A woman's idea of seduction, not a man's

Rating: 10/10 (13 September 2005)

I wonder if an assessment of all the bad reviews of this movie would include almost all men. Although there are certainly men who enjoyed this movie, I can understand why a lot of men would fail to appreciate it, simply because so much of its sensual potency deals with what is inextricably feminine.
I just watched it for the the first time in ten years, and I was as wowed by it as I was the first time. If you told me I would ever find Harvey Keitel sexy, I would have called you crazy...but ooh baby! The man sees her inner passion and is transfixed, then reaches out to her with a graphicness that is somehow also tender, almost reverential. In contrast, Sam Neill is blindly reaching out like he would to a wooden doll, not seeing "her" at all. It's a delicious contrast and heightens the beauty of the very real connection that occurs between the lovers.
Ada (Holly Hunter's) response is to be wooed despite herself. She doesn't "want" to give herself to this man who is so contrary to her image of a lover, but she recognizes his identification with who she is. Willful as she is, once her heart is given, it becomes impossible for her to do other than to seek him out. This is truly an archetypal dance.