Filmmaker shares his struggles in 'Sex Addict'
For Caveh Zahedi, the subject and writer of I Am a Sex Addict, prostitutes represented his "image of erotic salvation." Propped languorously in a doorway or against a wall, these women were like mythic sirens for the brainy, Yale-schooled philosophy major and struggling indie filmmaker. In the midst of a serious and seemingly satisfying relationship with the "soul mate" he'd been searching for since he was a kid, Zahedi would find himself trolling the streets, checking out the action. His mantra: "How much?"
For Caveh Zahedi, the subject and writer of I Am a Sex Addict, prostitutes represented his "image of erotic salvation." Propped languorously in a doorway or against a wall, these women were like mythic sirens for the brainy, Yale-schooled philosophy major and struggling indie filmmaker.
In the midst of a serious and seemingly satisfying relationship with the "soul mate" he'd been searching for since he was a kid, Zahedi would find himself trolling the streets, checking out the action. His mantra: "How much?"
Although there's nothing funny about addiction, Zahedi - a thin, bug-eyed fellow with the air of an R. Crumb sad sack - brings wit and self-deprecation to his tale of obsession and woe.
Zahedi begins by reenacting his first encounter with a hooker, which took place in Paris when he was in his 20s (he's in his 40s now), only to interrupt the film's narrative with an "I should say" aside.
"Actually," he confesses, "I wasn't able to go to Paris, so I'm just going to shoot it here in San Francisco, which is where I live now." Cue the extra with the beret and baguette, walking across the frame.
Confessional and cathartic, Zahedi's movie addresses issues beyond sex addiction - whether there is such a thing as too much honesty in a relationship, for one. His various girlfriends and wives appear charming and disarmingly intelligent (one of them is played by the French porn star Rebecca Lord), struggling in different ways to deal with Zahedi's obsessive, destructive, demeaning behavior.
Not surprisingly, I Am a Sex Addict is full of fairly graphic sexual encounters, but there's nothing prurient or exploitive about these scenes - even as Zahedi describes the years of his life that were all about objectifying and exploiting women.
The filmmaker's ability to at once mock himself and consider his dilemma with compassion transforms an otherwise smarmy tale into something honest and insightful.
Contact movie critic Steven Rea at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com.
I Am a Sex Addict *** (out of four stars)
Written and directed by Caveh Zahedi. With Zahedi, Rebecca Lord, Emily Morse and Amanda Henderson.
Running time: 1 hour, 39 mins.
Parent's guide: No MPAA rating (nudity, sex, profanity, drugs, adult themes).
Playing at: Clearview Bala Theatre.