Too Much Flesh

Running time: N/A

Too Much Flesh smolders with a sensual tale of a sexual revolution's effects on a small town. Lyle stands naked in a cornfield in a state nearing ecstasy, but it is mixed with an uneasy self-consciousness. He looks around nervously, runs through the field for a while, and then stops again to sway amidst the dry stalks. So begins Too Much Flesh, a tale of sexual discovery set against small-town repression. Lyle is in an unconsummated marriage to Amy. Their marriage is one of convenience and economics, as their union has made it possible for the town to continue its tradition of farming. They live together like sister and brother, but are now thinking of having a child because "that's what everyone expects." Enter Vernon and his female companion Juliette. Vernon is a writer returning home to the small town and best friend he left behind. But Vernon and Juliette's relationship turns out to be just as staged as Lyle and Amy's, and a passing sexual encounter between Lyle and Juliette shakes this small town's sense of order. Too Much Flesh is a study of sexual freedom and how this freedom threatens society's moral constructs. And as the facade of Lyle and Juliette's obligatory relationship falls away with their growing intimacy and exploration, the town's Puritanical codes call for retribution. Too Much Flesh is the second in an English-language Dogma trilogy (the first being Lovers, also screening in this year's Cinequest.) Reviewed by Matthew Aquino