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Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Victor Banerjee ... see more see more... , Patrick Albenque , Smilja Mihailovitch , Boris Bergman , Geoffrey Carey , Stockard Channing , Richard Dieux , Olivia Brunaux , Charlene , Robert Benmussa , Sophie Patel

A perverse, dark-humored comedy drama, Bitter Moon crosses the line into intentional camp more often than not in its tale of a kinky cripple Oscar (Peter Coyote) and his beautiful wife Mimi (Emmanuell... read more read more...e Seigner). Oscar ensnares a proper British man, Nigel (Hugh Grant) on an ocean-liner and makes him listen to the twisted tale of his relationship with Mimi (related in lengthy flashbacks) and how erotic obsession turned to homicidal hatred. Nigel is married to Fiona (Kristin Scott-Thomas), but is captivated by Mimi and listens to Oscar's grotesque stories because of his fascination. Naturally, the whole thing ends in tragedy, but it's wicked fun getting there, as director Roman Polanski paces the film quite well and the cast (particularly Coyote) is wonderful. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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79% liked it

8,608 ratings

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63% liked it

30 critics

R, 2 hr. 19 min.

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Release Date: January 1, 1992

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DVD Release Date: June 3, 2003

Stats: 555 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (555)

  • gokhale1
    May 30, 2011
    gokhale1
    Surely we've all heard of real life stories floating about of a man completely bowled over by a woman with her bewitching looks, beauty to die for....yet asking her out turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life!

    In "Bitter Moon", Roman Polanski's overlooked 1992 drama, P... read moreeter Coyote's character Oscar narrates his sordid experience of a similar kind to a reluctant listener, Nigel (Hugh Grant) aboard a cruise ship sailing to Istanbul.

    Oscar, a small-time writer on a wheel-chair observes that Nigel who is travelling with his wife Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas) seems to have been struck by the thunderbolt that is Oscar's comely wife Mimi (Emanuelle Seigner). Oscar urges Nigel to "beware".."She is a walking man-trap", he tells him!! Nigel, clearly taken aback, of course, denies being attracted to her.

    Oscar almost forces Nigel to listen to his bizarre tale to Nigel, who although initially reluctant, seems to be experience some sort of guilty pleasure in hearing Oscar out.

    In a series of flashbacks, Oscar narrates the lurid true story involving him and Mimi...a tale which begins as an innocent romance and turns into what Nigel, at one point, describes as a "perverse sex life" as he almost throws up when Oscar covers some of the most sickening details..


    Why does Oscar decide to tell his story in such vivid detail to a complete stranger? Why does Nigel, who clearly thinks Oscar is a sick man for making his wife the subject of an erotic tale, keep coming back to him for more? Does he harbour the hidden desire to have Mimi..in spite of his wife being around?


    All throughout the first half of the film, Polanski plants these questions in the viewer's mind, which are soon answered as the story unfolds at its own pace yet never lets up. It is almost shocking, the way Polanski reveals the true personalities of some of his characters, as they initially seem to carry a very different persona about them.

    At one point, the victim and the victimizer almost switch places in a very dramatic fashion and you are left in limbo as to who to root for! Of course, that is one of the strongest points of the film...it is very interesting the way these characters have been written. These are probably some of the grayest characters you may have come across in any form of fiction.

    Roman Polanski directs like the pro that he is and that is not unexpected of him. The screenplay takes its time to unfold as some of Oscar and Mimi's sexual encounters are depicted in considerable detail. Some may find it rather odd that Polanski casts his own wife, Emanuelle Seigner, in the central role of the seductress and makes her enact all kinds of scenes that one normally wouldn't want to watch his wife doing with other men!

    One of the film's most winning aspects is the performances, with Peter Coyote delivering a rock-solid performance of an aspiring writer reduced to a helpless cripple who can't seem to escape the situation he is in.

    Emanuelle Seigner's transformation from a sweet girl on the bus with a child-like innocence to the temptress who could have any man she wants, to the 'victim' who actually seems to experience true love is breathtaking! I guess Polanski couldn't have asked for a better actress to fill Mimi's shoes.

    Hugh Grant, the typically English dude, isn't very different from what we've seen of him in countless other films.

    Kristin Scott Thomas doesn't get to do much and it's a pity.

    Victor Banerjee appears for a short while to play a character probably written to depict the "sanity" or "normalcy" in this whole alarming state of affairs with the four central characters.

