The Little Death

Magnolia Pictures

Generally, kinky sex is depicted in very strange environments, and is often not consensual. This can be seen in shows like "Game of Thrones," and "Girls." There's generally no relationship between the two characters, and kinks are depicted as either tenets of mental illness or the power hungry machinations of bloodthirsty warriors. This film, while not perfect and is oddly formed, does a good job of normalizing the fetishes of everyday, normal people, most of whom are in relationships.

 While the film normalizes these fetishes, it also finds a great amount of humor in them. The film is cut up into the stories of several couples, who each have different fantasies and needs in the bedroom that aren't always satisfied. One couple experiments with role play, but the husband takes it too far when he tries to heighten the tension by making it into an acting exercise. Another couple fights when the wife's dacryhilia acts up (sexual pleasure at others' tears) and she constantly tries to make her husband sad to achieve orgasm. Yet another section of film follows a couple who try to execute a rape fantasy, but often miss the mark. You would think it's difficult to make that funny, but it's actually pretty well handled, and oddly hilarious. Every couple is shown to be in a loving relationship while also respecting each other’s sexual fantasies and expectations. It's actually quite sweet to see some of the couples try to make the other happy in these explicit terms throughout the film.

 The funniest section of the film actually comes near the end, when we flash to a nearly deaf sign language interpreter translating a conversation between a deaf man and a phone sex operator, and she's very uncomfortable doing so. The entire thing goes back and forth between these three people on this call, and the comparative nature of three people makes for a really funny interchange. It's probably the best, most unorthodox section of the entire film and is worth watching as a standalone.

 The very ending leaves some aspects of the stories cloaked in mystery. It was probably the only option that the screenwriter could use given the storytelling device of having multiple stories working all at once. Some of the characters know each other, but the bulk do not, and having it end the way it does was probably the only way to tie them all together. Still, it feels a little bit like a cop out given the nature of the film. Otherwise this is a delightfully bawdy film about the complexities of relationships and the nature of kink.