The Glass Cage (1996)

The Glass Cage (1996) An erotic thriller… but it’s also a TV film! So… don’t expect much!!!

First of all, let’s be honest: an erotic film is, basically, not very good! An erotic thriller is already slightly more interesting. But there aren’t many incredible ones either. You might think of the classic Basic Instinct or the more recent The Voyeurs… but it’s not as if you could easily compile a list of fifty good films in the genre. Especially given that the entire 50 Shades of Grey trilogy is already a disaster!

So… we can say, without further ado, that it’s really very bad. Lame plot, unsurprising direction, rather unconvincing acting. And, of course, the fact that it stars Eric Roberts should tell you all that. Clearly, his better-known sister had all the talent in the family, apparently! No, seriously! As soon as you see Eric Roberts in the credits, you can almost be sure it’s going to be a bad time. Yet it seems that he’s one of the busiest actors who have appeared in the most films, and he’s been active since 1977. Between small roles in films, series, and dubbing cartoons… Oh my! Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about him: ‘With more than 700 roles and appearances, he is the American actor most often credited in blockbusters, independent films, animated films, TV movies, music videos, TV series, and animated series, as well as short films and student films’. And that’s it! Now that’s precise! Fun and interesting fact: he looks like Jim Caviezel in this film! And despite everything I’ve just written, maybe that’s why, deep down, I liked him in this role. At least more than in most of the other films I’ve seen him in. Someone once told me that all the best films have a strip club. I think, first of all, that this person had by no means seen all the films with stripteases. And secondly, I think that if his favorite films include them, it’s because he likes a certain kind of film… and isn’t at all aware of all the gems elsewhere!

So, if you just want to rinse your eyes out or if you consider Showgirls 1 and 2 (1995 and 2011) to be masterpieces… then, yes, there’s a chance this film really is for you!