Going Under (2004 film)
Encyclopedia
Going Under is a 2004
drama film
about a married man and a partnered
dominatrix
who form a personal relationship and begin seeing each other outside her workplace. The film stars Geno Lechner and Roger Rees
and was co-written and directed by psychotherapist
Eric Werthman. Its first public showing was in 2004 at the São Paulo
Film Festival. It debuted theatrically in 2006 in New York City
, and was released on DVD in 2007 through the independent company Blue Underground
.
Going Under was praised for giving an in-depth look at the emotions involved in a sadomasochistic
relationship, and received mixed reactions to the clinical approach of the film, influenced by co-writer/director Eric Werthman's background.
) and his dominatrix
, Suzanne (Geno Lechner), develop a personal relationship during their sadomasochistic
sessions and, when Suzanne quits her job, they attempt to maintain that relationship outside her workplace, without the rules and boundaries that existed in the S&M
dungeon
.
During the opening credits, images are shown of fresco
es from a villa in Pompeii
called the Villa of the Mysteries
. Of particular relevance to the film is a fresco depicting an angel with a whip.
Suzanne is in a dungeon setting with her client, Peter. Suzanne informs Peter that she is quitting at the end of the month, and gives in to Peter's request to see her on the outside. Their agreement causes Peter to be distracted at home with his wife, Pat (Kit Flanagan), and at his work as a psychotherapist
. Pat confronts him and, although she already knows and accepts Peter's sadomasochistic activities, she is concerned to hear of Peter's attachment to Suzanne.
Upon meeting Peter on the outside for the first time, Suzanne is unsure if she has made the right move in deciding to see him, but her curiosity overpowers her reluctance and they continue talking. Later, it becomes apparent that Suzanne is just as preoccupied by their relationship as Peter, when she is shown in bed with her girlfriend, Miko (Miho Nikaido
), who notices Suzanne's distraction and confronts her about it.
Flashback to Peter, calling himself "Robert", meeting for the first time Suzanne, who was going by the name "Mistress Diana". He removes his clothes and tensely waits for her. He describes to her his favorite masochistic acts and she begins their session. They feel a connection quickly and at the end of that session, they share their real names.
In the present time, Suzanne's relationship with Miko is faltering. Peter is struggling to write a psychiatric paper, remembering his childhood of coping with a severe learning disability
and Attention Deficit Disorder
.
Peter and Suzanne continue exploring their S&M relationship in flashbacks, with Peter receiving piercings and pinching. Outside the dungeon, Peter clings to her, but also tries to analyze her or overpower her at the same time. In a meeting at a diner
, Suzanne tells Peter about a time in her teens when she tried to make friends with a boy named Tim in a new community by performing oral sex
on him. Suzanne says she felt proud of herself until everyone at her new school found out about it. Peter suggests that if the memory did not still hurt, she would not have brought it up. He tells her about his struggles in school with a learning disability and how it still affects him. Suzanne again becomes uncomfortable with Peter's intimacy with her.
After Suzanne puts off meeting with Peter on the outside again, he goes to an S&M club, but he is unable to get in the mood and stops his dominatrix, Mistress Terry (Angela Forrest), shortly after she begins flogging
him. He leaves a pleading message on Suzanne's answering machine. Rather than meet with him again, she goes to Philadelphia for a one-time session with an old client, facilitated by Suzanne's former madam
, Juno (Phyllis Somerville
). When she returns to New York City
, she gets news that her mother, Gretchen (Jenny Sterlin), has cancer. She calls Peter to drive her to her mother's house. Suzanne and her mother are shown to have a tense relationship, causing her to lean on Peter after the visit.
Peter drives Suzanne back to her apartment and they go inside. They begin passionately kissing for the first time. Suzanne says that she will never be comfortable with how they met, and although she seems to want more, she stops Peter before he penetrates
her. She leaves the room only to return and begin to allow Peter to touch her again sexually, at which point her face goes blank and she collapses in his arms, sinking to the floor. Peter sits with her for a while and returns home.
Days later, they meet again outdoors. Suzanne says she cannot allow herself to want Peter. He says he understands how she feels but does not want to lose her, but Suzanne ends the relationship anyway.
