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Female Perversions

Directed by Susan Streitfeld1996USA117 mins

Eve Stephens (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton), an ambitious and successful trial lawyer in Los Angeles, is up for appointment as a judge while juggling her proclivity for meaningless sex and her relationship with her kleptomaniac sister Madelyn (Amy Madigan). As she navigates intimate relationships with both male and female partners, including geologist John (Clancy Brown) and psychiatrist Renee (Karen Sillas), Eve finds fantasy and reality converging, leading to a tense climax that will decide her personal and professional fate. 

A contender for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, Female Perversions marks the feature film debut of director and co-writer Susan Streitfeld as well as the American film debut of Tilda Swinton. Based on the 1991 psychology text Female Perversions: The Temptations of Emma Bovary by Louise J. Kaplan, Streitfeld’s film is an inspired amalgamation of erotic drama and psychological thriller set within the cutthroat environs of the Los Angeles justice system.

Quick links
Director
Susan Streitfeld
Year
1996
Country
USA
Running Time
117 mins
Language
English
Cast/Participants
Tilda Swinton, Amy Madigan, Karen Sillas, Frances Fisher, Clancy Brown, Laila Robbins, Dale Shuger, John Diehl, Shawnee Smith, Lisa Jane Persky, Paulina Porizkova, Marcia Cross
Program Note Writer
Cinématographe