jon reiss gained some notoriety when he directed nine inch nail's controversial 'happiness is slavery' video. as a nin fan, i managed to track down a copy of that film back in the mid 90s. it struck me, and much of the imagery really hit a nerve. i made a note of reiss' name, and noticed when his videos would hit mtv. he always had an eye for powerful, visceral imagery.when i saw his name on this film, i eagerly checked it out. reiss brings that same eye, plus a very solid understanding of human relationships, to bear on this, his non documentary feature debut. this film really hits the mark in a lot of ways, telling an unusual, if altogether human story, about completely real and deeply developed characters. its the kind of film critics are always clamoring for, but that we rarely see. it takes a rare talent, and a brave soul, to sail these uncharted waters. thank goodness reiss had the courage to take the ride. we have one exceptional film from that experience.keep an eye out for jon reiss. he has a unique POV, and one that many people would connect with if they make the effort to seek him out.

Watching this film was a delight. I felt like I too have been in a situation where my roommate wouldn't leave and I was a pushover and let it happen. My place was destroyed and in the end I had to repair a lot of the house. This is exactly what Robert goes through. He has this house sitter that just kind of stays and ruins Roberts already ruined life. But the twist in this film is that he takes his house back in a very dramatic fashion. I don't want to get into the details, you should really see the film. It is nice to see a small budget film not feel like a small budget film. I have seen a lot of the director Jon Reiss's work and I think this one might be his most personal film. It's worth renting!

there are a lot of reasons I like this film. here are some of them... a) its beautifully shot. maybe this just appeals to me because I'm a filmmaker but the composition of every shot is near perfect. its sexy b) it makes fun of yuppies. Hallie freaks out when Sophie uses her bath salt. not just any bath salt but her GARDENIA bath salt. c) the music is great. The opening shot with the fish and that French song...hot.d) do you like sex? of course you do. do you like voyeurism and S&M? even better! Cleopatra's caters to all your subversive erotic needs.e) in the end you're basically going "what the f***." not because you don't get it, just because its an uncomfortable resolution. maybe you like to feel good at the end of movies. too bad. this isn't a "feel good" movie. films are supposed to seduce you and this film does. Its not for everyone. If you think Legally Blonde is the pinnacle of film-making, you probably wont like it. But if you can appreciate a movie like Mulholland Drive, then I'd say go for it.

I recently saw this movie and I actually watched it because I've always liked Boyd Kestner. I was terribly disappointed. The movie is just one of the worst I've ever seen. I think this is the script Boyd should have buried under the coffee grounds in the garbage and left it there. It is just strange and bizarre.