Praise

Directed by : John Curran

Gordon is a listless, chain-smoking asthmatic with a rather insipid libido. Cynthia is a slightly pudgy nymphomaniac with a bad case of eczema. After quitting his job at a Brisbane liquor store, Gordon makes a decision that will mark his life forever: becoming involved in Cynthia`s manic parlor games of chemical and sexual excess. As the pair combust in warmth and madness, Gordon willingly enters Cynthia`s web of indulgence, progressively losing himself in a woman who`s ironically lost to herself. Fueled by their rabid diet of sex, stimulants, and Scrabble, the lovers shore themselves away in Gordon`s flea-bitten boarding house, temporarily staving off loneliness and imminent self-destruction. But as the months pass, Gordon`s deficiencies and Cynthia`s intensity begin to wear on the relationship. Asthmatics tire easily, and Cynthia`s insatiable needs ultimately demand a little more than Gordon is able to give. The New York Times selected PRAISE as one of the top ten films of 2000.