Touches You

Expected more

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Here's a film, I'll always remember seeing that late Farrah for who died a day apart from Michael Jackson. Ironically they were good friends, and one thing that Farrah could do instead of Michael, and that was act. She scorches up the screen here, a raging queen of revenge on her attacker, who has come to attack her, for the second time, invading her home. She scarcely escapes the first attack, a car jacking, where they end up in a discreet parking spot. She manages to get away, leaving her car and wallet behind. With not much help from authorities (der, we've seen it so many times before in rape films) it now becomes a game of waiting, with Farrah, quite on edge, and rightfully so. She does share house with two other women. Diana Scarwid, very good as a wild impulsive sort, and Alfre Woodard, as a more wiser black woman, the only one partially sympathetic to the rapist after the tables are turned, and turned they are. Farrah becomes caught in conflict with her mates who return to find Joe, the battered faced rapist chained up in the fireplace. She wants to kill Joe, on the too probable count, that if tried, and he gets off, he will come at her again. This is a real life situation scenario here, Woodard of course, dead set against the idea. For rape victims, this movie is not for you. It's an intense grueling flick about the rape process, where the consequences for a criminal's acts here are extreme (hence the title) for low class sort, Joe (a wonderful Russo) But it's Farrah who engrosses us, where Extremities is an engrossing and with a wonderfully claustrophobic atmosphere, where indeed it's well shot, where most of the movie is set in Farrah's pad. For some viewers it'll be tough to watch. Too, what's shocking is Russo's admittance, and his intentions, when untied and falling to the floor, where then Scarwid surprisingly becomes sympathetic. Although I really didn't like it's ending Extremities is powerful movie making and far from escapist fare for viewers, wanting to leave reality behind. I would also like to see the play one day, but for now, I'll stick to the movie.

I gave this movie three stars instead of one for the acting but even so I feel I am being way too generous. One thing that bugged me continuously throughout the movie was how unrealistic the entire movie was. At no point was I convinced that any of this was even remotely possible let alone feasible. It seemed to me as a matter of fact that it had just a bunch of preaching and other meaningless political drivel.Maybe back in the 80s when this film was made the film maker may have wanted to make a statement about rape and how the victims need to fight back. I agree but within the law not outside of it because if you don't that makes you no better than your attacker. Whats more am I supposed to believe that she'd actually get away with what she did to him? He may get put away but I'm inclined to doubt that but rather she would be the one spending massive time behind bars especially if she murdered him. Whats more nothing she forced him to say would ever be allowed to be used in the court of law. Add insult to injury he could sue her for any physical and emotional damages that she inflicted upon him. I understand that some may be outraged by what I'm writing her but this is a simple fact.At the end this movie actually left me feeling sorry for the rapist which I sincerely doubt was the intention of the director.

This isn't a film. The credits claim the screenplay was written from a play but there is no screenplay. This is simply the filming of a (fictional) psychopath torturing his victim and then the victim torturing him back. Why would anyone wish to watch this, except for the people who apparently find porno bondage films entertaining? Neither the rapist or the victim fights realistically but that comment suggests that this is a real film. It's not. It's simply an assembly of misery. Farah Fawcett has made some fine films but this is not one of them. Every character in this slop is literally retarded.The whole point of this thing is that any criminal can get away with any crime, as long as there aren't other (besides the victim) witnesses, though that does not apply to the criminal. If a victim tries to (incompetently) torture the criminal back, that does not require witnesses to send her away to the slammer.This wasn't set in America. Was it meant to represent North Korea? The moon? The municipal sewer? Using the film's own logic, why on earth didn't Farah simply get the ax out of her garden shed, chop off both the psychopathic rapist's legs, and then call the police and say he chopped off his own legs while breaking into her house? There'd be no witnesses against Farah so she'd go perfectly free, and yet the rapist couldn't re-terrorize Farrah or any other rape-victims. The why not is because then the film would have been over.Why did Farah's "friend" and house-mate believe everything that the rapist told her but nothing that Farah told her? This must have been written and filmed by that piece of scum who wrote a book and went on talkshows a few years ago claiming that ALL men are potential rapists and would commit rape, under the right circumstances. This monstrosity is evil. The makers of this thing worship Satan. Do they let people as stupid as these characters actually have drivers licenses (as they had in this)? I'd hate to think that I ever come even within twenty feet of scum like EACH of the characters, including the "police".I know that some men work in the septic tank pumping business but at least they're paid to do that, and it's a useful service. Watching this slime serves no purpose, unless you've drunk some poison and need something to induce vomiting. Why did neither of Farrah's "friends" and house-mates believe Farrah or get mad at the rapist until Farrah tortured him back, in front of them, and then they believed his new version of the story, even though he'd only coughed up his "confession" with a knife to his throat? Oh, I already answered that one--because they're literally retarded.And why was the friend so hateful towards Farrah and believing of the rapist, earlier in the flick? Because her girlfriend's father had raped her but she, of course, couldn't do anything about it because there had, of course, been no witnesses so she had to always see her own rapist time & time again without being, of course, able to do anything about it. This is a horror flick, though not about the horror of rape and/or torture but rather the horror of people walking around who believe that this slime made sense.

Having looked at some of the other comments here, I have a main complaint with this presentation. The two primary characters are attractive in their own ways - the beautiful "victim," and the handsome, obviously extremely "off-center," blue-collar protagonist (if just short of "totally-deranged") - take turns beating the hell out of each other, sort of like a Caucasian Kabuki scenario.This is all right, and this is, of course, mainly a "turning-the-tables" story. However, my referenced complaint is that I believe the director got caught-up in his desire to display Farrah's well-known and obvious physical attributes. Beginning with her being enticingly clad in a thin robe, and with a number of scenes displaying more than needed for any dramatic effect - while immensely pleasing to the eyes, these distract from the poignancy level of the drama.Her roommates I'm certain give performances as written and directed - however, their respective skepticism and histrionic babbling and sobbing, don't ring true -- based upon Farrah's previous experience with this guy, the obvious evidence of his having come to their premises with only the worst of intentions, and that she would have absolutely no grounds to be exaggerating what has occurred.But this is a film and story, compelling as much in spite of, as because of, the director's work.