zipper movie review

Patrick Wilson has made a career out of playing characters whose wholesome, all-American good looks cover up deep moral conflict, from early films like “ Hard Candy ” and “ Little Children ” to more recent efforts like “ Space Station 76 ” and “ Home Sweet Hell .” He excels at it—he seems comfortable with the kinds of uncomfortable contradictions these roles provide.

And so it comes as no surprise that in his latest film, the unfortunately titled “Zipper,” the family-values prosecutor he plays is hiding an increasingly reckless fetish for high-priced escorts. Wilson brings as much integrity as he can to this tormented figure and he leads an impressive supporting cast that includes Lena Headey , Ray Winstone and Richard Dreyfuss , who anchor a handful of individually solid scenes.

Despite all their efforts, though, they can’t save a movie that’s at odds with itself. This second feature from director and co-writer Mora Stephens has all the stylistic and thematic trappings of a made-for-cable movie you’d watch late at night and hate yourself for in the morning. But it also strives, kinda, to be a serious political drama and to make a statement about the public’s tendency to rush to judgment in the face of hypocrisy. Its shadings of the 2008 Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal are unmistakable, yet the film as a whole feels sort of retro as a tawdry cautionary tale. How can we enjoy clucking at this ambitious man’s downfall when tens of millions of people have had their own extramarital activities exposed in the Ashley Madison hack? It all seems more quaint than criminal.

Like Spitzer, Wilson’s Sam Ellis is a star on the rise. He’s a smug federal prosecutor in South Carolina with a strong track record and a secure home life. His wife, Jeannie (Headey), is beautiful, stylish and politically connected; a former lawyer herself, she now devotes her time to raising the couple’s young son, performing charity work and maintaining a gracious and immaculate home.

But all of that isn’t enough for him. A drunken kiss after a work party with a gorgeous and seductive intern ( Dianna Agron ) leads to increased use of online porn and masturbation. In no time, he’s perusing high-end escort websites and making sweaty, nervous calls on a pre-paid cell phone to arrange dates with beautiful women whose services begin at $1,000 an hour.

The first meeting at a luxury hotel—with a sweetly reassuring brunette named Christy ( Alexandra Breckenridge , a standout in a single scene)—doesn’t go so well at first, and his awkwardness provides genuine tension. (Amusingly, she refers to the cash he’s brought her in an envelope as a “donation.”) But from that point, he’s hooked, which Stephens and co-writer Joel Viertel depict through a standard but slickly edited montage of visits to the ATM and trysts with a variety of women in expensive lingerie.

At the same time, though, Sam has his eye on Washington, and makes plans to run for Congress with the help of his shrewd wife, a ruthless campaign consultant (Dreyfuss) and a magazine writer (Winstone) whose fawning article positions his launch. And so, as is so often the case with self-destructive types, Sam pursues his sexual desires with greater fervor just as his seemingly squeaky-clean personal life is about to undergo massive scrutiny. At his most desperate, he gets hit by a car while running across the street to pull out more cash, but he keeps going because he’s so obsessed. Ostensibly, this moment is meant to be suspenseful and dramatic but it ends up being unintentionally funny.

Despite Wilson’s dedication to humanizing this clichéd figure, “Zipper” actually becomes more compelling in its third act when it shifts its focus to Jeannie—her reaction to her husband’s infidelities and how she weighs the betrayal against her own dreams of power and prestige. Headey is coolly fierce and shares some powerful moments with both Wilson and Winstone as the reporter who threatens to expose this juicy sex scandal. But these scattered pieces don’t create a complete and convincing picture.

You want the real scoop that won’t leave you feeling icky afterward? Check out Alex Gibney ’s richly detailed 2011 documentary: “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” instead.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series “Ebert Presents At the Movies” opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Ray Winstone as Coaker
• Lena Headey as Jeannie Ellis
• Dianna Agron as Dalia
• Elena Satine as Ellie Green
• Richard Dreyfuss as George Hiller
• Patrick Wilson as Sam Ellis
• John Cho as EJ

Director of Photography

• Antonio Calvache

Original Music Composer

• H. Scott Salinas
• Jessica Brunetto
• Joel Viertel
• Mora Stephens

Leave a comment

Now playing.

You Gotta Believe

The Becomers

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

Between the Temples

Blink Twice

Strange Darling

Close Your Eyes

Latest articles.

Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is the Boldest Fantasy Show of the Year

“EA Sports College Football 25” is a True Sports Game Phenomenon

Venice Film Festival 2024: Prepping for the Biennale

Locarno Film Festival 2024: Wrap-Up of a Special Event

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Advertisement

Supported by

Review: ‘Zipper’ Stars Patrick Wilson as a Sex Addict

• Share full article

By Andy Webster

• Aug. 27, 2015

Opens on Friday

Directed by Mora Stephens

1 hour 52 Minutes

The actor Patrick Wilson has a gift for delectably malign roles: He was a possessed parent in two installments of “Insidious,” an oily C.I.A. officer in “The A-Team” and, in his most disturbing portrait, an online predator in “ Hard Candy .” In “ Zipper ,” Mora Stephens ’s engrossing tale of a legal eagle’s sexual addiction, Mr. Wilson plays Sam Ellis, a straight-arrow prosecutor in South Carolina skilled at taking on errant politicians. Married to a smart, supportive ex-lawyer (a fine Lena Headey), with whom he has a son, Sam is egged on to seek elected office.

But he develops an Achilles heel: his libido, fired by salacious websites, an aggressively seductive intern (Dianna Agron) and a case witness (Elena Satine) who is an unapologetic escort-service employee. Soon he is caught in a spiral of $1,000-an-hour hotel trysts, with his marriage, bank account and career on the line. Mr. Wilson, as dexterous with righteous bravado as with calibrated self-disgust, ably captures Sam’s growing enslavement to his impulses. The script, by Ms. Stephens and Joel Viertel, though lurching at times into overstatement, is enhanced with worthy if fleeting performances from John Cho and Christopher McDonald as Sam’s colleagues. Ray Winstone, as a journalist, effectively melds sleaze and compassion.

In the third act, the film digs into wider implications, with Richard Dreyfuss in a delicious turn as a back-room political kingmaker. Eliot Spitzer , you are not forgotten. ANDY WEBSTER

“Zipper” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Nudity and sexual situations.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Review: ‘Zipper’ Starring Patrick Wilson, Lena Headey, Richard Dreyfuss, Ray Winstone, And Dianna Agron

Oktay ege kozak.

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Share on LinkedIn
• Show more sharing options
• Submit to Reddit
• Post to Tumblr
• Print This Page
• Share on WhatsApp

“ Zipper ” is a borderline unmarketable anomaly that exists right in the middle of two completely separate narrative approaches. Get rid of the swearing and the graphic sex scenes, add a Christian element to the protagonist, and you got yourself one of those faith-based morality tales about how much sex addiction and the man of the house cavorting with prostitutes can destroy lives and demolish the core concept of the nuclear family. Or, leave the moralizing behind; embrace the sleaze factor of the stylized story about a good-looking politician hooking up with a series of expensive escorts and we end up with one of those ’90s-style erotic thrillers that straddle the fine line between classy erotica and soft-core porn. In this form, “Zipper” ends up as a competently executed but muddled experience, a cinematic oddity that wants to preach as much as it feels the need to titillate.

“Zipper” tells the cautionary tale of Sam ( Patrick Wilson ), a successful prosecutor rapidly rising in the world of politics in order to hopefully someday become a senator. Sam has a loving and supporting wife, Jeannie ( Lena Headey ), as well as a lovely and affluent family life. But Sam has one big and admittedly universal problem: he loves the ladies. Bored of masturbating to online porn, he contacts an escort service in order to cheat on his wife with a high-class prostitute.

I have to give props to co-writer and director Mora Stephens and co-writer and Joel Viertel for doing their homework on how interactions between married men and escorts take place. When morality tales are told from a faith-based perspective, the people who produce those films generally ignore how adult entertainment and sex work exists in the real world because they find the subject of sex to be super icky-yucky, and we usually end up with ridiculous depictions of porn and prostitution. For some belly laughs, check out how online porn is depicted in the Kirk Cameron masterpiece “ Fireproof ”.

The long sequence that depicts Sam’s first experience with an insanely hot escort ( Alexandra Breckinridge ) rings true from beginning to end. Sam’s inner conflict between excitement and unease, the escort’s ambiguously friendly and breezy personal approach, as well as the clashing body language of the whole affair feels as realistic as possible. The ensuing sex scene, as graphic as it may be, is necessary to show why men seek such wonton physical release as an escape from their humdrum existence. In fact, none of the frank depictions of sex in “Zipper” are ever really gratuitous, and they all add something to the narrative.

A sex scene between Sam and Jeannie might look like it comes out of nowhere, but it deftly communicates Sam’s need for casual domination over a woman, since Jeannie appears to have complete control over how the couple consummates their marriage. The sequence intelligently answers why Sam would risk destroying an otherwise happy marriage: sometimes the motivation is as simple as a need for variety, and the male libido really might work in such brute and senseless ways. A perfect one word answer by Sam after Jeannie asks him what he found in the other women sums up the hypothesis that more often than not we might need to forego a deep psychological analysis regarding motivation for infidelity and put our faith in Occam’s razor.

