"Can I tell you something personal?"

Sex, Lies and Videotape is a provocative story about betrayal, deceipt, and the dysfunctional coping behavior of a man that enables him to avoid developing intimate relationships with women, but which is, ultimately, the catalyst for healing and a new beginning, not only for him, but for the other characters as well.

Andie MacDowell plays Ann Bishop-Mullaney, a repressed housewife in therapy, whose husband, John, played by Peter Gallagher is having an affair with her sister, Cynthia, played perfectly by Laura San Giacomo, in what I believe is the best performance of her career. As the story evolves, I found myself pondering the question: Who is guilty of committing the greater betrayal, the greater sin? The unfaithful husband or the sister?

A forth character who plays an integral role in the storyline is Graham, played beautifully by James Spader. Graham is an old college buddy of John's who goes to visit John and Cynthia at their home in Louisianna. When Graham arrives, he is greeted by Ann, and they sit chatting in the livingroom where Graham asks Ann several pointed questions such as, "What do you like about being married?"

In the next scene at the dinner table, the underlying tension between Ann and John, and John's smug attitude toward Graham, who he hasn't seen in nine years, is so thick you could cut it with a knife. This scene establishes that there's trouble in paradise and sets the stage for the relationship that develops between Ann and Graham. John encourages Ann to take Graham apartment hunting, and she enthusiastically jumps on his suggestion.

After that, Graham and Ann go apartment hunting and after he finds an apartment, they have a drink in a restaurant. It is in this scene that Graham asks, "Can I tell you something personal?" then reveals something very personal and shocking about himself to Ann.

The next time Ann sees Graham is when she drops by his apartment one afternoon. Ann notices a box of videotapes with the names of women on them and asks Graham what they are. Graham tells her it's a "personal project." She asks, "What kind of personal project?" He then tells her that he videotapes women talking about their sexual experiences. Ann is shocked and embarrassed by this revelation and apologizes to him for bringing it up, then leaves.

In the next scene, she is having a phone conversation with her sister, Cynthia, who is interested in finding out more about Graham. After that, when Ann goes to visit Cynthia at her apartment, Cynthia wants Ann to give her Graham's phone number or address so that she can go check him out for herself. Ann disapproves of her younger sister's morals and tells her that she doesn't want her to "go over there and do whatever it is you do." Ann tells Cynthia that she doesn't think Graham is her type, to which Cynthia smugly replies: "Ann, you don't have a clue," referring to her affair with her brother-in-law, John, Ann's husband.

After that, Cynthia drops by Graham's one afternoon and tells him she is there to find out "what got Ann so spooked?" Graham tells her "the tapes are what got Ann spooked." When Cynthia sees the tapes she asks Graham if they are tapes of him having sex with the women on the tapes? He tells her he videotapes women talking about their sexual preferences, experiences, etc. He asks her if she would let him tape her, and she agrees.

After this visit, Cynthia admits to Ann (over the phone) that she did something while being videotaped. Ann is shocked and repulsed that Cynthia could do such a thing.

Cynthia also tells John what she did on the videotape and John chastises her. This scene is the beginning of the end for John and Cynthia. Cynthia tells John she trusts Graham more than she trusts him, and John is taken aback by her remark. She calls him a liar. He responds by saying she is a liar too, to which she replies: "Yes but I didn't take a vow in front of God and the whole world to be faithful to Ann."

In the next pivotal scene, Ann finds something that reveals the truth about what has been going on behind her back between John and Cynthia. In this scene, the expression that passes across Ann's face, as the realization and the magnitude of the betrayal hits her full bore, is so subtle, and done with such a sure hand, that I cannot think of another actress who could've captured the reaction in her facial expression more skillfully than Andie MacDowell.

Angry and hurt, Ann drives over to Graham's and tells him that "John and Cynthia have been &$%*ing." Graham says he knows. Stunned, Ann asks him how he knew? He tells her that Cynthia said it on the videotape. Ann wants Graham to videotape her, and he does. The videotape is intense, candid, and provocative and leads to the breakdown of Graham's defenses, and an awakening for Ann, and, ultimately, the end of her marriage.

Since this movie was first released, I've watched it several times. Steven Soderbergh, who also directed Erin Brockovich, and, Full Frontal, is one of my favorite directors. Sex, Lies and Videotape is like a good read. It is an engaging, well-paced film with interesting scenes, attractive actors, intriguing dialogue, a great script, and strong performances by all of the actors.