    "Bitter Moon" is an intense drama bordering on erotica that may not be everyone's cup of tea, but is still a highly interesting work of cinema by one of the most prolific and revered film-makers of our time. Do not miss!
  • ajv2688
    May 6, 2011
    ajv2688
    Normally I love Polanski's work, but I didn't know what to think of this movie. First of all it's really long, and there's a lot of talking. There are a lot of erotic scenes, and most of them are good. I didn't know weather I liked it or not, but overall it's an okay thriller/... read moredrama.
  • harrycaul
    November 1, 2007
    harrycaul
    There are some people who would have you believe that Polanski made little of worth between "Chinatown" in 1974 and his critical comeback "The Pianist" in 2002. I may be biased but I can find something great in just about everything he shoots and I would rate this as one of his b... read moreest movies. It's a dark and disturbing but blackly comic tale of an obsessive and destructive relationship. Polanski often struggles to bring a film in under two hours, and he doesn't do so here, but it's compulsive viewing from start to finish. Peter Coyote is magnificent and Hugh Grant's stammering upper-class-twit act has never been used to better effect. On the downside, Vangelis' soundtrack is very dreary.
  • pier007
    July 29, 2007
    pier007
    Polanski accomplishes another quest for love in the depths of hell. an outstanding and upsetting erotic drama. Peter Coyote completely steals the movie.
  • deano
    March 13, 2007
    deano
    French Emmanuelle Seigner looks bloody hotter in her nudity and sex scenes in this Roman Polanski's tale of obsessive love.
  • RossCollinsUK
    March 11, 2007
    RossCollinsUK
    Not your usual Hugh Grant movie! An American writer recounts the story of his perverse relationship with his beautiful wife to a frigid British couple on a cruise. Absorbing stuff.
  • DrStrangeblog
    December 20, 2008
    DrStrangeblog
    Supposed to be trashy fun, but it's mostly just trashy.
  • alanjayh
    April 10, 2008
    alanjayh
    very interesting movie...peter coyote does a wonderful job..adult themes might turn some off..but if its your bag..its a real enjoyable yarn..nice paris setting and aboard the ship....good storytelling and scriptwriting..
  • ColMongol
    October 6, 2010
    ColMongol
    Wickedly risque, darkly humorous, deliciously fatal in its tragic finality - beware of obsession and lethal weaponry...
  • opheliagirl98
    June 30, 2007
    opheliagirl98
    Coyote chews the crap out of the scenery, and it does wander into gratuitous territory sometimes, but it was ultimately rather disturbing. Makes you think twice about who you might talk to on a cruise ship.

View All Bitter Moon Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 19, 2010
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

It's a matter of some dispute whether Roman Polanski's letter to the darker side of the romantic impulse, but there's little question that this is his most emotionally complex movie. Full Review

Derek Elley
March 26, 2009
Derek Elley, Variety

Strong playing by topliner Peter Coyote can't compensate for a script that's all over the map and a tone that veers from outre comedy to erotic game-playing. Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

This material obviously appeals to his sense of mischief, which remains alive and well. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

By turns funny, brilliant, shocking and downright terrible, this choppy, two-hour-plus voyage is for Polanski aficionados who don't mind watching their favorite, aging enfant terrible going gleefully ... Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Well, of course Bitter Moon is wretched excess. But Polanski directs it without compromise or apology. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

I'm not sure what audience Polanski intended this movie for, but I'm obviously not in the target group. Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

During 2 1/2 hours of choppy waters, soured love affairs and seasickly moods, the controversial director's Lust Boat becomes the Loathe Boat. By then, it's way too late for Dramamine. Full Review

February 19, 2010
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Bitter Moon is entertaining, but in the manner of ghastly car crashes and legendary theatrical disasters; you can't take your eyes off it, but you often want to. Full Review

Ian Nathan
February 19, 2010
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine

Deliberately provocative, infuriatingly melodramatic, this is a film that begs not to be taken seriously, and requires a ready suspension of moral discernment for maximum enjoyment. Full Review

February 19, 2010
Film4

Polanski's study of a marriage based on obsession, lust and cruelty was panned by critics as tasteless pornography, but there's a rich fascination in the film's openly voyeuristic, lurid extremes. Full Review

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  • He's starred in the following movies, name the actor Sense And Sensibility Bitter Moon Nine Months Extreme Measures  Answer »
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