A fashion model(notable for a popular lipstick campaign)is sexually assaulted and humiliated by her sister's disturbed music teacher. The rape is as degrading as can be with Chris Sarandan's cold-blooded sociopath, Gordon Stewart, enjoying every minute of his despicable work. With Chris(Margaux Hemingway) bound to bedposts, her sister Cathy(Mariel Hemingway) finds him over her body in a sexual position. Perry King has a minor early role as Chris' boyfriend Steven, who works at the advertising agency for which she models. Anne Bancroft is Chris' lawyer, Carla, who prepares her for a difficult trial.
Chris' image is on trial and her career could be detrimentally effected. As expected the trial becomes a circus and Chris herself is cast in a disparaging light because of her profession. The most grueling scene involves poor Cathy having to testify on her sister's behalf and the questioning gets rather squirm-inducing. Eventually, the defense attorney is able to grind Cathy into a corner in what she actually saw/heard, and, in particular, grills her on Chris' behavior(sexual activity). The trial implicates Chris for how she prepares for modeling shoots and this damages the case against Gordon. With all the masterful work Carla is able to accomplish in turning Gordon into a nervy, bumbling mess on the stand, the flawed testimony of Cathy lends him the much needed support to get out of his sticky situation.
The trial takes up the middle of the film and is certain to leave a bad taste in the mouths of many viewers. The modeling begins to fall apart as Chris is unable to bring the same kind of heat she once had before the rape. Losing her job due to bad press, the sisters decide to return home to Colorado..but, Gordon isn't through, this time Cathy is chosen for sodomy. Life is actually improved for Gordon since the trial, as he has produced a laser-synthesizer show for his class of students, and in a chance encounter with Cathy, he decides to rape her, too. Yeah, it just so happens that in the same building that Chris is performing for her final model shoot, Gordon has a hall for his work.
To be perfectly honest, LIPSTICK is the kind of film that will probably require a shower after it is over because of just how repulsive Mr. Stewart is. I think the filmmakers went too far with the stalk-and-rape of Cathy, and had already previously made the point quite clear how inhuman this guy is. Reiterating how monstrous he is through the sodomy of Cathy(at least, it isn't elaborated in detail)just provokes what we already feel. If anything, I can not fault those who will find this movie distasteful and sick. It preaches from the pulpit regarding the failure of our court system to serve proper justice to rapist scum. I have to say that my favorable rating goes to the excellent performances of the cast. While I'm familiar obviously with Mariel Hemingway, this is the first film I've seen with her sister Margaux who left quite an impression. To her credit, Margaux undergoes quite a bit of harassment and the mistreatment and rape is especially hard to watch. Getting away from that, I thought this woman was positively stunning..I ponder why she never had a more lucrative career, considering she had the looks and her acting isn't a liability. Young Mariel already proves here the potential for future success and her witness stand testimony is practically punishing to endure..seeing that this girl is the one for which the innocence or guilt of Gordon hinges on. And, the fear on her face as Gordon pursues her, finding little escape as many of the doors are locked, is chilling. Sarandon is superb as the creep in a performance that gets under the skin. One really disturbing scene has Gordon taunting Chris with his skin-crawling synth music over the phone whilst buck-naked. The ending more than satisfies our thirst for blood after all Gordon has put these girls thru.
Chris' image is on trial and her career could be detrimentally effected. As expected the trial becomes a circus and Chris herself is cast in a disparaging light because of her profession. The most grueling scene involves poor Cathy having to testify on her sister's behalf and the questioning gets rather squirm-inducing. Eventually, the defense attorney is able to grind Cathy into a corner in what she actually saw/heard, and, in particular, grills her on Chris' behavior(sexual activity). The trial implicates Chris for how she prepares for modeling shoots and this damages the case against Gordon. With all the masterful work Carla is able to accomplish in turning Gordon into a nervy, bumbling mess on the stand, the flawed testimony of Cathy lends him the much needed support to get out of his sticky situation.
The trial takes up the middle of the film and is certain to leave a bad taste in the mouths of many viewers. The modeling begins to fall apart as Chris is unable to bring the same kind of heat she once had before the rape. Losing her job due to bad press, the sisters decide to return home to Colorado..but, Gordon isn't through, this time Cathy is chosen for sodomy. Life is actually improved for Gordon since the trial, as he has produced a laser-synthesizer show for his class of students, and in a chance encounter with Cathy, he decides to rape her, too. Yeah, it just so happens that in the same building that Chris is performing for her final model shoot, Gordon has a hall for his work.
To be perfectly honest, LIPSTICK is the kind of film that will probably require a shower after it is over because of just how repulsive Mr. Stewart is. I think the filmmakers went too far with the stalk-and-rape of Cathy, and had already previously made the point quite clear how inhuman this guy is. Reiterating how monstrous he is through the sodomy of Cathy(at least, it isn't elaborated in detail)just provokes what we already feel. If anything, I can not fault those who will find this movie distasteful and sick. It preaches from the pulpit regarding the failure of our court system to serve proper justice to rapist scum. I have to say that my favorable rating goes to the excellent performances of the cast. While I'm familiar obviously with Mariel Hemingway, this is the first film I've seen with her sister Margaux who left quite an impression. To her credit, Margaux undergoes quite a bit of harassment and the mistreatment and rape is especially hard to watch. Getting away from that, I thought this woman was positively stunning..I ponder why she never had a more lucrative career, considering she had the looks and her acting isn't a liability. Young Mariel already proves here the potential for future success and her witness stand testimony is practically punishing to endure..seeing that this girl is the one for which the innocence or guilt of Gordon hinges on. And, the fear on her face as Gordon pursues her, finding little escape as many of the doors are locked, is chilling. Sarandon is superb as the creep in a performance that gets under the skin. One really disturbing scene has Gordon taunting Chris with his skin-crawling synth music over the phone whilst buck-naked. The ending more than satisfies our thirst for blood after all Gordon has put these girls thru.