''Cleopatra's Second Husband'' is a 1998

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betw ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

written, produced and directed by Jon Reiss.

Paul Hipp Paul Hipp (born July 16, 1963) is an American actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker. Early life Paul Hipp was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Warminster. He left Pennsylvania for New York City immediately after high school, st ...

('' The Funeral'') and

Bitty Schram Elizabeth Natalie Schram (born July 17, 1968) is an American actress best known for playing Sharona Fleming in the television series ''Monk'' and for playing Evelyn Gardner in the film ''A League of Their Own'' (1992). Early life Born in Mountain ...

(''

Kissing a Fool ''Kissing a Fool'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Doug Ellin. It primarily stars David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, Mili Avital, Kari Wührer, and Vanessa Angel. Schwimmer was one of the executive producers. Plot Max (David Schw ...

'') play Robert and Hallie Marrs, a young LA couple, who go on vacation, leaving their house in the hands of strangers. They return to find their fish as dead as the plants, everything in disarray, and housesitters, clad in the couple's clothes, refusing to leave. Zack (

Boyd Kestner Boyd Kestner (born November 23, 1964) is an American actor. Kestner starred in ''The Outsiders (U.S. TV series), The Outsiders'' television series, and later became well known for his role as Alex Barth in the television drama ''Knots Landing''. ...

) and Sophie (

Radha Mitchell Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (1996–97). Mitchell l ...

), the charismatic

house sitting House sitting is the practice whereby a person leaving their house for a period of time entrusts it to one or more "house sitters", who by a mutual agreement are permitted to live or stay in the property temporarily, in exchange for assuming any co ...

couple, soon infuse the repressed Robert with their erotically perverse irresponsibility. Robert, browbeaten and seemingly devoid of personality (with even his sex life regulated by his domineering wife's ovulation cycle), is easily seduced by the sexy Sophie. When Hallie discovers the dalliance and leaves, Robert literally becomes the couples slave. He gives them control of his home, his credit cards, practically his entire identity, until one day, driven to the darkest edge of his psyche, he snaps. Partially inspired by a true incident, this gripping thriller is equal parts black comedy and psychological power play. The film's title "Cleopatra's Second Husband," derives from Hallie and Robert's relationship which is a parallel to that of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...

and

Marc Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

. The film was screened at

Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

Los Angeles Independent Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epi ...

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

, Hamptons International Film Festival,

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival ( pt, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A non-profit event, the festival is organized ...

Chicago Underground Film Festival Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), founded in 1993, is the longest running underground film festival in the world. It's an internationally recognized program providing a venue for documentary, experimental and avant-garde narrative film and ...

and the Bangkok Film Festival (now the

Bangkok International Film Festival The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์นานาชาติกรุงเทพฯ) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to fi ...

)

References

External links

* 1998 films 1990s psychological drama films American psychological drama films Films based on Antony and Cleopatra 1998 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-drama-film-stub