Tão Doce Quanto Perversa

'So Sweet So Perverse' is a 1969 kinky yet stylish giallo mystery thriller with a cool noir feel and glossy production values. This marks the second collaboration between Umberto Lenzi/Carroll Baker following 'Orgasmo'. The movie is quite enjoyable with an engaging set up, a strong cast with twists and turns added along the way for good measure.

The Plot = A wealthy businessman Jean Reynaud (Jean-Louis Trintigant) whose marriage to his wife Danielle (Erika Blanc) is on the rocks, he becomes slowly drawn to the new upstairs neighbour Nicole (Carroll Baker) and the two begin an affair, however Nicole's abusive boyfriend Klaus (Horst Frank) starts causing trouble for the two lovers, putting them both in danger for their lives.

The movie's beautifully shot with gorgeous locations loaded with wild colours and stunning backdrops which makes everything look polished and sophisticated. But there are quite a few problems to be had here such as the slow and sluggish pace during the first half of the movie which could have been better developed, lacking hardly any suspense or excitement. The plot twist reveal was also predictable and anyone who is familiar with the genre tropes will see them coming a mile off. On a positive note the second half of the movie did get more interesting, especially towards the final act, it just took the movie way too long to fully get going.

The cast was great here and did make up for the movie's shortcomings. Jean-Louis Trintigant provided a song and charismatic leading man performance. Carroll Baker gave a solid and effective turn as Nicole and steals every scene she's in. Erika Blanc was also convincing and impressive in her role as the cheated wife and then finally Horst Frank provided just the right amount of mystery and menace to his role.

Overall 'So Sweet So Perverse' is an okay giallo effort, but pales in comparison to the director's previous outing 'Orgasmo'.