DVD Review: "Decadence"
Thom Burr
"Decadence", the most recent release from art porn master Andrew Blake.
Not only is it virtually all lesbian, but it's mostly softcore. The
different slow-mo scenes are so frequently cut to and from that it's
difficult to tell what is happening to whom and why. The lack of any
sort of even rudimentary narrative device makes the movie only slightly
more impenetrable, but it looks like yet another iteration of the same
themes that he's been reusing for six or seven years now....Of course,
the production values are sky high, and the video is technically perfect
and even beautiful, but the end result is still a cool, passionless
work. I actually like Andrew Blake, but I still was nonplussed by this
one.
"Decadence" doesn't lend itself well to a scene-by-scene breakdown. The
editing in "Decadence" is so severe that scene changes occur as many as
15 times in a single minute, bouncing back and forth between different
views and angles of as many as three or four different tableaux. I'll
try and give a vague sense of the movie by describing the materials in
each chapter; the chapter titles are Blake's own. Each sentence
describes one of the tableaux introduced by Blake in that scene.
I. Anita in Venice. Various softcore views of Anita Blond. Solo footage
with Chelsea Blue.
II. Leather Dream. Black-and-White heterosexual foreplay with Sophie
Evans and a guy (filmed on white on white so the two appear as the only
figures on the screen). Color glamour and spanking (with a crop, very
low-key) footage with Sophie. Occasional cuts back to the various scenes
with Anita from I.
III. Chelsea Arrives. Glamour views of Chelsea Blue on a boat in Venice.
Lesbian foreplay with Anita and blindfolded Chelsea. Chelsea, wearing a
fedora, slowly crawling towards Anita by a window.
IV. Candle Wax. Anita and Chelsea in bed; Anita play-spanks Chelsea
with a crop-like device then drips candle wax upon Chelsea. The fedora
scene from II is continued, and Chelsea reaches the window.
V. Ravishing Chelsea. Continuation of fedora scene with Anita and
Chelsea in lesbian foreplay.
VI. Undressed. Continuing from V, Anita digitally penetrates Chelsea.
VII. Satin Sex. Sophie Evans and a guy engage in hetero sex on a bed
with green satin sheets and blue satin backdrop (no condoms, no climax
shot). Chelsea, in black feather boa, goes down on Anita.
VIII. The Gift. Zdenka, the boxcover girl, is introduced; Chelsea and
Anita "unwrap" the sheet concealing Zdenka on a sofa.
IX. Bare Breasts. Chelsea, Anita, and Zdenka seated, with some mild solo
footage. In a complicated montage, Anita has sex with Regina Hall while
Dita smokes and fingers herself.
X. Zdenka's Display. Glamour footage with Zdenka alone. Lesbian sex with
Anita and Chelsea in bed. Lesbian foreplay with all three girls in bed.
Glamour footage of Anita in Chelsea in boat in Venice.
XI. Drinks For Two. In one of the most opulently strange scenes, Zdenka
offers Chelsea a glass, which Chelsea drinks from. Zdenka offers Chelsea
a fork of food, which Chelsea eats. Chelsea leaves the table and returns
with a full wine glass, which is offered to Zdenka. Zdenka drinks, while
Anita smiles widely. Bizarre but compelling, like watching a religious
ritual for a religion you've never heard of.
XII. Cruising Venice. The B/W hetero scene with Sophie from scene II is
resumed, concluding with a climax shot on her breasts (very clinical).
Interspersed are numerous glamour scenes with Chelsea in at least three
different costumes (ranging from satin lingerie to black leather).
XIII. Gold Bondage. Softcore footage with Zdenka, shown shackled around
neck, waist, and thigh as per the boxcover. Anita and Chelsea have sex
next to her, but Zdenka does not join in. Interspersed are scenes of
Anita and Chelsea in bed and the two in foreplay on a boat gliding
through Venice.
XIV. Friendship Ring. Anita gives Chelsea and affixes to her a clitoris
ring fitted with a chain (a recurring Andrew Blake motif), while Zdenka
watches.
XV. Liquid Orgasms. Anita and Chelsea in the boat. Anita and Chelsea in
bed. Solo footage with green-and-blue satin-clad Chelsea.
XVI. Payment in Full. Zdenka, kneeling, offers a stack of paper currency
held between her teeth to Anita. Anita accepts and slowly counts it. The
second strangest scene of the movie.
XVII. Tongue Kiss. Similar to XVII. No new scenes.
XVIII. Wet Lips. Solo footage with Chelsea. The credits roll discretely
at the bottom of the screen.
Some random observations....The music, or rather, lack of same, is the
most problematic element in "Decadence". The soundtrack is entirely
percussion, completely nonmuscial. In the scenes where a synthesizer is
used alongside the various drums and cymbals, it is not employed in any
harmonic sense, but only as another form of percussion. Aside from the
drums (et alia), the sound of water lapping (a Venice motif, I suppose)
is usually present in one form or another, and very rarely some generic
female groans and moans are dubbed in. The lack of actual music makes
the rapid-fire editing, shuffling from scene to scene, angle to angle,
that much harder to take...Finally, the total lack of any form of
narration is confusing. However, the movie hits enough standard Black
plot points that I suppose an explicitly drawn plot was not deemed
necessary.
The large majority of the scenes star Anita and Chelsea. Covergirl
Zdenka is present a little less than a third of the time. Sophie Evans
is the only girl who ventures anywhere even near a guy, and she's only
in two scenes. Dita and Regina Hall only appear in one fairly brief
scene. Flagellation with a crop occurs in at least two scenes and is
obviously simulated, to the point of being stylized. Lesbian sex is
limited to mouth and fingers--no vibes or dildos--and is so mannered
that the majority of it cannot be considered hardcore.
DVD extras consist of a 30 scene slideshow, and a bonus movie, "Private
Property", a thirty minute softcore short from six years ago. The
featurette stars Celeste as a dominant/teacher and Draghixa as a
submissive/student, and consists of eight or so short scenarios, most
involving some form of fetish gear/costumes, simulated flagellation,
and/or lesbian sex (there is also one hetero scene with Celeste and one
simulated golden shower scene). It plays almost exactly like a Reader's
Digest version of "Paris Chic" (set in the same city) and hits all the
same trademarked Andrew Blacks motifs, the most notable being the
clitoris ring on a chain at the end.
DVD picture quality is very good, but not perfect, with occasional
artifacts popping up here and there, as if the video were transferred
from a somewhat used film copy. The sound quality is pretty much
flawless.
Obviously, this movie is not for the casual porn renter. In fact, it's
difficult for me to identify precisely what the target audience for this
film would be...Obviously art porn afficionados like myself, but even
for art porn, this is pretty rarefied stuff. Fans of lipstick lesbian
and solo girl sex might consider checking this video out, but the action
within bears little resemblance to the toy-crazed girl/girl scenes found
in standard porn. Probably fetishists will be the most intrigued by the
different forms and styles of gear and costumes displayed by the girls.
Maybe worth a look. For some, this is going to be best the best film
they see all year. They are in the minority, and a small one at that.
Most porn fans should avoid this one.
review #XXXVI
thom...@webtv.net
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