Steven Soderbergh's debut feature from 1989 revolutionized the independent film movement making way for 1990's low-budget American film to flourish. It also won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes film festival. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the film is that it still feels as fresh today as it must have over 20 years ago. All of the performances feature actors at the top of their game with Andie McDowell and especially James Spader (who also took home the Best Actor Cannes prize playing against type) giving their best performances. The editing is incredible, condensing the different information we learn visually and audibly in a more effective manner. The characters are all really well fleshed out as well as their relationships. It manages to be about sex without showing any yet still maintaining the frankness any graphic sex would have achieved through its dialogue. The film uses a style that is more on the minimalist side of things with little music and a slow steady flow with only four major characters. It delves into the relationships between husband and wife, men and women, sisters' and more. While Steven Soderbergh has always stuck to his avant-garde tendencies with low-key projects in between the big budget ones, he should be writing a lot more than he does and experimenting with character driven material from his own hand more often. The interactions between everyone are carefully observed. The way he handles the climax of the film is ingenious. Traffic may be the more impressive achievement but this is easily my favorite Soderbergh film.
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