The Comfort of Strangers (1981) - Ian McEwan
Related: Ian McEwan - 1981 - British literature - sadomasochism in fiction
"Robert started to hurt me when we made love ... Though it took a lot of time, ... I liked it." --The Comfort of Strangers (1981)
The Comfort of Strangers (1981) - Ian McEwan
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Description
A story of sexual predation and entrapment set in Venice (like Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now) featuring Colin and Mary (an innocent couple that reminds of Bitter Moon's innocent couple) and Robert and the invalid Caroline (the evil couple). Caroline's invalidity is the result of Robert's sadistic sexual violence. The theme of male dominance and brutality toward women is re-examined when it is revealed that the object of Robert's desire is Colin.
The Comfort of Strangers explores the boundary between erotic pleasure and pain, a sadomasochism that in the end unleashes Robert's horrifying lust murder. --The Pinter Ethic: The Erotic Aesthetic (2000) - Penelope Prentice, page 297
"The book is about the relation of the sexes. " Says Schrader. McEwan is saying that no amount of civilization is going to paper over the basic antagonism. Harold has mitigated that slightly by introducing this second theme, which is the persistence of adolescent memory. Robert's political and sexual obsessions are reenactments of childhood trauma and desire. --http://www.haroldpinter.org/films/films_comfortof.shtml [Sept 2006]
The Comfort of Strangers (1990) - Paul Schrader
Related: Paul Schrader - 1990 - Angelo Badalamenti - American cinema - Paolo Uccello (painting by) - Christopher Walken
The Comfort of Strangers (1990) - Paul Schrader
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Like many of Paul Schrader's films, The Comfort of Strangers is a mournful examination of decaying innocence and sexual transgression. Starring Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren.
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