Cast: Paul Hipp, Boyd Kestner, Bitty Schram, Radha Mitchell
Director: Jon Reiss
Producers: Jill Goldman, David Scott Rubin, Jacqui de la Fontaine, Jon Reiss
Screenplay: Jon Reiss
Cinematography: Matt Faw
Music: Cary Berger
U.S. Distributor: Indican Pictures
Anyone approaching Cleopatra's Second Husband with the expectation of seeing an historical melodrama is in for a rude awakening. Instead of taking place in a long-ago land of gladiators and emperors, this is a contemporary thriller/black comedy cut from the same rough cloth as films like Neil LaBute's In the Company of Men and Kevin DiNovis' Surrender Dorothy. The reason why first-time writer/director Jon Reiss (Better Living Through Circuitry) elected to give his feature the somewhat misleading title is obscure; suffice it to say that the movie never mentions Cleopatra, Marc Antony, or ancient Rome.
Cleopatra's Second Husband is a restless film; it takes serpentine twists through various genres on its way to an ironic and unpredictable conclusion. The movie is likely to offer a few surprises to even experienced, jaded movie-goers because it resolutely refuses to play by the rules governing formulaic expectations. Every time things seem to be settling into a familiar pattern, Reiss does something to shake them up.
The film's bleak tone, which varies from mildly unsettling to downright grim (depending on the scene), will disturb some viewers, but that's the nature of a movie like this. Reiss isn't looking to offer a "feel good" experience. His intention is to examine some of the darker aspects of human nature, especially death and decay (of both the physical and moral kind). Like Surrender Dorothy, Cleopatra's Second Husband explores the grotesque underbelly of warped co-dependent relationships, illuminating how certain types of people, when given any degree of power, can turn abusive.
Our human portal into the story is Robert Marrs (Paul Hipp), a weak-willed photographer with virtually no self-esteem. He lets his domineering wife, Hallie (Bitty Schram), walk all over him. They host dinner parties when she chooses, have sex when she dictates (or, rather, when her ovulation cycle dictates - she's trying to become pregnant), and go on vacations when and where she wants. While on their latest getaway, a month in upstate New York, Hallie arranges for a young couple, Zack (Boyd Kestner) and Sophie (Radha Mitchell), to housesit and care for their dog and fish. Robert and Hallie arrive home early to find their house in disarray, the fish dead, and Zack and Sophie unwilling to leave. The situation goes from bad to worse when Sophie seduces Robert, and Hallie discovers her husband's infidelity. She moves out, leaving him in the clutches of the two strangers.
Cleopatra's Second Husband starts out as a situation comedy that takes satirical jabs at a certain kind of modern-day marriage, but, before long, it has shifted gears into the realm of a psychological thriller. The transition is skillfully engineered; there is no abrupt change in tone. The second half of the film, instead of concentrating on Robert and Hallie's troubled marriage, focuses on the twisted interaction between Robert and Zack. There is a homosexual aspect to this relationship, but it's more about control and domination than it is about sex. In many ways, this plays out like an intelligent, original interpretation of the "stranger among us" scenario (popularized during the '90s in second-rate exploitation thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle), in which an outsider with harmful intentions finds a way inside, where the most damage can be done.
Lead actor Paul Hipp does an effective job portraying a man who identifies intimately with the roadkill and maggots he photographs. Boyd Kestner's Zack is cocky and arrogant, with more than a slight streak of sadism. Kestner's approach to the role is reminiscent of Aaron Eckhart's interpretation of Chad in In the Company of Men. Bitty Schram is suitably superficial and irritating as Hallie. And Radha Mitchell, easily the biggest "name" in the cast, is sadly underused - Sophie is a supporting character. (It is worth noting that Mitchell's performance here predates her appearance in High Art, which elevated her career a notch.)
Cleopatra's Second Husband has been kicking around the film festival circuit for more than two years, winning a fair number of raves along the way. It's the kind of movie that won't appeal to those who like their cinema divided into easily decomposable, neatly digestible morsels. However, for anyone who doesn't mind being exposed to something a little dark and unsettling, Cleopatra's Second Husband offers 90 minutes of intriguing cinema.
© 2000 James Berardinelli