''Wild Side'' is a 1995 erotic

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film co-written and directed by

Donald Cammell Donald Seton Cammell (17 January 1934 – 24 April 1996) was a Scottish painter, screenwriter, and film director. He has a cult reputation largely due to his debut film ''Performance'', which he wrote the screenplay for and co-directed wi ...

and starring

Anne Heche Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater, receiving numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy ...

in her first

lead role A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typic ...

, along with

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

, Joan Chen,

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...

, and Allen Garfield. Cammell's final film before his suicide in April 1996, the film had a troubled production history and was initially a straight-to-video release. A

director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...

reconstructed after Cammell's death was released in 2000 and was well-received by some critics. It is considered by many to be a

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

. The film gained some notoriety for the strong

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

sex scene between Heche and Chen featured in the unrated version, which the production company

Nu Image Millennium Media, formerly Nu Image, is an American film studio that was founded by Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort, and Danny Lerner in 1992 and is one of Hollywood's longest running independent film companies. Millennium creates, produc ...

used to market the film starting in 1997, during Anne Heche's high-profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres.

Synopsis

By day, Alex Lee is a California banker. By night, she moonlights as "Johanna", a high-end call girl. When she is drawn into the sordid life of infamous money launderer Bruno Buckingham, Alex must learn to safely navigate her way past Bruno's infatuation, deal with the unwanted advances of Bruno's driver Tony, and come to accept the growing attraction between herself and Virginia, Bruno's wife.

Cast (in credits order)

as Bruno Buckingham * Joan Chen as Virginia Chow *

as Tony *

as Alex Lee * Allen Garfield as Dan Rackman * Adam Novak as Lyle Litvak * Zion as Hiro Sakamoto * Richard Palmer as Cop Driver * Randy Crowder as Federal Agent * Marcus Aurelius as Agent James Reed * Michael Rose as Agent Morse Jaeger * Lewis Arquette as The Chief * Rolando de la Maza as Steward * Candace Kita (as Candace Camille Bender) as Lotus Ita * Philip Hamlyn as Ian Johnson * Gena Kim as Massage Girl * Robert Mazzola as Gilberto

Versions

There are three different versions of the film. Cammell committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

shortly after seeing it drastically re-edited by its producers. A "director's cut" version by Cammell's wife and co-screenwriter

China Kong China Kong (born 1960) is an American actor, writer, and producer. She is the widow of director Donald Cammell, having met him when she was 14 years of age and he was 40 years of age in 1974. After having an affair, the two would wed 4 years lat ...

, and his editor and sometime producer Frank Mazzola, was released in 2000 and was noted by critics. The film is known for its graphic

love scenes between stars Joan Chen and Anne Heche. The scenes proved controversial to the point that after ''Wild Sides initial airings on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

, the network subsequently chose to air a version of the film with those portions deleted.

References

External links

* * * Films directed by Donald Cammell Nu Image films Films scored by Ryuichi Sakamoto 1996 direct-to-video films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s erotic thriller films American erotic thriller films American neo-noir films LGBT-related romantic thriller films American LGBT-related films 1996 LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films Female bisexuality in film Films about prostitution in the United States Films set in Long Beach, California Films shot in Los Angeles County, California {{erotic-film-stub