Surprised at the low score on Rotten Tomatoes and by other "reputable" critics. They must have left before Tucci's final speech at the "sexual harassment" hearing. He summed up all the nuance and complexity of the central relationship and the loss of a chunk of his life at a middling college with mediocre PC self-righteous faculty. The only aspect I found unconvincing in the film was the cliche reaction of the wife and daughter: the wronged females, without any exploration of issues of marital and filial loyalty, generosity, acceptance, even the possibility of forgiveness.The rest was beautifully balanced, fleshing out quite satisfactorily the ambiguity of the central relationship. Both parties are responsible and there's no simplistic perspective of the male as sexual predator. On the contrary, the young woman is far more aggressive in using her charms as a means to fulfill her ulterior motives. As a woman, I applaud this narrative and dramatic choice. Most of the time, sexual harassment is a two way thing, females often being more deadlier than the male. The young actress did a beautiful job, but the movie was carried single handedly by Mr Tucci. There's no character he doesn't bring subtlety and nuance to. He's absolutely pitch perfect here as the conflicted, flawed but self-aware central character. His portrayal elicits oodles of sympathy from the viewer. A look, a twitch of the eyebrow, a verbal quip: Tucci is a master of this. I could watch him on a loop forever. Incredibly satisfying viewing.
Review of Submission
