Synopsis \r
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The Contemptuous Ruby\r
“Every man’s worst nightmare...”\r
A dark and conflicted erotic noir short feature, “The Contemptuous Ruby” takes a tried and true concept of treachery and sexual debauchery and spins it into a well-defined psycho thriller with a classic story line. The dark and foggy craggy coast location of the northern California town of Bodega Bay makes the script feel all that more intimate and personal.\r
Opening in a large, blue, late night swimming pool, the writers quickly establish the tone for the piece. The main protagonist offers sexual tension and manipulates the lives of those around her. The writers give this story a sardonic and tragic element with a main character being a tattoo of Comedy and Tragedy as a metaphor to the torment of a paralyzed man, Walter, held captive in a mangled war torn body while bound to his wheelchair. Walter’s mute state and the immobility of his hands while reliving his days of happiness and glory in his mind’s eye are clearly visualized by extreme close-ups of his face and his eyes while he sits and watches 8mm film over and over again. His young and beautiful bride, Ruby, from days long past has degenerated into an aging and perverse sadist who tortures him with malicious indifference by performing acts of carnal lust with complete strangers while he, Walter, is forced to watch. By the time we’re introduced to Ruby, her evil is developed and her inevitable quest for absolution and annihilation is revealed. The fact that she gets both, serves the audience well. The writers lead you in and out of Ruby’s psychosis, where the dark and craggy coast of Bodega Bay offers up a diabolical noir setting.\r
Ruby’s antics become an important insight into the evil of a scorned and toxic woman. Her brief Tango scene with a tall, beautiful and much younger woman, Kat, who is at her beck and call will mesmerize the audience. Walter’s sister, Rhonda, a trust fund hippie dedicates her life to causes. Walter is one of her causes. When the main characters do actually come together the unfolding of Ruby’s contempt for Walter then skyrockets. Ruby’s erotic obsession of luring young and naive cherubs is her real story. One of these, a sailor, Seaman Mack, appears somewhat happenstance. However, the nature of the youth’s arrogant assumption of immortality make him an easy target for Ruby’s spontaneous combustion of love and lust.\r
The writers are able to bring in some tension breaking humor with Ruby’s disrobing and her expertise at blowing a condom over the neck of an empty Vodka bottle. Mack’s dialogue with Ruby clearly depicts him an innocent. While Ruby’s torment of Walter seems highly improbable, it works in the context of the story. Additionally, the naked Tango between Ruby and Kat is steamy enough to entertain. Ruby’s tough edges are never smoothed out except in wedding photos of her and Walter making her a more endearing character.\r
Overall, “The Contemptuous Ruby” is gripping as well as entertaining. A highly flamboyant lust tryst that focuses intently on the internal agony of Walter. The writers confirm the desolation and stark loneliness of Bodega Bay....\r
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