Henry & June

Henry & June, the biographical study of novelist Henry Miller, his wife June, and the writer Anais Nin, made cinematic history last year when it became the first film to be accorded the MPAA's new NC-17 rating. Set in Paris, during 1931-1932, the story is primarily about Anais Nin (Maria de Medeiros), who bemoans her comfortable life with her businessman husband Hugo (Richard E. Grant), and lies in bed at night writing feverish prose in her diaries. Enter Henry (Fred Ward), the boisterous Brooklynite, and before long Anais is having sex with Henry and/or talking sex with Henry. June (Uma Thurman), by far the most interesting character in the film, is in New York most of the time, and only has a prominent part late in the movie. Director Philip Kaufman, who's last film,The Unbearable Lightness of Being, was both a boldly sensual movie as well as a good story, tries to breathe life into his tale with beautiful set decorations (nominated for an Oscar), and love scenes filmed with a variety of approaches (slow-motion, extreme close-up, under varied lighting conditions, etc.), which all contribute to a technically excellent film that is almost devoid of sympathetic characters and situations. Nin (whom Medeiros unfortunately plays with a French lisp, making her sound a lot like Elmer Fudd) and Miller move from one amorous tryst to the next, espousing free love, while lying to their mates, and generally coming across as hypocritical avant-garde bores. Pretentious, lifeless, and tiresome in the extreme, Henry & June is a major disappointment from a truly gifted director. And while the controversy surrounding the film may perk patron interest in the video release, it should fade fairly quickly. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)