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Husbands & Lovers
Villa del venerdi', La ...or Husbands and Lovers ...or In Excess (1992)...Stefan
Plot Synopsis (quoting from the synopsis on the video): "Sensuality explodes on the screen ...in an intense voyage that explores the depths of unquenchable sexual desire. Far surpassing the taboos of Nine 1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid... (and that's saying something!) Husbands and Lovers is an erotic, voyeuristic adventure rampant with raw sexuality."
Review: I won't kid you, if you don't like sex on screen, if you don't like nudity, you're not going to like this movie. However, I think depicting it as some sort of extreme erotic love-fest (see above) is selling it short.
As far as the plot goes, Julian plays a screenwriter whose marriage is troubled when his wife makes a deal with him that she will stay with him during the week, and her lover over the weekend, and honoring their pact to be completely honest in their relationship she tells him all about her time with her lover. He quickly decides that the arrangement is not working, as his love for her drives him to extremes of drinking and sex with strangers.
Meanwhile, she is disturbed and intrigued by a new sado-masochistic twist in her relationship with her lover. The production value is rather poor, most notably some poor dubbing of some of the Italian actors into English, and some rather stilted dialogue, obviously translated nearly word-for-word from the original Italian novel.
All
of this could easily add up to a pretty horrible movie that's
basically just an excuse for on-screen nudity. But instead, we get an
interesting analysis of the morals of sex and sexual perversion, as
well as an exploration of the traditional confines of the marriage
relationship. Add to that the fact that Julian's character really
ends up being terribly sympathetic, and you've got something worth
watching at least once. I don't think it would be unfair to say he
was the best thing in it. And, after all the period roles, it was
quite nice to see him in clothing that looks like it might have
actually come out of his own closet for a change!
Availability: surprisingly easy to find for purchase, harder to find for rental.