The best scene depicting sex is the one that will probably be met with the most ridicule from audiences because of its seemingly atonal placement in the film: After tracking down one of the escorts he previously hooked up with in order to ask her about an ongoing FBI investigation, Sam first has a heartfelt conversation with the escort about both of their mothers succumbing to cancer, acknowledging the escort as a human being, then proceeds to have sex with her for all the cash in his pocket, demolishing all the good will the scene set up for him up until that point.

At first, Sam’s rash decision looks like it comes completely out of left field, and is inserted into the story to pump the otherwise sexless third act with some skin, but addictive behavior resurfaces in the strongest fashion during times of high stress and confusion. I’m sure Stephens and Viertel are perfectly aware of the irony of their protagonist trying to ease the stress of his love of prostitutes possibly becoming public knowledge by sleeping with a prostitute.

So, if the sex stuff works and is handled in a mature and insightful way, what’s wrong with “Zipper”? Pretty much everything else, unfortunately. First of all, if the story’s strength is in the way it handles the subjects of infidelity and sex addiction, why not construct a levelheaded drama about a middle-class everyman who struggles with such temptations, like a version of Steve McQueen ’s underrated “ Shame ,” but one that throws marriage into the equation? Why drench the film in a glossy style reminiscent of an FX show from a decade ago, with an attractive lead, and naval gazing on the rich and boring? Every time “Zipper” cuts to any scene depicting the sub-plot surrounding Sam’s burgeoning political career, the film’s otherwise decent pacing screeches to a halt and we’re left with the dullness of a network TV legal drama.

And then there’s the didactic moralizing and preachy on-the-nose monologues, enough to fill three Tyler Perry movies. A detective’s speech to Sam about always being a real man under the eyes of God is embarrassing, and a monologue delivered by a senator played by Richard Dreyfuss is so clunky, that he might as well have broken the fourth wall in order to make sure the audience understood that his speech was supposed to represent the a major theme in the story.

If an editor gets their hands on the raw footage of “Zipper,” I’m pretty sure three completely different films for three completely different markets could be produced. A dull cautionary tale that judges its characters’ immoral actions, an empty-headed but scintillating erotic thriller, or a sensible and objective study on infidelity and sex addiction. I would have preferred the third option, but there isn’t enough of it for me to give “Zipper” a wholehearted recommendation. The second option could work as a midnight guilty pleasure. The first option can go to hell. [C]

Most Popular

You may also like.

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘zipper’: sundance review.

Patrick Wilson plays an ascending political star who gets caught with his Canali suit pants down in a messy collision of power and prostitution.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

The fallout from the sexual transgressions that unfold behind America’s corridors of power has provided juicy fodder for a lot of excellent television, The Good Wife and House of Cards at the top of the list. So it takes a film with sharper teeth than Zipper to expand the conversation about our endless capacity to be shocked by flawed leaders. Director Mora Stephens ponders (or purports to) what drives men in high office to risk their personal and professional reputations for expensive extramarital recreation. But she gives Patrick Wilson nothing but a sleek shell to play, so it’s hard to get too worked up about his character’s unraveling.

Related Stories

'the gentlemen' renewed for season 2 at netflix, lucas bryant, bruce davison, michelle hurd to star in comedy movie '25 miles to normal' (exclusive).

Stephens and co-writer Joel Viertel have dabbled in politics and passion before, in the director’s low-budget 2005 debut Conventioneers . It’s taken a decade to cook up this glossy sophomore effort, and in that time tabloid ink has flowed like Niagara Falls with the public shaming of Eliot Spitzer , John Edwards , Mark Sanford and their ilk. Yet there’s neither topicality nor bite in this bland pseudo-thriller, which lathers on composer H. Scott Salinas ‘ high-suspense score like shower gel after sweaty sex, yet rarely musters an ounce of genuine tension.

The Bottom Line A flaccid scandal movie that makes illicit sex a yawn

Anyhow, while Jeannie and others close to Sam are urging him to seize the spotlight and throw his hat into the political ring, he’s busy sampling the services of a company called Executive Privilege. He’s careful to cover his tracks at first, but as he starts working his way through the entire escort roster, he gets more desperate and sloppy, making Jeannie suspicious.

