Score (1974) Radley Metzger

Audio 2: Commentary with Director Radley Metzger

Liberated ’70s couple seduce another couple into experimentation with bisexuality and group-sex.

“Score” is more or less a period piece now, filmed as it was in that post-sexual liberation/pre-AIDS window when it seemed that sexual, political and aesthetic freedom were essentially linked. The film is a manifesto for sexual liberation purely, brushing only briefly by sexuality’s darker aspects (the somewhat creepy Mike, and a certain core hollowness in Elvira and Jack’s marriage). The characters are psychologically simplistic (Betsy’s nun fixation, Eddie’s glaringly obvious repressed homosexuality), but–important in a film of this type–extremely likeable. Claire Wilbur and Gerald Grant are particularly good in their roles.

All of this is wrapped up in good-natured sex and spot-on stoned dialogue. Even the music’s entertaining–particularly the early-Rolling Stones ripoff that functions as a recurring motif and perhaps as well the goofy thematic heart of the film.

Score (1974)