Click to read the article
Some Body (2002)
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 80 mins
Theatrical Release: Apr 26, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: Los Angeles twentysomethings Samantha (Stephanie Bennett) and Anthony (Jeremy Guillory) have been together for seven years, and she has grown bored. Following an evening where he finds her at a party on the verge of a tryst with another woman and a man, Samantha decides to move out on her own in... Los Angeles twentysomethings Samantha (Stephanie Bennett) and Anthony (Jeremy Guillory) have been together for seven years, and she has grown bored. Following an evening where he finds her at a party on the verge of a tryst with another woman and a man, Samantha decides to move out on her own in order to sexually find herself. She seduces a neighbor upon moving into her new place, but this is just the beginning of a string of casual encounters. As Samantha attempts to juggle her job as an elementary school teacher with her nocturnal activities, she finds that casual sex is both the reason that she left her relationship as well as a means of coping with breaking up with a trusted friend. Obviously influenced by the Dogme 95 movement (though not adhering to all of its tenets), Henry Berrial's SOME BODY uses digital video to its advantage, creating a sense of intimacy with very personal material. Shot very convincingly in documentary style--complete with talking head interviews--the story is reportedly based on events in the life of actor and co-screenwriter Bennett, which her raw, natural performance would seem to reinforce. The film was the first feature to be shown digitally at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Stephanie Bennett, Jeramy Guillory, Billy Ray Gallion, Tom Vitorino, Laura Katz
Screenwriter: Henry Barrial, Stephanie Bennett
Producer: Stephanie Bennett, Henry Barrial, Geoffrey Pepos
Reviews
A gripping, searing portrait of a lost soul trying to find her way through life.
[Bennett's] quite convincing as she tries to figure out what has gone wrong in her personal life -- and how she can fix it before it is too late.
Some Body often looks like an episode of the TV show Blind Date, only less technically proficient and without the pop-up comments.
Bennett's naturalistic performance speaks volumes more truth than any 'reality' show, and anybody contemplating their own drastic life changes should watch Some Body first.
To be influenced chiefly by humanity's greatest shame, reality shows -- reality shows for God's sake! -- is a crime that should be punishable by chainsaw.
Some Body smacks of exhibitionism more than it does cathartic truth telling.
It's so tedious that it makes you forgive every fake, dishonest, entertaining and, ultimately, more perceptive moment in Bridget Jones's Diary.
Just because it really happened to you, honey, doesn't mean that it's interesting to anyone else.
In the end there is one word that best describes this film: honest.
You might not want to hang out with Samantha, but you'll probably see a bit of yourself in her unfinished story.
Some Body will take you places you haven't been, and also places you have.
Ms. Bennett is worth watching, and her story is weirdly detailed enough to prove once more that truth is too strange for good fiction.
An unremittingly ugly movie to look at, listen to, and think about, it is quite possibly the sturdiest example yet of why the DV revolution has cheapened the artistry of making a film.
Related Forums

by: REEL_REVIEWER 12/20/02

Top Critic

