Sanity . Austin Chronicle . 03-23-98

Sanity

DIRECTED BY: Geneva Fowler

REVIEWED: 03-23-98

Roxanne is a beautiful, intelligent, wine-swilling woman with a death wish and just enough cowardice to constantly prolong her temporal agony. Enter salvation (through the window) in the form of Louis and Robert, two amateur criminals in search of a television set. Freaked out by Roxanne's maniacal demand for death in return for all of her worldly electronics, Louis escapes, leaving his friend and their borrowed firearms behind. Having lost Louis and faced with Robert's frustrating reluctance to kill, Roxanne decides on a different tactic. Using various household tools of torture (candles and lemons among them), she attempts to annoy him into a murderous rage, but her considerable powers of provocation have altogether different results. Tonie Perensky is brilliant as the beleaguered suicidee. (No wonder the woman can't die, she possesses embers that simply can't be snuffed out.) Full of throaty repartee, dark corners, and gleaming, burnished light, Sanity is a little picture brimming with unexpected complexity. Austin filmmaker Geneva Fowler, with help from a local cast and crew, has created a smart, funny, stylish picture with a vintage noir flare. Velvety, full-bodied and easy to swallow, Sanity packs a fine, tannic acid wit and a rich, ironic finish. Indulge yourself. You won't regret it.

--Hollis Chacona

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