Compulsion

'Compulsion' focuses on Heather Graham's character 'Amy', a woman obsessed with cooking, who gets by seducing wealthy men with her looks and her food. It could sound like a typical Heather Graham role, but it's not. This is a Graham we have not seen before, and she is altogether delightful. The plot is simple: a detective is investigating the disappearance of Amy's next door neighbor 'Saffron' played by Carrie-Anne Moss a reclusive former child star, and we see the relationship of Amy and Saffron develop in retrospect.

It is not a fast paced film, but like a fine meal the performances are there to be savored, in small bites, taken in slowly to relish each nuance.

Aren't you just sick of all those cooking shows on TV? I'm not, because I never watch 'em. "Compulsion" parodies these gourmet splurges. If you think overdone parody could be fun, then you might enjoy this movie - if you don't, then maybe you won't. Heather Graham can handle the heat in the kitchen. She works this role hard, a tour de force. In fact, rather too much of the movie depends on her performance. One of the most loving things you can do is feed someone. You're holding the spoon, and you're actually putting the food into the mouth of a baby, or a helpless old person, or someone severely disabled. But people who have tried to get an anorexic to eat know that this can be a heartbreaking exercise. And Amy's reclusive and depressed neighbour (whose careers are slipping away) is anorexic. So the "feeding" begins to look rather sinister. But is Amy living in a dream world? Is this TV cooking show she's planning ever going to happen? And her partner seems to be losing interest in her brilliant culinary achievements. Perhaps he's losing interest in her. He'll need to be taught a lesson. She is heterosexual, right? Viewers will need to have patience. There are flashbacks, so pay attention. You have to accept the conventions of the genre. I liked it.

First of all, let me just start out by saying that this movie is slow, unbelievably slow. And the 88 minutes that the movie ran for seemed much, much longer.

The story told in "Compulsion" had its moments, but it was overall weighed down by things taking too long. There were so many scenes that just dragged on for way too long, where the movie would have benefited from a trim and a notch up in pace.

"Compulsion" is about Amy (played by Heather Graham) who is obsessed about gourmet cooking and dreaming about getting her own cooking show on TV. All she cares about is her cooking and her food, desperately seeking approval in her cooking from her boyfriend/husband (?) Fred (played by Kevin Dillon). However, her compulsive obsession drives him away, and instead she starts to cook for her reclusive neighbor Saffron (played by Carrie-Anne Moss).

It should be said that the people in the movie were doing good jobs in acting, however, the characters were really odd. And I personally didn't really find much enjoyment in these characters, because they were all a bit too eccentric and out there. But thumbs up to the actors and actresses, because they did good jobs.

This slow paced thriller might not be suitable for just anyone, and I was tempted to get up and find something else to watch a couple of times throughout the 88 (long) minutes. But I stuck with it to the end, hoping that there might just be a change for the better just around the corner. But that was not to be...

I am rating "Compulsion" a mere 3 out of 10 stars, simply because the actors and actresses held the movie afloat, the rest of the movie - especially the storyline itself - was just downright boring and tedious.

An enjoyable little film full of the kind of intense and intimate relationships that you normally only find on a stage. Hopefully that will be enough to set the scene as Compulsion is not really a film, its a theater production put on to film.

Compulsion is two stories that unravel and then combine to become one as you really only get the second story after being fully immersed in the fervor and passion of Amy (Heather Graham). Heather Graham appears to have added more a little Nigella Lawson (Youtube her) to her depiction of a voluptuous gastronome desperately seeking acknowledgement and love.

So too does the other leading character Saffron bring a fine set of hang ups and issues played by Carrie Anne Moss.

Both lead actresses set the movie apart from ennui with excellent portrayals of their characters and through their selling of the story. They also looks fantastic (which can't be bad!).

If you take the movie for the play that it is, rather than the blockbuster you might be hoping for, then you should get on fine.

We watched it last night, and honestly, it wasn't that bad. I've seen a lot worse. The premise was a bit weak, the acting was average, and the story was transparent. It was almost like a characterture of what the real movie would have been. It hard to explain, but everything was over done, colours, costumes, scenery, acting, basically everything. That is what gave it a "pass" to be a mediocre movie. You can get away with it, because it's supposed to be campy.

I would recommend a rental if you want zombie out in front of the TV for 88 minutes. It's mildly entertaining and the two female leads are pretty enough to keep you interested.

The production was fine. The quality edit, colour correction, lighting correction and so on was done well.

A lot of people worked hard to make this film, so I applaud them for it. Nice work, decent product and no time wasted in production.

It's not a compelling movie, but it's a movie. A simple, nice, different kind of film. Recommended when you want to do nothing.