This film should be obligatory prepping for all young women! Women's shaky way to independence both sexual and professional - is all too seldom portrayed as sensitively and penetratingly as in this film. Every woman who has come across the kind of man that is both kind and nice but way too interested, can blushingly or shiveringly sympathize with the main character, Helen. Her behaviour when meeting these men who want so much more than she is able to, or wants to give, is somewhat feeble, ambivalent and evasive. It is a typical example of the classic female dilemma; being a well-mannered, good girl and at the same time trying to assert one's rights and integrity.
Ex-model Jennifer Rubin plays the part of the timidly smiling Helen with great credibility, in this quiet portrayal of a dramatic internal development. Helen supports herself by working with a video company while writing film scripts in her spare time. She has left her dominant husband who didn't encourage her in her writing. She is presently leaving yet another domineering and overshadowing man. This time she makes herself inaccessible - not answering the phone and not opening the door - so as to avoid confrontation and conflict. Instead, she flees to the treachorously secure company of her friend Donald. A man who invites her to dinners, gives her money and encourages her writing, without demanding anything in return. So he claims.
It becomes more and more obvious that he yearns for a lot more. Feeling somewhat guilty, Helen nevertheless leads him on by being one big maybe. She also doesn't tell him about her doings with other men, with whom she has short, intense affairs that make her rediscover the joy of sex. So she definitely prepares the ground for the conflicts that arise when a woman tries to please everyone by not saying no. The film subtly and elegantly shows how hard it is to balance on the thin line between friendship and love. And it feels so relievingly good to realize that a straight answer, like a 'no', can actually make you both accepted and respected.
"A Woman, Her Men and Her Futon"
Starring: Jennifer Rubin, Lance Edwards, Grant Show, Michael Cerveris, Robert Lipton.
Written and directed by Michael Sibay. Produced by Sibay and Dale Rosenbloom.
Running time: 90 minutes.
Reproduced with permission. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited.
