there were a few scenes early on in this that had me thinking this might be the best film about sexual dynamics i have ever seen. the scene where he first meets the lady at the restaurant is just incredible. the play, the chase, the roundabout: the sexuality in this film, being premised on eroticism, is so incredibly different from what we are given nowadays. watching it with a room full of zoomers, i can only imagine they must have thought it comes from another planet.
the film doesn’t really sustain interest once the plot kicks in, unfortunately, but that is kind of the point. paul schrader has got to be the most postmodern filmmaker ever?