For anyone who recalls the steam rising from the skin of Wilson and Kate Winslet as they went at it on top of a washing machine in 2006’s Little Children , it’s hard to believe how drearily unsexy Stephens has managed to make Sam’s serial hotel romps. At $1000 an hour, one hopes he’s getting more out of it than the audience. But what’s most disturbing is the complete absence of psychological weight in his spiraling obsession, which becomes faintly risible when he ignores the signs of encroaching disaster and goes speeding across town to a rendezvous with the agency’s seldom-available top escort.

While all this is going on, D.C. strategist George Heller ( Richard Dreyfuss ) has set Sam’s political future in motion, and Jeannie has used her connections to get him profiled by influential journalist Nigel Coaker ( Ray Winstone ). Having a gravelly Brit with the world-weariness of Winstone get all morally indignant about the hypocrisy he uncovers is just one example of poor casting and character choices.

When Jeannie is confronted with the full extent of Sam’s sins, her reactions go from predictable (why do wronged wives so often take it out on their husbands’ luxury cars?) to absurd as she refuses to veer from the political game plan.

Dreyfuss brings a twinkly-eyed sense of fun to Heller’s big speech about America’s naive need to believe that its heroes are squeaky-clean. But while this is obviously meant to leave us aghast at the institutionalized cynicism, by that point, it’s merely banal. Unlike, say, Arbitrage , a more enjoyably sleazy movie about the duplicity of power, Zipper seems convinced it’s sharing startling insights. Does the revelation that all kinds of prostitution exists in politics even warrant a news flash these days?

Casting the wholesomely handsome Wilson might have made sense on paper, but he remains wan and unpersuasive as a man wrestling with his demons. And though Headey gets to spit some justified venom toward the end, both Sam and Jeannie are lacking in any distinguishing characteristics beyond the standard-issue poise of the rich and successful. If part of Stephens’ point was to show the human frailty behind the scandal, she and Viertel maybe should have spent some time drawing characters we could care about.

Production company: Protozoa Pictures, 33 Pictures, in association with Hyphenate Films

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Lena Headey, Ray Winstone, Richard Dreyfuss, John Cho, Dianna Agron, Christopher McDonald, Alexandra Breckenridge, Penelope Mitchell, Elena Satine

Director: Mora Stephens

Screenwriters: Mora Stephens, Joel Viertel

Producers: R. Bryan Wright, Amy Mitchell-Smith, Mark Heyman, Joel Viertel, Marina Grasic

Executive producers: Scott Frankel, Ari Handel, Darren Aronofsky, Danya Duffy, Jan Korbelin, Beau Chaney, Christian Oliver

Director of photography: Antonio Calvache

Production designer: Hannah Beachler

Costume designer: Shauna Leone

Music: H. Scott Salinas

Editor: Joel Viertel

Casting: Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood

Sales: CAA/Cinetic

No rating, 112 minutes.

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Horror anthology ‘v/h/s/ beyond’ reveals first trailer, adds ‘prey’ actor to cast, raw talent, method intensity and surprise compliments: ‘1992’ cast remembers ray liotta, sigourney weaver tears up pondering legacy of ‘alien’s’ ripley and the rise of kamala harris, winona ryder on returning for ‘beetlejuice 2’: “one of the more special experiences of my life”, tim burton says he “was a little bit lost” before returning to his roots with ‘beetlejuice beetlejuice’, rebecca ferguson joins andrew garfield, claire foy, nicola coughlan in ‘the magic faraway tree’.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A successful family man with a blossoming political career loses all sense of morality when he becomes addicted to using an escort agency. A successful family man with a blossoming political career loses all sense of morality when he becomes addicted to using an escort agency. A successful family man with a blossoming political career loses all sense of morality when he becomes addicted to using an escort agency.

• Mora Stephens
• Joel Viertel
• Patrick Wilson
• Lena Headey
• Ray Winstone
• 32 User reviews
• 40 Critic reviews
• 39 Metascore

Top cast 71

• Jeannie Ellis

• George Hiller

• Peter Kirkland

• Ellie Green

• Reporter #1
• Reporter #3 …

• James Ellis

• John Tamlin
• Convenience Store Clerk
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Students from Louisiana Culinary Institute were used in the dinner party

Christy : It must be hard giving your youth away to one person.

• Connections References Client 9 (2010)

User reviews 32

• Dec 9, 2015
• How long is Zipper? Powered by Alexa
• August 28, 2015 (United States)
• United States
• Ranh Gioi Cám Dô
• Louisiana, USA
• 33 Pictures
• Cargo Entertainment
• Intercut Capital
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $4,500,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 52 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

trending story

Is Uluwatu On The Brink Of Collapse?

Can Pat Tenore Do it Again?

