In what for most people would be the perfect romantic fantasy, two lithe, young lovers in their early twenties drag a mattress over to the open window in FIRST LOVE, LAST RITES. With their hormones raging, they spend the day and on into the bright orange sunset making love. Completely nude, their bodies intertwine into one in a sexual ballet that director Jesse Peretz cuts much too short.
As Sissel, TWO GIRLS AND A GUY's Natasha Wagner uses her deeply penetrating eyes to seduce the camera. Oozing sex from every pore, she is perfectly cast the film's female lead. When she gives her mate the "come hither" look, he obeys without question. She has him on such a tight leash that he's willing to follow her every command, whether it be getting his fingernails painted different pastel colors or going to the graveyard at night to get a moontan. Aluminum foil under the neck ensures that their tans are uniform.
Much less successful is the casting of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN's Giovanni Ribisi as Sissel's lover, Joey, a Brooklyn guy in town on vacation. His bleary eyes have the constant look of someone recovering from a bad hangover. Sissel is Joey's "first," but Sissel seems quite experienced. When Joey just turns over the lovemaking to Sissel, the picture comes alive with a raw sexual energy that most films are afraid of. (The sex isn't that explicit, but it is intensely natural.)
Much less successful is the rest of the movie, especially the subplot of Joey's teaming up with Sissel's father to become rich by trapping the eels in the Louisiana Bayou, where the story is set. (The locale raises the temperature nicely, providing the steamy atmosphere which filmmakers prefer for filming sex scenes.)
Another subplot deals with Sissel's many quirks, not the least of which is her obsession with boiling her vinyl records. (The film is set in the mid-70s, but little is made of the fact and at least one car from the 90s is prominently featured in one of the scenes.)
Other parts, such as the rat in the walls, have metaphorical meanings that most viewers will not attempt to figure out.
Like two kids playing house, the two young lovers go frequently to Sissel's shack built on stilts. Their intimacy and the beauty of their lovemaking saves the picture, even if just barely.
FIRST LOVE, LAST RITES runs just 1:33. It is rated R for sex and nudity, and would be fine for older teenagers.
