The Image (1975)

Writer Jean (an excellent performance by Carl Parker) gets reunited with aloof, but alluring old flame Claire (well played with steely resolve by Marilyn Roberts) at a posh party. Claire introduces Jean to her enticing, yet passive sex slave Anne (a remarkably brave and startling portrayal by the gorgeous Mary Mendum), which inspires Jean to become a willing participant in Claire and Anne's sadomasochistic games.Writer/director Radley Metzger adroitly crafts a deliriously erotic and intoxicating atmosphere, makes nice use of various lovely Paris, France locations, and brings his usual sly wit and elegant style to the bold and absorbing premise. The three leads all do sterling work in their demanding roles. Fetching brunette Valerie Marron has a memorable small part as a salesgirl who happily engages in a steamy threesome with Jean and Anne. Robert Lefebvre's sumptuous cinematography presents a wealth of breathtaking visuals. Best of all, the character of Jean even embarks on an eye-opening journey of carnal self-discovery whereby he finds out that he has a natural penchant for the hard kinky stuff while the provocative story explores in shocking and unflinching detail the extremely fine line that separates pain and pleasure. A supremely exquisite, if overall unsettling 70's adult cinema gem.

"The Image", or "The Punishment of Anne" is a sly piece of art porn that deals with the themes of sadomasochism and sex slavery ("She belongs to me" is the phrase that Claire uses to introduce her young, bisexual, submissive girlfriend to the sleazy Jean).Though it could be worth it for the "gothic chamber" sequence alone, in which a not too slightly modified chandelier is used as an upper arts constrictor and both a cat o' nine tails and a set of needles have a prominent role, there come a shamelessly amusing biblical quote ("Forgive me, for I know what I do" before a whipping session, instead of "Forgive them, for they don't know what they do" before Christ's crucifixion!) and a very convincing Anne staring in a waiter's eyes while her two sadist friends fist f**k her under the gown and order the food.Even though the narrating voice and the unnecessary oral sex got me really bored in the first place, and the ending is kind of disappointing (why not take the s and m thing to its extreme consequences?), the high entertainment value of some tricks, and the visual beauty and almost disturbing pace of the infamous torture chamber scene place this straight down on the annals of erotic cinema.

I had first watched Metzger’s most mainstream film, the Richard Gordon-produced all-star remake of the venerable horror classic THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1979); while in Hollywood early last year I rented his most highly-regarded film, the porn classic THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN (1976).This one’s pretty much on the same level of the latter film, however, and about as graphic (which makes its DVD availability through a respectable albeit cult-oriented label like Synapse a surprising but certainly courageous move on their part). If anything, despite its analogous surface chic, the plot of THE IMAGE – adapted from a novel by Jean de Berg who, allegedly, was really Catherine Robbe-Grillet (wife of novelist/film-maker Alain Robbe-Grillet) – is darker and more intriguing!It also benefits from concentrating on the perverse antics of its central trio and rarely involves other characters; situations are clearly identified by intermittent chapter headings and plot development is usually restricted to voice-over delivered by the male lead – though all of this eventually leads to repetition (which is, perhaps, inevitable in sex films)! Again, the music emerges to be a major asset, as are the attractive Parisian locations (though, here, Metzger plays a little too obviously with phallic symbols!). As was the case with STORY OF O (1975), too, the female casting is dead-on but the male lead is rather bland (the director clearly saw other attributes in him).The best scenes here would be: the young girl’s humiliation in a public garden by her demanding mistress, the first intense sexual encounter among the protagonists, the equally arousing three-way fling in the booth of a lingerie shop involving the younger members of the depraved trio and a sexy salesgirl, and the excruciating climactic bondage in the so-called Gothic Chamber. Other scenes in which the sex is carried out in a subtle manner but in full view of the public (including one where the young girl’s private parts are stuffed with food by her companions!) don’t work so well. The ending, too, is a disappointment: the women, suddenly and inexplicably, turn on the man – after which the young girl leaves for good; the older woman eventually visits the man at his house and the two make love for the first time (which suggests that he had wanted her all along, despite his statement to the contrary at the very start of the picture!).

I suppose it can be said of Radley Metzger's "The Image", that it is the film that "Story of O" should have been. It is quite impossible to not be reminded of that film while watching this one, as the subject matter is the same: the world of sadomasochistic sex relationships. Both are gorgeously filmed, and both play somewhat like sexually charged fairy-tales. Both films were based on classic French erotic books, helmed by women. However the approach here is somewhat different, as "The Image" goes much further than "O" dared to go. In this unforgettable film, a young model by the name of Anne is 'owned' by a somewhat older, ice queen of a woman named Claire. When Jean, a handsome stud meets up with this bizarre couple, so begins an intense sexual game, as Claire gives Jean a guided tour through the world of S&M. The young Anne becomes the object of an endless series of kinky tortures/pleasures. Whippings, bondage, bizarre humiliations concerning urination, and oral sex, all filmed in breathtaking detail by the legendary Radley Metzger. Here is a man with a fascination for sex, nudity, and beautiful women. Fortunately, this man is equally concerned with more important things as well, such as character development, coherent and interesting story lines, symbolism, even the 'psychology' of sexual behavior. Important, for without these things, films like 'Image' would be not much more than a meaningless collection of beautifully filmed erotic set pieces. On the surface, Anne is the slave here, and Claire and Jean are in total control. but by the time it all ends, the viewer has to wonder, just who in that 3 way relationship actually had the power. I must give fair warning here: 'The Image' can be a somewhat harrowing experience for the average viewer. Not only is the sex graphic, some of it actual "hardcore", but much of it is surprisingly brutal, and mean-spirited as well. By the end of the film, I found myself feeling somewhat uncomfortable, even depressed at witnessing Annes merciless degradation and suffering, even though it was all 'consensual'. As in 'Story of O', it is made fairly clear that the heroine of the story was free to leave, whenever things got to be too much. And the ending is what you could call a happy one, as each of the three characters discovers something within themselves, and is therefore 'set free' of their respective chains. For someone such as myself, who is not involved in the S&M lifestyle, it can be hard to see Anne's terror and pain as something enjoyable. Is she doing this because she enjoys hard sex, and being dominated, or is it because she is psychologically unhealthy, which would mean that these two 'masters' are preying upon a girl by exploiting her sickness? If it wasn't a good film, i believe these questions would not be asked. Therefore "The Image" succeeds, in my opinion, at being a bizarre, but remarkable work of art, unlike the inferior 'Story of O', which made me feel nothing, and taught me nothing about the S&M scene. Recommended, but be prepared to see things not seen in mainstream cinema!