Full Body Massage – 88 Films

Directed by: Nicolas Roeg
Written by: Dan Gurskis
Starring: Mimi Rogers, Bryan Brown, Christopher Burgard, Elizabeth Barondes
Year: 1995
Country: US
Running time: 93mins
BBFC Classification: 15

From the director of highly lauded fare such as Don’t Look Now, Performance and The Man Who Fell to Earth comes a welcome physical release of one of his lesser-known films. Made in the mid-90s for the cable film channel Showtime, Full Body Massage may not have reached the critical or commercial heights of those aforementioned regarded films but is nevertheless another challenging and often rewarding film from the auteur Roeg.

Rogers plays successful art dealer Nina, who is looking forward to her weekly massage as a way of destressing. However, her usual masseuse has cancelled and, in his place, has sent Fitch (Brown). Also, a skilled masseuse, Fitch is not what Nina was expecting but as Fitch makes himself at home and begins an afternoon of massaging, Nina finds she may have more in common with Fitch than she first thought. Likewise, Fitch, despite his somewhat cold manner and seemingly lack of sense of humour, finds he has much to learn from Nina as the two converse (and massage) over a long insightful, and sometimes sensual, afternoon.

A curious blend of insight, conversation, bonding, pretension (there was going to be some, it’s Roeg after all!) and erotica, Full Body Massage may sound like, look like, and feature ample nudity of a 90s erotic thriller, but is far from such. Essentially one long conversation about art, spirituality, perceptions, relationships, destiny, materialism, loss, very old healing methods and various other highs and lows of life, the film is framed by two souls who have become somewhat lost through their life experiences and become closer via the intimate act of massage. Flashbacks to both Nina’s and Fitch’s previous lives and relationships intercut their conversation to flesh out who they are and why they have the beliefs they express.

It’s a big ask to frame a whole film around the conversation of two individuals who are initially quite cold in character but Roeg frames the whole exercise well, keeping the conversation moving. It’s interesting to see how Brown (excellent here) quietly and confidently going about his various massage techniques which appears to put the Nina character at ease. This also adds to the intimate nature of proceedings as while Fitch is not necessarily intending to be sensual, the act does in fact become sensual as Nina exposes herself both psychologically and physically. It’s an incredibly daring and dare say, brave performance from Rogers and while the film’s intent is not to just to be erotic, it can’t help but be very sensual/erotic on occasion, not least due to Rogers and Brown having great chemistry.

However as mentioned, Roeg can’t help slipping into pretension on occasion partly due to the nature of the conversations between the leads and the unnecessary use of wisdom infused quotes put on the screen at various intervals to drive home the point, “this is a serious conversation.” It comes across as quite dated and heavy handed but never derails proceedings thanks to the excellent performances from the two stars. Not for everyone but an interesting and if you can go with its vibe, rewarding curio from a respected auteur.

88 Films will release Full Body Massage on Blu Ray & DVD March 24^th, 2025.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• HIGH-DEFINITION BLU-RAY PRESENTATION / English SDH – while the film can’t quite get away from the made-for-cable look it has this new high-def version looks great: crisp and clear. In fact, the film has probably never looked better, the erotic thriller lite lighting amplified to give a sensual glow and feeling to proceedings. There’s that nice 90s warm film wash that we don’t get anymore, making the film still look like a film even if made for TV/cable.
• Full Frame Version [SD] – Alt version of the film in 4:3 with the black bars down either side showing how the film was probably aired back in the 90s on Showtime. A nice curio addition for the more film format/techy fans out there but the new high-definition version that 88 Films have created is the one to go with, if viewing the film for the first time.
• Painting by Numbers – Gareth Williams on Full body Massage – short but interesting interview with co-star Gareth Williams who plays one of Rogers’ lovers in the flashback scenes. He talks warmly of the film and his experience making the movie, touching on how he got cast and what a thrill it was to work with director Roeg and star Mimi Rogers.
• Original Trailer – groovy old school 90s trailer for the film that tries hard to sell it as an edgy erotic thriller, which it definitely is not.