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IMDb > Poison (1991)
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Overview

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6.6/10   1,112 votes
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Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Jean Genet (novels)
Todd Haynes (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Poison on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 August 1991 (Sweden) more
Genre:
Plot:
Three intercut stories about outsiders, sex and violence. In "Hero," Richie, at age 7, kills his father and flies away... more | add synopsis
Awards:
4 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
User Reviews:
Not just a "queer" film. more (21 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Edith Meeks ... Felicia Beacon
Millie White ... Millie Sklar
Buck Smith ... Gregory Lazar
Anne Giotta ... Evelyn McAlpert
Lydia Lafleur ... Sylvia Manning
Ian Nemser ... Sean White

Rob LaBelle ... Jay Wete
Evan Dunsky ... Dr. MacArthur
Marina Lutz ... Hazel Lamprecht
Barry Cassidy ... Officer Rilt
Richard Anthony ... Edward Comacho
Angela M. Schreiber ... Florence Giddens
Justin Silverstein ... Jake
Chris Singh ... Chris
Edward Allen ... Fred Beacon
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for sensuality, strong language and sexual violence.; Rated NC-17 for explicit sexuality. (edited version)
Runtime:
85 min
Country:
Language:
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Macaulay Culkin was at one time a possibility for the part of young Broom. more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful.
Not just a "queer" film., 9 July 2002

After reading a bit about Todd Haynes' "Poison" and the homosexual comparisons that people seem to only be drawing from it, I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't deserve to just be tagged as a seminal film of the "new queer cinema". It's so much more than that.

First of all, I found "Homo" to be the least intriguing of the 3 stories. "Hero" is actually more disturbing, showing the sudden disappearance of a mentally-inflicted, patricidal child who, according to his mother, was sent from the angels. I was particularly impressed by Haynes' creative use of layering in the adultery and spanking scenes.

But, in blending three prominent aspects (color, black and white, documentary) of the film medium into his film, the beautiful b&w "Horror" is the most notable, showing the sudden downfall of a scientist's prosperity. Haynes conveys the scientist's hysteria to his audience by using slanted, extreme close-up camera techniques and spastic editing, not to mention a haunting soundtrack.

The film is a bizarre one, indeed... but undeniably artful, and it certainly doesn't deserve to simply be pigeonholed into nothing more than a cornerstone for homosexual cinema.

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