‘Stylish, sensual and smart’, that’s how Rotten Tomatoes summarises this interesting film from Peter Strickland. The review goes on to say that this film ‘proves that erotic cinema can have genuine substance’. Other reviewers have presented it as a thinking person’s alternative to Fifty Shades of Grey. So that’s a lot to live up to. It is certainly beautifully filmed with many dreamlike visual nods to late 1960s, psychedelia even. It is also very funny in places, the pan across the concentrating and engaged audience at the entomological association which features at least two slightly out of focus, but nicely dressed, mannequins in the back row, for example. I also enjoyed the strange nostalgic world created in some unspecified time and (European) place where the only people are beautiful and slightly stiffly dressed women.

The subject matter is the dilemma of the relationship between the beautiful and submissive Evelyn (‘this is all I have ever dreamed about’) and the more-comfortable-in-cosy-pygamas-Cynthia who becomes less patient and accommodating to Evelyn’s requests as time goes by. Its nicely played mostly with lots of lingering (in both senses) eroticism. The film avoids the most crass S/M cliches (whips etc.) to its credit and the allure of the practices is nicely balanced with a focus on Evelyn and Cynthia and their gorgeous environment – as well as the butterflies and moths that remained enigmatic for me throughout the film.

But I found it slightly disappointing. I hoped for something far more taut. There was too much sentiment and far too much dialogue. Everything was said out loud. I imagined this film with only a quarter of the dialogue. I asked In what way are these women like butterflies? Are they pinned? I concluded that the entomology was an atmospheric addition rather than a central structure or metaphor for the whole film, albeit a beautifully achieved one.

The trailer is here.