Quadrangle

Directed by their daughter, Amy Grappell, the documentary short Quadrangle catches up with Long Island couple Paul and Deanna, who lived for a time as swingers. Utilizing split-screen (Paul appears on one side, Deanna on the other—with dialogue that sometimes overlaps), the film uses family photos to fill in the narrative spaces at key points. During the 1960s, Paul says, the couple's marriage suffered from a lot of "stress and strain," so they had a second child to bring them closer together, but it didn't work. Then the pair met Eleanor and Robert, who were also going through a rough patch. Casual socializing led to sexual relations once the four acknowledged their attraction to each other (i.e. Paul to Eleanor, Deanna to Robert, and vice versa). Robert, a psychoanalyst, appears to have been the instigator, since he not only encouraged the others to share their fantasies and act on them, but also made the first move on Deanna, who uses the term "swapping" since the quartet never added other participants. According to Deanna, the four became inseparable and their marriages improved. Although they tried to hide the situation from family and friends, neighbors ultimately figured things out once Eleanor and Robert moved in after their home was destroyed in a fire. Over time, however, the women had a falling out, which Deanna ascribes to Eleanor's jealousy (the latter doesn't appear in the film, so she doesn't get the chance to share her side). The couples tried group therapy, but their quadrangle eventually came to an end in the 1970s as something more conventional took its place. An interesting extended family portrait, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)