In the final scene, Peter and Pat are sitting lakeside. Peter apologizes for the things he has done to hurt her through his relationship with Suzanne. Finally, in a voice-over
telephone conversation, Peter asks Suzanne if they can meet on the outside again, and Suzanne says it will not be any different than it was a year ago. Peter falls silent.
where it was shown in October 2005 and named Best Narrative Feature, and
the Northampton Independent Film Festival in November 2005, where it was named Best of Fest.
3,917.
on June 26, 2007. It is unrated, in color, in the NTSC
format, and widescreen 1.78:1/16:9. It is not closed captioned or subtitled. Its special features include audio commentary with co-writer/director Eric Werthman and Roger Rees
, Pushing the Boundaries (interviews with Roger Rees and Geno Lechner), footage from the Black & Blue Ball in New York City, theatrical trailers, and a DVD-ROM essay on Going Under written by Marta Helliesen, Ph.D., a sex therapist in New York City.
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
about a married man and a partnered
Significant other
Significant other is colloquially used as a gender-blind term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming anything about marital status, relationship status, or sexual orientation, as it is vague enough to avoid offense by using a term that an individual...
dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
who form a personal relationship and begin seeing each other outside her workplace. The film stars Geno Lechner and Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
and was co-written and directed by psychotherapist
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
Eric Werthman. Its first public showing was in 2004 at the São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
Film Festival. It debuted theatrically in 2006 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and was released on DVD in 2007 through the independent company Blue Underground
Blue Underground
Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD....
.
Going Under was praised for giving an in-depth look at the emotions involved in a sadomasochistic
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
relationship, and received mixed reactions to the clinical approach of the film, influenced by co-writer/director Eric Werthman's background.
Plot
Peter (Roger ReesRoger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
) and his dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
, Suzanne (Geno Lechner), develop a personal relationship during their sadomasochistic
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
sessions and, when Suzanne quits her job, they attempt to maintain that relationship outside her workplace, without the rules and boundaries that existed in the S&M
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
.
During the opening credits, images are shown of fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es from a villa in Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
called the Villa of the Mysteries
Villa of the Mysteries
The Villa of the Mysteries or Villa dei Misteri is a well preserved ruin of a Roman Villa which lies some 400 metres northwest of Pompeii, southern Italy.-Overview:...
. Of particular relevance to the film is a fresco depicting an angel with a whip.
Suzanne is in a dungeon setting with her client, Peter. Suzanne informs Peter that she is quitting at the end of the month, and gives in to Peter's request to see her on the outside. Their agreement causes Peter to be distracted at home with his wife, Pat (Kit Flanagan), and at his work as a psychotherapist
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. Pat confronts him and, although she already knows and accepts Peter's sadomasochistic activities, she is concerned to hear of Peter's attachment to Suzanne.
Upon meeting Peter on the outside for the first time, Suzanne is unsure if she has made the right move in deciding to see him, but her curiosity overpowers her reluctance and they continue talking. Later, it becomes apparent that Suzanne is just as preoccupied by their relationship as Peter, when she is shown in bed with her girlfriend, Miko (Miho Nikaido
Miho Nikaido
Miho Nikaidō is a Japanese actress.In 1996 she was engaged to US director Hal Hartley who had recently cast her in his movie Flirt...
), who notices Suzanne's distraction and confronts her about it.
Flashback to Peter, calling himself "Robert", meeting for the first time Suzanne, who was going by the name "Mistress Diana". He removes his clothes and tensely waits for her. He describes to her his favorite masochistic acts and she begins their session. They feel a connection quickly and at the end of that session, they share their real names.
In the present time, Suzanne's relationship with Miko is faltering. Peter is struggling to write a psychiatric paper, remembering his childhood of coping with a severe learning disability
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
and Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
.
Peter and Suzanne continue exploring their S&M relationship in flashbacks, with Peter receiving piercings and pinching. Outside the dungeon, Peter clings to her, but also tries to analyze her or overpower her at the same time. In a meeting at a diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
, Suzanne tells Peter about a time in her teens when she tried to make friends with a boy named Tim in a new community by performing oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on him. Suzanne says she felt proud of herself until everyone at her new school found out about it. Peter suggests that if the memory did not still hurt, she would not have brought it up. He tells her about his struggles in school with a learning disability and how it still affects him. Suzanne again becomes uncomfortable with Peter's intimacy with her.
