Sordid Lives

Alfred Hitchcock once said that the problem with so many movies was that they were essentially “filmed plays”. Sordid Lives is one such beast, not least because it is based upon writer-director Del Shores’ stage production, but also because he shows little in the way of cinematic flair or invention. Boiled down to a series of conversations between members of a white-trash Texas family preparing for their cheatin’ heart mother’s funeral, the film is fortunate to have such terrific performers as Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges and Delta Burke to distract us from the flat and colourless imagery. Any film which gives a nod to Klaus Nomi and casts Olivia Newton-John as a lesbian ex-con is worth a look, but the increasingly ludicrous plot becomes tiresome, the timing is weak, the pacing mismatches the speedy dialogue, and the inexpensive production values help no one. As Dolly Parton may have said, “It takes a lot of budgetary constraints to look this cheap”. [Michael Gillespie]