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Review

The contentious issue of whether a woman can be a sexual predator and rapist is the theme to this intense independently-made drama. The opening scene shows a naked and severely beaten young woman lying unconscious on a Staten Island beach. The woman, Meg (Gugino) -- a mysterious recluse with a dark past -- recovers and tells police that she was raped not by a man, but by two women. The accused are Pat (Kihlstedt), an intensely butch (think Gina Gershon in Bound) tattoo solon owner and Alex (Levine), a mousy, husband-beaten blonde femme. What follows are the police and the defense's attempts to uncover the truth. While not slick, the film unfolds nicely. Interestingly, the detective, the Assistant DA and the lawyer for the defense are all women. The handling of lesbianism is a bit troubling. With the character of Pat we see an attitude-dripping, men's clothing-wearing dyke who craves sex like an addition and who emulates the worst in the male persona. As a counter-balance, there is Ellen Greene in a small role as a lesbian who was also attacked.