Based on Martin Sherman's stage play about gay men in Nazi Germany, this is going to be a tough sell for distributor MGM. Not only will the subject matter make many viewers uncomfortable, but the NC-17 rating will all but diminish any box office prospects. I suppose the film makers figured the subject matter would only appeal to a select group of people anyway, but a few cuts here and there and the film easily could have earned an R rating without diminishing its strong impact.
Debuting to critical acclaim in 1979 London where supporting actor Sir Ian McKellen played the lead role, the play later made it to the U.S. where it earned Tony nominations and also featured a young Richard Gere. Adapted into screenplay form by Sherman himself, the film does have a very theatrical feel to it. While there are many telltale signs that it was originally a play, first-time director (and acclaimed theatrical director) Sean Mathias adds enough detail in the scenery to keep the movie from feeling simply like a filmed staged production.
Although the film initially appears set to push even the NC-17 boundaries with the promiscuous sex scenes in Berlin's gay bars, it eventually settles down into a rather straightforward drama. Whether mainstream audiences can get past the initial material is uncertain, but if they do, they'll find themselves in a film that's much more about the human spirit than sexuality.
Featuring a haunting score by composer Philip Glass (who also did the music for the amazing film, "Koyaanisqatsi"), the film is depressing to watch, but how can a feature dealing with Nazi concentration camps not be? While it's not as jarringly upsetting as "Schindler's List," the film is still quite disturbing. Symbolized by Max's "job" of moving heavy stones from one pile to another and then back again, the Nazi's treatment of prisoners -- no matter their nationality, religion, or sexual orientation -- is still strong stuff no matter in what form or how often it's presented.
The performances come mainly from accomplished theatrical actors, and consequently are quite good. The standout obviously is Owen (previously seen in a supporting role in "The Rich Man's Wife"), and his capacity to transform himself from a promiscuous, but debonair playboy to a hardened P.O.W. is quite impressive. Lothaire Bluteau and Brian Webber are also good in their roles with Webber making his debut.
The scene stealer, however, is none other than Rolling Stones singer, Mick Jagger. Dressed up like a drag queen and lowered from the sky during a production number, his brief performance is reminiscent of Tim Curry's in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." While not quite as outrageous, his appearance and subsequent singing did elicit quite a few surprised laughs from the audience. When the Nazi's crack down on the gay life, however, he goes "straight" and disappears from the story as it moves off in another direction.
Some may believe that the film is too dialogue heavy, and while it is somewhat guilty of that, it's not as bad as some stage to screen adaptions have been. The film also carelessly gets sloppy at the end. A man is shot and killed from machine gun fire, yet there's no blood and even more surprising, no bullet holes in his jacket that's removed and worn by someone else.
To top it off, and just like in a stage play, this dead man is quite clearly seen breathing. On the stage that's forgivable, but never in a movie. While those matters aren't horrible -- and some might even miss them -- they diffuse the impact the director is trying to create. After all, no matter how devastating the scene wants to be, you can't feel too bad when the murdered man is still breathing. Unless, of course, it's a horror film.
It is, but uses horrors of a different sort. While the subject matter certainly won't appeal to everyone's tastes and the NC-17 inducing material may be too much for others, the film is quite compelling and never boring to watch (although the rock moving scenes do grow tedious, but that's an intentional effect). With decent performances and a somewhat unpredictable plot and ending, this film should stick with audiences who do make the effort to see it. We give "Bent" a 6.5 out of 10.
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