Temptation - Can You Resist? - Blu-ray

Content: New York artist Martine (Olivia Thirlby) comes to Los Angeles to work with acclaimed sound designer Peter (John Krasinski) on the soundtrack for her first film project. In the process, she becomes part of an outwardly stable family fabric, but one that soon reveals some clear weaknesses. For instance, Peter's wife, psychiatrist Julie (Rosemarie De Witt) gets some clear advances from one of her patients, charming screenwriter Billy (Justin Kirk), which she finds increasingly difficult to resist. Kolt (India Ennenga), her daughter from her first marriage to Leroy (Dylan McDermott) is madly in love with Peter's assistant David (Rhys Wakefield), who in turn only has eyes for newcomer Martine. And more and more sexual tension grows between the attractive artist and the sound designer as they work with sounds in an extremely sensual way, which they find hard to escape. This creates an emotional powder keg that threatens to explode at any moment...

Filmmaker Ry Russo-Young co-wrote the script for her latest directorial effort, Temptation - Can You Resist, with Lena Dunham, the award-winning writer/director and star of the series Girls. Dunham, one of the most successful representatives of young Hollywood, perfectly manages to hold a mirror up to the so-called hipster culture of her generation. First and foremost, this goes down enormously well with critics. But while Girls is able to reach a relatively large audience, Dunham is less successful with her feature film scripts and directing. And Temptation will also struggle to enrapture many viewers. For despite a first-rate cast, very atmospheric visuals, and some well-observed moments, the script is simply too overstuffed and the staging, by contrast, far too worn to make for a coherent overall picture.

The film actually tells not one, but three different stories. That's just too much for a running time of just over 80 minutes, especially since Russo-Young doesn't exactly pace the action. A lot of things here just remain too superficial, which is a real shame considering the moments that are well done. Especially the scene in which Peter Martine shows how sensual sounds can be in the bathroom of his house shows the director's great talent for emotionally stirring moments. Such potential is then revealed in many other scenes, but mostly the action just plods along until the unspectacular ending.

Ttemptation - Can You Resist? is very pretty to look at. Christopher Blauvelt's camerawork is extremely atmospheric, especially in conjunction with the music. It creates a mood that is at times strongly reminiscent of Lisa Cholodenko's L.A. drama Laurel Canyon. The actors, especially Olivia Thirlby (Juno), John Krasinski (The Call of the Whales) and young India Enenga, play consistently well to very well, which then also consoles over some small lengths. Who appreciates artful American independent cinema and craftsmanship quality over dramaturgical depth, which can take this quiet relationship drama definitely to mind.

Picture + Sound: The unexciting production is held in very warm, authentic-looking colors. Otherwise, the very clean image is pleasing with good overall sharpness and coherent contrasts. Every now and then the whole thing looks slightly washed out, but this is a deliberately used stylistic device and not a technical weakness. The sound is also very restrained, which applies both to the dialogue, which is mixed in a well understandable way, and to the quiet soundtrack. As a result, things remain rather quiet on the surround channels as well. But for a quiet drama, this is absolutely fitting, which is why it also gets a clear Good.

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray only offers the trailer and more programming tips from the provider.

Conclusion:Ttemptation - Can You Resist? is a quiet indie drama whose ambitions get noticeably in the way at times. The cast is compelling, as is the visuals. However, the very worn narrative pace and the script overloaded with too many subplots keep pushing down the entertainment value, which is good in itself. The positive aspects, however, are enough to make the film well worth watching for lovers of American indie dramas in the style of Laurel Canyon!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp