I got talked into seeing this movie years ago by some pretentious friends, wasn't all that impressed by it, and insulted it gratuitously on the walk home from the theater. It's not very well-acted, the plot is incomprehensible inasmuch as it even exists, and the sex scenes, explicit and implicit, are nowhere near as titillating as the title or promotion would suggest. But somehow I remember this movie with near-perfect clarity over a decade later. Why? The structure is fascinating -- I'd never seen a narrative structured as a progression of random encounters. And even if no scene is particularly compelling and no character is especially distinctive, the movie manages to be thought-provoking. Since every scene is obviously intended to depict a seduction, you start to wonder about the nature of attraction and power relationships. On a cinematic level, New York looks pretty, Linda Fiorentino is hot, the gay boys are all handsomely lit, and Malcolm McDowell is an embarrassment to the art of acting. Stop now before you hurt someone else.
11 Reviews
Pleasant surprise...
insomniac_rod11 July 2004
Great dramatic little movie. I didn't know it was that difficult to find CHAIN OF DESIRE until I read about it here. I watched it about 3 years ago. When it aired on late night, it was labelled as an erotic thriller but turned out to be as a great drama about urban couples. Malcom Mc Dowall delivers a fine performance, I couldn't believe that Alex from A Clockwork Orange was in this movie. Linda Fiorentino is as sexy and beautiful as always, and her acting is convincing.
Highly recommended, try to search for it, and buy it if you can. 7/10.
Highly recommended, try to search for it, and buy it if you can. 7/10.
a mistake all around
blanche-23 June 2000
I saw this movie by mistake after I returned from a wonderful vacation in Italy -- a friend stuck it on a video he made for me of another film. Seeing it nearly wiped out three weeks of travel and fun. The movie was made on the complete cheap and had no connecting storyline. The first couples started out intertwined somehow but that sort of ended mid-movie along with any semblance of a story. All the characters were despicable. Malcolm McDowall started out his career well. This was too bad.
The power of images
temilopez1 April 2003
We all know how important images are as tools of seduction. Or repulsion. With that in mind, as the writer-director of "Chain of Desire", I want to express my dismay at the vulgar ad campaign that was designed for the video release, which makes it look like a cheap soft-porn movie. When it was released theatrically by October Films, the ad was tasteful and enticing. For some reason the people who handled the video took it upon themselves to create a poster that has absolutely nothing to do with the movie, with "actors" that don't even appear in the film. You would never know from this image that the movie was in competition in several important festivals and got very reviews in the main papers. By doing this, the campaign scared away the sophisticated urban public to which the movie would naturally appeal and disappoint the people who rent it thinking they will get some cheap thrills. It must be difficult for the average viewer to imagine the feeling of impotence and frustration a director feels when faced with this kind of distortion. I hope that when the film comes out on DVD the campaign will use the original poster and the film will find its rightful audience.
Enigmatic Masterpiece
Quirkystarburns26 December 2004
I was unable to find this film at any of my local video stores and had to order it offline. I was shocked and confused when I first saw it because it seemed like there was no tangible plot and was purely for the sake of eroticism. A few months later my friend saw it on my shelf and was intrigued by the title so I told her to pop it in. This time around I paid close attention to the details of the story and I finally understood the delicate web that director, Lopez was creating. I was amazed at how much of the story had been lost on me the first time around and I was even more amazed at the lack of public attention this movie received. It's languid, sultry, plot, weaves a candid, sly tale of adult life during the 90's, subtly juxtaposing sexual innocence and promiscuity into a wonderful masterpiece that serves as an excellent social commentary of the time. Artfully, shot and produced, this movie is not for light viewing. It's an intense film that requires thought and analyzation.
A rare and fascinating journey
alusivo20032 May 2003
A friend recently gave me a copy of this very beautiful, funny, moving and sophisticated movie. One of the most poignant and intelligent depictions of sexuality I've ever seen. Every single actor playing one of the 14 main characters in the interlinked stories makes an impression. As does the moody photography capturing "La Dolce Vita" of 1980's Manhattan. This is a very special cinematic experience. Not flawless in its overall ambition, but still fascinating as a thought-provoking and panoramic chronicle of urban life at the end of the millennium.
Worth a look, Drama, Urban NYC setting with fine actors
crowing29 April 2003
Chain of Desire captures New York City and modern urban America in a powerfully truthful way, years before others portrayed sex in the big apple. It is not so much about sensual desire but the hopes and dreams of each character and how only other people can help to forward these dreams. Meanwhile as characters pursue their dreams the strength of sexuality, sex, perhaps a dark desire or perhaps a gift from heaven descends on the characters caught in a more dangerous time. Today desire is considered wrong.
The film takes you through human drama with reflections of greek comedy and tragedy that touches intense feelings and untamed moments. Linda Fiorentino, now famous but then just becoming known, gives a clear performance magically transforming her character above a torch song singer.
