Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.


With Hollywood’s tendency to be less risky and more commercial, it makes some moviegoers glad for independent films. Thanks to indie films, taboo subjects are finally coming into film whether it’s the violent tone of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, the extremities of David Cronenberg, the quirky comedy of John Waters, the sexploitation of Steven Soderbergh, or the abstract world of David Lynch. With indie films, new subjects are tackled and in the process, new young talents begin to emerge. In 1996, Canadian filmmaker Lynne Stopkewich goes to the extreme of the subject of necrophilia (loving the dead in a very sexual way) in her movie “Kissed”.

Adapted from the Barbara Gowdy story “We So Seldom Look on Love”, Stopkewich and co-screenwriter Angus Fraser tells a story about a young woman named Sandra Larson whose fascination with death goes to new extremes to the realm of necrophilia just as she had found a new boyfriend. The subject of loving the dead is pretty extreme for many but Stopkewich finds a way to make both appealing and uncomforting at the same time. Leading the cast in the film is then-newcomer Molly Parker playing the role of Sandra Larson. With Stopkewich’s dramatic and melancholic approach, “Kissed” is a compelling and provocative film that takes us to the world of necrophilia.

The film begins early on as we see the adult Sandra Larson looking on at a dead body as she looks back at her early fascinations with death. The film goes back to Sandra as a young teen (Natasha Morley) who has been fascinated by the stillness, smell, and feeling about death, particularly small animals like birds and chipmunks. Late at night, she would take a dead animal, give it a proper burial ceremony with Sandra dancing in circles with her underwear and rubbing the dead animal’s body on her own body. Sandra at an early age didn’t have any friends except for a girl named Carol (Jessie Winter Mudie) who too has a fascination with death. Unfortunately, Sandra’s obsession with death gets too extreme for Carol as their friendship breaks after a strange ceremonial dance that Sandra usually does.

The film then fast-forwards when we see the adult Sandra going to school where she becomes a bit fascinated in biology by the internal bodies of animals as she begins to dissect the bodies of small bodies carefully while trying not to hurt them, in her mind. By this point, she had a job working for a flower shop when an opening for a job at a funeral home is available. She asks the mortician Mr. Wallis (Jay Brazeau) for a job as a chauffer for funerals and he gives her the job. She also meets up with janitor Jan (James Timmons) who like Sandra, believes that the bodies of the dead still has a bit of soul in them, much to the ignorance of Mr. Wallis. During a trip to the carwash with a body in a coffin at the back of a hearse, Sandra looks into the body and finds a shining light as if the soul of the body is alive somewhere.

Sandra begins to study embalming with Mr. Wallis as she studies the subject sometimes at the mortician or in college. Sandra then meets a med student named Matt (Peter Outerbridge) who is also studying about corpses for his major. He is intrigued by Sandra’s fascination with death and corpses as the two begin to date and she would shack sometimes in his basement apartment. Sandra, still would go to have late night visits at the mortician to celebrate the dead bodies of young men with dance ceremonies and eroticism as her death obsession increases to extreme levels. Matt meanwhile, finds himself being in competition with dead bodies as he is trying to get Sandra to talk about her necrophilia, which she refuses to.

Matt finally decides to take things to a bit extreme by making notes on their relationship and at one point, visiting Sandra at the funeral home and she’s becoming upset by it. Matt knew he had to take things to extreme to win Sandra’s heart as she is struggling with living with the dead or with Matt as things go into tragic results in the end.

The biggest flaw surrounding “Kissed” is the necrophilia subject matter, which will indeed, be a turn off for many moviegoers. Those who are brave enough to go into the subject will find this film compelling. Lynne Stopkewich’s eerie approach does have a sense of romanticism towards Sandra’s love with dead bodies, in an unconventional tone. Stopkewich deserves credit for being brave enough to tackle the necrophilia subject, especially in the film’s script as well as the authentic look of cinematographer Gregory Middleton.

The supporting performances of James Timmons and Jay Brazeau do standout in their respective roles as they give Sandra Larson their own perspective on death that is a bit humorous and uncomforting at times. Peter Outerbridge’s role as Matt is well performed as he tries to get the attention of Sandra while competing with dead bodies that is often comical and dramatic at the same time. Natasha Morley’s performance as the young Sandra is excellent as she captures a troubled innocence surrounding Sandra, particularly on the subject of death that is compelling in its innocence. Finally, there’s Molly Parker who delivers a breakthrough performance as the adult Sandra Larson where she plays a strange, melancholic woman who seems to love death too much. Parker’s performance would make her a name in indie films as she would star in such films as Wayne Wang’s “The Center of the World”, Michael Winterbottom’s “Wonderland”, Keith Gordon’s “Waking the Dead”, Gilles MacKinnon’s “Pure”, and most recently as a rabbi in the death-themed HBO miniseries “Six Feet Under”.

While “Kissed” is indeed not for everyone, it is still an excellent and provocative film from Lynne Stopkewich featuring a spellbinding performance from Molly Parker. Fans of Parker and indie films will enjoy the film’s unconventional approach towards love and death while being grossed out in the subject of necrophilia. More conventional moviegoers should stay away from this film unless they are brave enough to watch a film about loving the dead. For an unconventional, strange film on death, “Kissed” is an excellent film to see for those fascinated on the subject.

The Center of the World (2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_110356958852



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age