Jaded (1998)

The image of a male imposing his physical will upon a female or upon a weak male brings to mind one specific word. Rarely, if ever, do musings on this topic exclude males and feature females as the aggressors, but such is the seldom considered premise of Caryn Krooth’s R rated drama Jaded (1996) starring Carla Gugino — not to be confused with William Friedkin’s R rated thriller Jade (1995) starring Linda Fiorentino. This serious and, at times, grim dramatization focuses on the institutional apathy confronted by Megan ‘Meg’ Harris (Gugino) who is brutally assaulted after a night of drinking and skinny-dipping. During an investigation, we encounter Carol Broker (Lorraine Toussaint), Dr. Mancuso (Peter McRobbie), Helen Norwich (Aida Turturro), Lisa Heller (Catherine Dent), and Zack Brown (Richard Bright). Eventually the evidence points to Patricia ‘Pat’ Long (Rya Kihlstedt) and Alexandra ‘Alex’ Arnold (Anna Thomson aka Anna Levine) as the perpetrators of the crime. Of course, the idea that Meg was overpowered by two of her female acquaintances raises unsettling questions of gender assumptions. Needless to say, the motion picture is more indictment than entertainment and will disturb even the most debauched film goer. But if you’re up for a viewing, you will be rewarded with images of Carla’s beautiful bare body before, during and after her character’s assault. In other words, fast-forward to the film’s 00:02:00- and 00:26:00-minute marks. The latter includes the naked T&A on Rya and Anna. This perverse pic is not easy to watch, but it’ll make you hard.