Starved

Erotic thriller fixture Lee Anne Beaman plays a young woman locked away in a basement and deliberately starved by a guy she had believed to be her charming, romantic suitor. His psychopathology, and her helplessness, are graphically portrayed, with both actors turning in strong performances. This film is gripping and, because of its intensity, hard to watch at the same time, especially as it is based on a real life incident.

Ms. Beaman, whom I had previously known only as an awfully pretty, often naked stock figure in Jag Mundhra films and their ilk, is terrific. According to this site, she hasn't been in any movies since, which is a shame. Seems she is much more talented than her filmography would suggest.

I can't believe this film was rated PG. The human sickness shown here is far more disturbing, and I'm sure far more potentially damaging, than the kind of stuff (like Ms. Beaman's prior films) that usually gets an R rating or that goes unrated. I'm sure kids are better off seeing a naked body, or people having sex, than the non-sexual depravity forming the subject of this film.

Another reviewer here suggested that a guy charming a woman only to lock her up and starve her afterward, as happened in this film, is some kind of prototype for male-female relationships generally. I don't know who this reviewer has been dating, but really, the psychopath in this film was just that, a psychopath. His real-life counterpart was convicted of homicide and locked away. This is not your typical date, ladies. The thought of being locked in a basement with Lee Anne Beaman doesn't sound half bad, but the thought of starving her into submission and powerlessness is repulsive. I'm sure all men other than the occasional sicko would feel similarly.

A well done film, but not for the faint of heart.

Although I gave this film 2 stars and didn't like it as a whole, it did have some interesting moments. I think that if the director didn't include the B-storyline of the friend looking for Monica, it would've been a better film. The acting was pretty bad on that side of things. I would've liked the film to have focused on the dynamics between the man and Monica.

I will also say that the ending was a little abrupt for me. I know this film was "based on true events", which makes it pretty tragic. But what I found more tragic is that the story wasn't presented to the viewer better.