Dive, She Said

Thicker Than Water

Comments (0) By Dennis Lim Tuesday, Jul 1 2003

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photo: Jean-Claude Moireau

Heat stroke: Sagnier in Swimming Pool

Details

Swimming Pool
Directed by François Ozon
Written by Ozon and Emanuèle Bernheim
Focus
Opens July 2, at Lincoln Plaza and the Sunshine

Gasoline
Directed by Monica Stambrini
Written by Stambrini, Elena Stancanelli, and AnneRitte Ciccone
Strand
Opens July 2, at the Quad

More About

More literally lesbionic, Monica Stambrini's Gasoline is a no-fuss Italian addition to the killer-dyke subgenre. Our not so heavenly creatures this time are mousy waitress Lenni (Regina Orioli) and tough mechanic Stella (Maya Sansa). Lenni's overbearing mother stops in at the gas station where the couple work and is accidentally offed when Stella intervenes mid-harangue. The girls take a battered Volvo on the lam, confronting homophobic meatheads and the usual body-disposal woes. Most distressing to poor Lenni, Mamma refuses to shut up, continuing to play nagging superego even in death. Devoid of originality, Gasolineis at least a model of modesty—a road movie that goes nowhere slowly, and ends up where it began.