So you've been told "24/7: The Passion of Life" is a good movie about BDSM? Well, there are reasons to be happy about this film and that's because it does NOT make a couple of popular BDSM-related mistakes. That's good. However it makes a lot of other mistakes. And that's very bad.
This movie is two very different women, getting to know each other by coincidence. Maria, a professional dominatrix, and Eva, daughter of a wealthy hotel owner, destined to take over the family business. Growing curious, then fascinated of Marias bizarre yet somehow attracting world of erotic subjection AND freedom, Eva begins a journey of sexual self-discovery.
That doesn't sound so bad, does it? Also, people who are into BDSM are NOT portrayed as perverts or potential criminals. They don't need to be prosecuted, healed, locked away... they're fine!
Unfortunately, if a movie is not bad (in one way) that still doesn't make it good. It also needs good acting, good dialogues, moody pictures, a powerful soundtrack. "24/7: The Passion of Life" doesn't have any of these, at least not enough for a good film. Some actors are pretty convincing, many aren't, the dialogues change from trivial to lecture-like and back - There's no in between, no subtlety. Whenever Maria starts lecturing about religion or sexual freedom, I can't quite shake of the feeling that this should have made a better essay instead of a movie. Even though none of her thoughts are really new to the rather well-educated viewer. The soundtrack mostly fits the religious background theme, although I think it's much of an over-egged pudding every now and then (as my German->English translation website tells me to put it...). Especially Mozart's Lacrimosa, whose intensity has been used up quite a bit by other movie directors already. A little more subtlety might have done some good here, too.
Also, the religious thing: It seems to be much about throwing the ingredients of sadomasochism and Religion together. I didn't really see a dynamic evolving from this mixture. But maybe I didn't get it, as I'm neither religious nor a fan of ample symbolism as much as the makers of this movie seem to be - so I tend to tune that out. Anyhow: just combining two different elements doesn' make a movie - or art in general - interesting at all. That is, unless something new evolves. Like a chemical reaction. No chemistry here, at least none that I'm aware of.
This movie isn't all bad. It's almost okay. But the sad thing is, it could have actually been very good, as the plot is promising and so is the seemingly odd combination of religion and sadomasochism.