Eyes Wide Shut was also drawn from the same European theater roots as Chain of Desire, but Temi Lopez shows us a realist possible life whereas Kubrick makes a film more unbelievable than 2001. Stylish, seductive, vibrant, provocative, intelligent describe the film.
The film takes you through human drama with reflections of greek comedy and tragedy that touches intense feelings and untamed moments. Linda Fiorentino, now famous but then just becoming known, gives a clear performance magically transforming her character above a torch song singer.
Eyes Wide Shut was also drawn from the same European theater roots as Chain of Desire, but Temi Lopez shows us a realist possible life whereas Kubrick makes a film more unbelievable than 2001. Stylish, seductive, vibrant, provocative, intelligent describe the film.
Sultry, steamy tour through the sexual escapades of Manhattan couples.
missm-222 June 1999
This wonderful, original and very sexy movie escaped me for six years -- finally, a real friend rented it for me to watch last week. This has to be one of the true sleepers of the 90's. It's fresh and frank approach to sex is truly refreshing, in this moralistic age. This film also features the BEST performance of Linda Fiorntino's career. I hope she realizes it. I want to see more of this director's (Temistocles Lopez) work. Fun, entertaining and the best damn date movie I've seen in a decade! And how can I get Dewey Weber's phone number--and does he still look like he does in this film?? Hot Movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A terrific cautionary tale with a superb cast.
micottrell10 August 2001
Max Ophuls gave us one of the great films of all time, La Ronde. A stylish seduction about the art and enterprise of seduction with an extraordinary cast. Filmmaker Temistocles Lopez marvellously modernizes what was a cautionay tale about syflis, setting it in a sexually charged Manhattan at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Again the storytelling is that of the portmanteau or multi-plot, multi-character as one character from each sexual coupling, couples with another, hence the chain of the title or "round" as in the Ophuls film taking us back to the first character. Though low budget and less elegant than the original, Lopez's actors rise magnificently to the occassion. To list these names, hardly an "A" list in the conventional sense, but there is nothing conventional about this movie, is to provide us not with a roster of famous movie stars, but a lineup of highly accomplished and versatile actors from a diverse film background in several countries. Linda Fiorentino, Malcolm McDowell (UK), Assumpta Serna (Spain), Seymour Cassel (the Bronx), Grace Zabriskie (New Orleans), Patrick Bauchau (France), Elias Kotais (Canada), Tom Guinee, Dewey Weber, etc. provide a rich, sexy and fascinating work force to weave us irrevocably into this spellbinding tale of modern urban seductions. Not to be missed!
A vibrant, provocative gem of a film with something smart on its mind and something sexy in its style.
danland229 April 2003
It's too bad this little seen gem of a film is almost impossible to rent
-- it's a real winner. From it's sexy and provocative style, to its
pulsating score, this is a film made with real commitment and passion.
Chain of Desire is life and love on the steamy streets of New York, told
through couples who lead us to other couples. It's a modern day La
Ronde, but it never feels like a rip off -- it's original, romantic and
downright hot. Linda Fiorntino is, for once in her career, vulnerable
and sympathetic. Director Lopez has drawn beautifully nuanced
performances from all his cast. And what a cast! Some of the freshest
faces, that even 10 years later hold up. Anyone that has ever spent a
hot summer night in New York will love this film. It's a love letter to
the city that never sleeps, but more importantly, it's a testament to
the spirit and permissivness of late 80's and the people who survived
it. A beautiful, sexy and haunting film that I saw at least five times
in a theatre. Everyone I dragged to it loved it as much as I did. A
sensual masterpiece. ....
-- it's a real winner. From it's sexy and provocative style, to its
pulsating score, this is a film made with real commitment and passion.
Chain of Desire is life and love on the steamy streets of New York, told
through couples who lead us to other couples. It's a modern day La
Ronde, but it never feels like a rip off -- it's original, romantic and
downright hot. Linda Fiorntino is, for once in her career, vulnerable
and sympathetic. Director Lopez has drawn beautifully nuanced
performances from all his cast. And what a cast! Some of the freshest
faces, that even 10 years later hold up. Anyone that has ever spent a
hot summer night in New York will love this film. It's a love letter to
the city that never sleeps, but more importantly, it's a testament to
the spirit and permissivness of late 80's and the people who survived
it. A beautiful, sexy and haunting film that I saw at least five times
in a theatre. Everyone I dragged to it loved it as much as I did. A
sensual masterpiece. ....
Deep into reality of desires
philippepoivre11 August 2001
Chain of desire is very strong movie that takes you right from the beginning into the whirls of desires. Temistocles Lopez, the Director, has depicted and intense human drama that touches us with an intense feeling of déjà vu but rarely understood. Linda Fiorentino, the untamed actress of hollywood gives us here an unforgetable performance. An excellent movie, magically constructed that makes the difference in the "all-the-same" American movies.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
