Kissed

This independent first feature, from story by Barbara Gowdy about a young mortician's deviant sexuality, is an edgy, challenging mix of style and content. A cross between a young Annette Bening and Isabelle Adjani, Molly Parker gives a formidable and engaging performance as an 'ordinary' woman, simultaneously chaste and sexual (she's turned on by corpses), who bravely sets out to chart her own adventurous course. The tone is, surprisingly, romantic - almost ecstatic. There are shocks (the embalming lesson is not for the faint-hearted), but overall director/co-writer Stopkewich's calm, non-judgmental approach pays rich dividends: the film is convincing, tender, and more than a little subversive.