Female Perversions (1996)

67% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
46% of users liked it
(821 ratings)

An outwardly successful woman teeters on the brink of emotional collapse in this psychological drama. Evelyn Stevens (Tilda Swinton) is a skilled and well-regarded attorney who is being considered for a prestigious judicial appointment. However, she's plagued by self-doubt and neurotic obsessions… More An outwardly successful woman teeters on the brink of emotional collapse in this psychological drama. Evelyn Stevens (Tilda Swinton) is a skilled and well-regarded attorney who is being considered for a prestigious judicial appointment. However, she's plagued by self-doubt and neurotic obsessions (the "perversions" referenced in the title), including an obsession with expensive clothes and cosmetics, lingering fears about her relationship with her lover John (Clancy Brown), an exaggerated sense of competition with the new lawyer in her office, and an intense sexual curiosity about Renee (Karen Sillas), the psychiatrist who has just moved into her building. Evelyn is forced to put her own problems on hold for the moment when she learns that her sister Madelyn (Amy Madigan), a Ph.D candidate struggling to complete her doctoral thesis, has been arrested again for shoplifting. In time, the two sisters realize that they have to come to terms with the psychic damage inflicted upon them in their childhood. Female Perversions was based on the best-selling novel by Louise J. Kaplan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Susan Streitfeld
Written By: Julie Hebert, Susan Streitfeld, Julie Hébert
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Apr 25, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Nov 27, 2001
Studio: Trimark

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, Variety
The women (played by Tilda Swinton and Amy Madigan) are so intriguing and complex that they almost overcome the trappings of a non-linear narrative that's borderline academic.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
The result is short on plot but long on observational detail and psychological resonance.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Even if it works better as a provocative psychological treatise than as art, it does come alive and does provide major roles for Tilda Swinton and Amy Madigan.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Often too pretentious to be profound.
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle
Taken as a whole, this is not a product of the cookie cutter and should be of interest to the adventurous filmgoer.
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
This film is steamy, pulsing with veracity, boldly performed.
Stephen Farber, Movieline
Humorless and swathed in symbolism, it taunts us with cerebral puzzles that we may not care to solve.
Kim Williamson, Boxoffice Magazine
Streitfeld is only fitfully successful.
, E! Online
Through a complex narrative technique and stunning imagery, the movie ... slips behind the mask of invincibility to portray a woman plagued by self-doubt and anguish.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
Our Eve uses her beauty and sexuality to get ahead and yet simultaneously rails against both, leaving the viewer to ponder that age-old mystery of life: Who cares?
Jane Stefanski, Empire Magazine
As a whole Female Perversions only provides a bewildering collection of beautifully photographed images and thought-provoking set pieces.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
A richly textured movie that demands a second viewing to comprehend it all.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
The most intelligent, entertaining, provocative, absorbing, and, yes, feminist movie to grace our theatres in quite some time.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Mark A

Aptly named, this film depicts several activities labeled perverse by society at large, yet through those revelations we come to understand the demons that Evelyn (Tilda Swinton) is facing down. Strong performances by Swinton and Amy Madigan, as her (younger? older?) sister, Madelyn… More
Aptly named, this film depicts several activities labeled perverse by society at large, yet through those revelations we come to understand the demons that Evelyn (Tilda Swinton) is facing down. Strong performances by Swinton and Amy Madigan, as her (younger? older?) sister, Madelyn propel the film. Both women are successful, Evelyn as an attorney being considered for a judgeship, and Madelyn as a doctoral candidate about to make her oral defense of her thesis, and both women get a less than enthusiastic response from their emotionally distant father when they try to share their news. Excellent use of dreams, fantasy, and flashback to help the viewer understand Evelyn's fragility and somewhat self-destructive behaviors. Good supporting cast, with only a couple of weak links, and an interesting side-story concerning a young girl struggling with identity issues helped to keep it from veering off into pure psycho-drama. Good to see Karen Sillas, a personal favorite in a small role here.