Better Late Then Never

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

First of all, this is a beautiful film to watch. The black and white photography is sharp enough to carve out details in the skin of the actresses who all play a single sex worker called 'Angie'. At important moments the black and white is soft and casts shadows. It is erotic as Angie is never coloured in and slightly elusive in her shadows. A screen for projection yet the black and white illuminates her fleshiness.The plot is straightforward but the content is not. 8 different actresses speak of their experiences of sex, using the 'f' word that IMDb will beep out were it to be written here, in front of a male director who can be heard but not seen - aside from the odd shot of the set and crew. The conversation begins as an interrogation from the director to Angie. She rejects this quite quickly and becomes provocative and challenging; taking control of the interview. Angie gets the director to strip naked and masturbate.After this point the conversation relaxes into a nice to and fro that sees Angie soften and both she and the director share confidences. The film culminates, aptly, with Angie masturbating to orgasm. This ending fitted the conversation but I was not satisfied. Some important boundary seemed to have disintegrated for me.I found watching and listening to the different actresses compelling. I found what they had to say witty and at times, very illuminating. My favourites were Angie 4 and 5, I think; an older blonde woman who sported a black mac and an Asiatic woman wearing a satin night gown. Their dialogue was the most interesting as they discussed fantasy and reality and then what sex is for women and the role pain has to play. I was riveted and felt I was learning something about my own sexuality. This is one of the gifts of film.

For most of the movie I was totally into it. That is till the moment I realized the interviews were not real (but a scripted one, its a film-not a documentary; silly me). It felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over my head. But till the realization dawned, it came across as a pretty overwhelming series of talks with the sex-workers, too bad it was not real. If the interviews were not make-believe, it would have been quite a piece of work. Since I watched this without any prior information about the project, I watched through 90% of the movie believing it to be a documentary & I was deeply moved by it. That is until the last segment where the script suddenly stops making sense, and all the built up quickly evaporates. Hence the 5 of 10 rating.

Just watched this multi-layered indie mockumentary called Black & White & Sex. Beautifully shot in monochrome using multiple cameras with several women posing as 'Angie', a sex worker. The supposed interview talks about sex as a commodity but within parameters of morality, submission, power-play and erotism. Then it opens up into classy film noir laced with wicked humor. Unconventionally fresh as a film consciously narrated within a film, this is topnotch crotch talk and a rare Aussie gem crafted with style and a bit of acquired taste.Amongst the eight actresses who play Angie, I can't think of anyone who stands out because they are all brilliant, each carrying the discussion forward until it reaches a climax (pun unintended). The discussion itself is written and filmed as a documentary where the premise is about prostitution and all its highs and lows as a profession. We don't see the director and I suspect this was intentional. More so because the director (or the unseen) also represents us, the audience, with all our perceptions about prostitution and its moral implications (or lack of). The best part of the film is not what happens in the end, but the power-play between Angie and the director. Metaphorically, it's something like sex, where each partner takes turns in dominating the other, until both reach a 'happing ending'. The reason why this film is shot in black and white is just astounding and another metaphor that reveals itself once we arrive at the inner most layer of the discussion.Black & White & Sex is highly recommended as a brilliant film that not only tries to eliminate the taboo behind prostitution, but reiterates why it is sometimes a necessary evil. It's all about perception and what sex means to anyone watching this film, be it consummated, consensual or means to self-gratification. Best served with oysters!

What is wrong with Australian cinema-goers? This is an amazing example of our talented industry: The script, the cinematography and the actresses all blew me away. The director has made a bold statement regarding censorship, about what we can see and hear and why that is. After watching this movie last night, I'm still thinking about it the next morning, and will continue to do so for many days - now that is a sign of a good film. If you've missed it at the movies, wait until it's on DVD and buy it. We need to support our struggling film industry. We need to get behind talented directors and actresses like these, and we need to make more intellectual movies like these.