow Lilly - a twenty-something girl trying to navigate her way through her dysfunctional life and her somewhat complex and conflicting feelings about herself, those around her, and the world at large. Henham, who portrays Lillian, imbues her with such a realistic feel that one begins to feel as those they are spying on someone's life, without permission. The realism that the actress gives to each moment helps to make this an engrossing film because we find ourselves investing in Lilly and almost holding her hand to take the journey with her.That journey is navigated very clearly by the director. You can almost see the repression he has stamped on his lead character and the box that he has created for her to try and get out of. And therein lies her stumbling block and the hurdle that one takes with her as an audience member. Those hurdles are very specific and not the exact same ones as most people face, but at the very time, the beauty is that on a larger scale they are universal. Sexual dysfunction, identity crises, love and the sting that can follow each time we open our hearts, connecting or not being able to connect to the world, loneliness, hope, heartache and the sometimes insurmountable task of undoing what's already been done.There's no guarantee with any movie that everyone that sees it will like it, but there is one guarantee with this film: you will come out feeling very strongly about it, whether one way or another. For those of you who liked High Art, Everything Put Together or Monster's Ball, this is definitely a movie you should check out.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Elegant and Very Sophisticated, 19 March 2006 Author: nynightclubbing from United States
Kevin Thomas of the LA Times reviewed this film as "An Elegant and Sophisticated portrayal of a Young Mistress Awakening." I recently came across this film on netflix and when i got around to seeing it, I found that Thomas couldn't have said it better. The film is awfully mature for a young group of filmmakers and the very best thing about it is that it's so unique. The storytellers have created a 2very different world one that I would imagine many people will have a tough time understanding. The themes however are right there for you to see - dysfunction, addiction, secrets, real intimacy, trust, loneliness,and best of all the quest for psychological freedom and self respect. I can't really think of another film quite like it. It's extremely rich and it never turns out the way you'd expect it too. I noticed that the film was only released on the big screen in LA, I'd be curious to see it play before a NY audience. This is a film that I would suspect will influence many films as cinema edges away from mainstream sex toward deviant sexual behavior. Very wise, perhaps too wise for a first film. Don't expect to be aroused by steamy sex scenes, this one get's into the mindset of a broken flower and how she blooms again, just when you least expect her too. Bravo Lillian!
9 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Bottoms', 12 September 2003 Author: George Parker from Orange County, CA USA
"Looking Through Lillian" tells of a young single woman who is mistress to a middle aged man into kinky sex. A narrow slice-of-life indie and a commendable first outing for the Torem/Henham team, though it suffers from the usual newbie claustrophobia, low budget leanness, mediocre jukebox score, etc., "Looking..." starts off with promise which is unfulfilled in the playout. Henham (Lillian) makes a solid centerpiece showing some range and nailing her nuances as her character grapples with the issue of keeping the easy money which is fueling her low self esteem or ditching them for the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, the film fizzles with a much-ado-about-nothing sort of denouement which will likely leave the viewer feeling like they just ate Chinese. An okay chick flick for females into serious drama with shades of kinkiness. (C+)
12 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Plain horrible, 24 April 2003 Author: jean roch from montreal, canada
Why... that's my only question, why this horrible soundtrack of a garage band with no talent , this cast ( i'm sure in some scenes reading off cards ).... why all the clichees ever seen are all in this flick ALL of them, can you one second fall for any of these caracters or actually believe in this cheezy romance. Plain horrible .. stay very very far from this movie please I beg you. There's so much excellent indie film out there. why
12 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Most gawd awful piece of S#@! I've ever seen, 16 September 2002 Author: Raymond Sanchez (remoandchiun@juno.com) from Horrible
With the exception of Sam Bottoms and Essence Atkins the acting was horrible (who is the Jade Person and this Robert Glen Keith? Were they simply reading off of cards?) and the writing was sophomoric, the photography was actually good in places, but not good enough to save this flop.
13 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Amateur Night at its Finest!, 1 August 2005 Author: cbssisty from United States
I recently rented this film having been a fan of Sam Bottoms ever since Apocalypse Now but what terrible mistake I made. This film about a worn-out hooker trying to go straight (very original, right?) is so poorly made, it's definitely one of the worst independent films I have ever seen. The acting, especially by the lead actress Jade Henham, is atrocious, and it looks like the director (if there was one) just pointed a camera on her and followed what they thought was some kind of interesting life of this character. What they didn't realize is that her character is simply BORING! There's not even any eroticism in this film as the box would have you believe. Stay far, far away from this film!
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: You can't fit it in a box, 25 October 2002 Author: AmyInAir
This was a really amazing film for me. But... I have no idea how to characterize this one because the film was more a feeling or being able to step into a portrait, so while I keep trying to think of what I'd compare it to - I cannot compare it to anything but itself.I can say that it's beautiful and harrowing (emotionally). It's so straight forward that it's amazing how twisted it truly it is. It's a wedge of somebody's life that you can't help but feel for. It is it's own curious little masterpiece. Bravo to the people who made and inhabited this world.10/10
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