21 POSITIONS -- Intimate Relationship Portrait Ruined by Shoddy Storytelling and Dismal Direction

Review by Daniel Lima

​To watch a relationship play out before your eyes in twenty-one intimate moments, each captured in one take, sounds like an exhilarating idea for a film. Such is 21 Positions, the new Spanish drama from director Néstor Ruiz Medina, with the added twist that the couple at the center makes their living making pornographic content for OnlyFans. In the right hands, a film with this conceit could be a candid and textured examination of the contours of such a partnership. Unfortunately, Medina stumbles on obvious pitfalls that the novel execution creates.
 
The most immediate challenge the premise offers is the number of shots. As limited as it is, the moments chosen to be shown are paramount to how effectively the film charts the young lovers’ lives, and communicates the emotions that play out between them. Here is where Medina stumbles out the gate: no definition is given to their relationship until over halfway through the movie. Though their job is established early on, and some turmoil is hinted at, the film is largely composed of random shots of the two leads driving around, dancing at a club, or lounging at home. These moments are sometimes beautifully captured, often set at magic hour, on gorgeous 16mm film. Yet, they neither elucidate the history of this couple, speak to something deeper about their bond, or imply anything about what is amiss.
 
Withholding information from an audience is certainly within the purview of a filmmaker, but the format begs for economical and precise storytelling. The lack here creates a distance between the audience and the couple whose lives should be laid bare. A brief allusion is made to their different philosophies on the sex work they perform. Still, the nature of their relationship, their personal history, and how they approach their work are impossible to surmise from watching the two lying about in their backyard. Considering that the entire conceit begs to be used to examine the seemingly inherent conflict in turning some of your most intimate moments into consumable content, this is a grave misstep. 

As a result, when drama begins to actually develop, it is abrupt and disconnected from the relatively happy and open portrait that’s been presented thus far. Here, also, the gimmick hampers the storytelling, as by this point, there’s less than half of the allotted shots left in the tank. This means the most contentious parts of the relationship must play out in nine long takes, and the result feels rushed and lacks any sense of gravity. With a better sense of how the two related to each other and their work, there might be a sense of something lost. Instead, the audience is left wrapping their heads around a brand-new random development before the next one hits.

Many filmmakers have seemed to struggle with how exactly to deploy a long take. Often, it seems they become enamored with the fact that they can do one without considering how the framing and blocking of the actors can affect the feel of a scene. Medina’s efforts are a mixed bag, sometimes providing the intimacy the material calls for, other times taking a verité approach that heightens the artificiality rather than allowing a moment to feel truly organic. Again, the fact that a limited number of shots in the first place makes these choices all the more egregious, and every scene that introduces a degree of removal from the central characters is incredibly frustrating.
 
It should be noted that for a film about a pair of sex workers, one that gestures towards a libertine attitude early on, 21 Positions reveals itself to be notably conservative in what they do, to the point it might be called reactionary. While the film doesn’t outright vilify the characters for making pornographic content, it does create a direct link between it and their burgeoning conflict, with even the dialogue implying that might be a corrupting, insidious influence, or at least an unfulfilling one. Perhaps this could be excused as a consequence of the lack of definition given to their profession or the lack of sophistication in the storytelling in general. Considering how many works about sex workers that don’t run into this problem and the leering male gaze throughout the film, it might also be the case that Medina was simply ill-suited for this material.
 
Ultimately, 21 Positions is a great idea that required a defter touch to execute properly. For this to work, it needed more careful consideration of what to show, more insight into this couple and how their work affects their relationship, and, ideally, a less regressive view of their lifestyle. As disappointing as this was, I don’t doubt that another filmmaker will come along and explore this same milieu to greater effect. I only hope they take an approach as ambitious as this. ​

21 Positions is available on demand December 29. 

​Rating: 2/5