After Suzanne puts off meeting with Peter on the outside again, he goes to an S&M club, but he is unable to get in the mood and stops his dominatrix, Mistress Terry (Angela Forrest), shortly after she begins flogging
Flagellation
Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
him. He leaves a pleading message on Suzanne's answering machine. Rather than meet with him again, she goes to Philadelphia for a one-time session with an old client, facilitated by Suzanne's former madam
Madam
Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...
, Juno (Phyllis Somerville
Phyllis Somerville
Phyllis Somerville, born 1944, is an American stage, screen, and television actress. Her most prominent role to date was in 2006 as the mother of the sexual predator played by Jackie Earle Haley in Todd Field's Little Children....
). When she returns to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, she gets news that her mother, Gretchen (Jenny Sterlin), has cancer. She calls Peter to drive her to her mother's house. Suzanne and her mother are shown to have a tense relationship, causing her to lean on Peter after the visit.
Peter drives Suzanne back to her apartment and they go inside. They begin passionately kissing for the first time. Suzanne says that she will never be comfortable with how they met, and although she seems to want more, she stops Peter before he penetrates
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
her. She leaves the room only to return and begin to allow Peter to touch her again sexually, at which point her face goes blank and she collapses in his arms, sinking to the floor. Peter sits with her for a while and returns home.
Days later, they meet again outdoors. Suzanne says she cannot allow herself to want Peter. He says he understands how she feels but does not want to lose her, but Suzanne ends the relationship anyway.
In the final scene, Peter and Pat are sitting lakeside. Peter apologizes for the things he has done to hurt her through his relationship with Suzanne. Finally, in a voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
telephone conversation, Peter asks Suzanne if they can meet on the outside again, and Suzanne says it will not be any different than it was a year ago. Peter falls silent.
Cast
- Geno Lechner as Suzanne. Geno Lechner felt an unexplainable connection to the film before knowing if she would actually play Suzanne. After she and co-star Roger Rees met with director Eric Werthman, they went to a dungeon where Lechner and Rees saw the S&M world up-close for the first time. Despite having no previous experience, Lechner's training for the film paid off: her performance was so convincing to some professional dominatrices who saw the film that they asked the director if she really was a dominatrix.
- Roger ReesRoger ReesRoger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
as Peter. Roger Rees's agents originally told him that Going Under would be too racy and they weren't going to send him the script. However, Rees prefers to play diverse and challenging roles rather than the same types of characters, so he asked them to send the script anyway. Although his character's nudity was a concern, he decided the story made it worthwhile. - Other cast: Kit Flanagan as Pat, Miho NikaidoMiho NikaidoMiho Nikaidō is a Japanese actress.In 1996 she was engaged to US director Hal Hartley who had recently cast her in his movie Flirt...
as Miko, Jon Johnson as Crying man (Peter's patient), Wendy Scharfman as Paula (Peter's patient), Phyllis SomervillePhyllis SomervillePhyllis Somerville, born 1944, is an American stage, screen, and television actress. Her most prominent role to date was in 2006 as the mother of the sexual predator played by Jackie Earle Haley in Todd Field's Little Children....
as Juno, Beau Van Donkelaar as Steve (Suzanne's brother), Angela Forrest as Mistress Terry, Jenny Sterlin as Gretchen.
Film festivals
Going Under has been shown at a number of American and international film festivals.http://goingunderthefilm.com/screenings.html The first public screening of Going Under took place at the São Paulo International Film Festival on October 22, 2004. It was named the festival's Official Selection. Other significant screenings include the CineKink Film Festival in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where it was shown in October 2005 and named Best Narrative Feature, and
the Northampton Independent Film Festival in November 2005, where it was named Best of Fest.
Theatrical release
Going Under played in one movie theater in New York City from June 15, 2006 through June 22, 2006 (8 days). Its total gross was US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3,917.
DVD
Going Under was released on DVD by Blue UndergroundBlue Underground
Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD....
on June 26, 2007. It is unrated, in color, in the NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
format, and widescreen 1.78:1/16:9. It is not closed captioned or subtitled. Its special features include audio commentary with co-writer/director Eric Werthman and Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
, Pushing the Boundaries (interviews with Roger Rees and Geno Lechner), footage from the Black & Blue Ball in New York City, theatrical trailers, and a DVD-ROM essay on Going Under written by Marta Helliesen, Ph.D., a sex therapist in New York City.