States Of Control (1997)
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60% of critics liked it
(10 reviews) -
25% of users liked it
(45 ratings)
Music video cinematographer Zack Winestine made his debut as a writer and director with this deeply psychological drama about an angst-ridden New York City woman, Lisa (Jennifer Van Dyck), who embarks on a quest to achieve an authenticity that her complacent existence lacks. An office manager for an… More Music video cinematographer Zack Winestine made his debut as a writer and director with this deeply psychological drama about an angst-ridden New York City woman, Lisa (Jennifer Van Dyck), who embarks on a quest to achieve an authenticity that her complacent existence lacks. An office manager for an underground Manhattan theater, Lisa feels that her life and her marriage to an impotent professor, Abel (Stephen Bogardus), are going nowhere fast. After she decides not to sleep anymore, Lisa embarks on a series of choices that seem ill-advised and impulsive, including an affair with a bitter, cynical stage director, Paul (John Cunningham), who preaches a neo-fascist philosophy. Lisa also takes an interest in the seamy world of pornography, which her actress friend Carol (Ellen Greene) knows all too much about -- but Lisa's nerve fails her in her effort to mimic Carol's sexual liberation. A fresh start on the West Coast with her husband fails to assuage the inner torment of the increasingly militant and violent Lisa. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ellen Greene, Jennie Moreau
- Written By
- Zachary Winestine
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
- In Theaters
- Apr 6, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Vanguard
Critic Reviews
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John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
disquieting treatment of a dissatisfied Manhattan woman
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Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine
The lead performance by Jennifer Van Dyck is hypnotic and devastatingly real and would have earned an Oscar nomination had the film been backed by the kind of money that usually supports such contenders.
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Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff
A yuppie in a midlife crisis alternates between repression and indulgence in new experiences. Sensual but unsympathetic.
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Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Even by low-budget, indie standards, this is an unusually claustrophobic, self-absorbed work whose commercial prospects are bleak.
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Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com
An astute, thought-provoking film, but the ending left me just as dissatisfied as Lisa is throughout the movie, in her journey to not follow by the rules of today's superficial society.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jennifer Van Dyck
as Lisa
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Stephen Bogardus
as Abel
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John Cunningham
as Paul
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Ellen Greene
as Carol
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Nancy Giles
as Joanna Volker
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Stephen Gevedon
as Alex
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Jennie Moreau
as Suzanne
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Jason Culp
as Porn Customer