Exclusive: Julian Wilson Is Plotting A Competitive Comeback

The Best Surfing I’ve Ever Seen: Chris White

From The Trunk Of A Nissan Sentra, To Olympic Cathedrals, To Mexico’s First US Open Champion

Take Stab’s 2024 Audience Survey, Win A Custom Board Or New Wetsuit

• Premium Features
• Premium Cinema

Watch: Stab Edit Of The Year Entry — Soli Bailey's "Conehead"

UNLOCKED: Chippa Wilson Stars In ‘Zipper’ — A Surf Film By Stab & Monster

Featuring filipe toledo, harry bryant, bobby martinez, eithan osborne, taro watanabe, and dion agius..

“Words are never ‘only words’” philosopher Slavoj Žižek once said. “They matter because they define the contours of what we can do.” 

The title Zipper was first proposed by one of our video editors, Will Stiles — a man who doesn’t speak often, but when he does, you listen. Will thought the whole team knew why he picked it — we didn’t. Eventually he told us. “It’s about stitching different styles and personalities together in a surf world that is often clique-ish and compartmentalized.” 

From there, director Blake Michel and producer Garrett James spent months weaving together plane flights, corralling surfers, and sculpting the finished product you see above.

The one constant in this film is Christopher ‘Chippa’ Wilson — consider him the “slider” in this zipper analogy — who helps connect the rest of the cast, including Filipe Toledo, Bobby Martinez, Eithan Osborne, Taro Watanabe, Dion Agius and Harry Bryant (aka the “elements”).

The word Zipper is also an onomatopoetic — named for the high-pitched sound the slider makes when it binds all the elements together. 

Likewise, we did our best in this film to let sounds (and imagery) represent ideas. Most of the music in this 44-minute piece you’ve likely never heard before. Some songs were scored for Zipper, like the piano ballad in the L.A. section by Alberto Bof, masterful composer and friend of Stab.

This film is a departure from our usual act of surf storytelling through tension-driven, idea-focused narratives. It is about high-performance surfing in far-flung places. It is about art and music and people. It is fueled by Monster. 

We hope you enjoy (responsibly).

Most Recent

Can julian wilson join the list of surfing’s greatest encores.

Ticking down the list of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of surfing.

“Without Surfing, I Would Have Drunk Myself To Death”

Dane Anderson's tale of underground talent, near death experiences, coldwater tubes, and a lifelong battle for peace.

Used Vs. New — How Is The Surfboard Market Doing?

A few fiberglass peddlers share observations on post-COVID polyurethane merchandising.

Who Is Carissa Moore, Really?

Reflections on the guarded identity of a generational talent — from Matt Biolos, Ryan Miller, Jason Kenworthy, and Mitch Ross.

Erin Brooks Wins Fiji Pro In Debut CT Appearance, Griffin Colapinto Secures World Number 2 With Cloudbreak Victory

And the final 5 (well, 10) are decided.

Here Are Your Definitive 2024 World Title Contenders

Who's spending September riding e-bikes and crossing train tracks?

Italo In Jeopardy, Medina Gone With The Wind

Yago Dora could be heading to Trestles -- where he would be deadly.

Snake Paterson And Matt Myers Debate Tatiana’s 6.17 Cloudbreak Tube

Where does one barrel end and another begin?

Gabby, John + Yago Clear Standouts On Day 1 Of Fiji Pro

Kelly Slater exits early.

What’s It Like To Share The Session Of The Winter With Dane Reynolds And Conner Coffin?

We asked our in-house Ch11 benchwarmer.

Will Kelly Finally Utter The R-Word?

Going out on a cloud.

Stab towels and Premium subscriptions also up for grabs.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening This Week
• Top Box Office
• Coming Soon to Theaters
• Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 74% Blink Twice Link to Blink Twice
• 96% Strange Darling Link to Strange Darling
• 86% Between the Temples Link to Between the Temples

New TV Tonight

• 95% Only Murders in the Building: Season 4
• 83% City of God: The Fight Rages On: Season 1
• 82% The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 2
• -- Kaos: Season 1
• -- Here Come the Irish: Season 1
• -- Terminator Zero: Season 1
• -- Horror's Greatest: Season 1
• -- After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 100% Dark Winds: Season 2
• 92% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 100% Pachinko: Season 2
• 96% Industry: Season 3
• 33% The Accident: Season 1
• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

• 95% Only Murders in the Building: Season 4 Link to Only Murders in the Building: Season 4
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Disney: 100 Years, 100 Essential Movies

Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked – New Scary Movies to Watch

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

2024 Fall Horror Preview

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2024

• Trending on RT
• Re-Release Calendar
• Sonic 3 Trailer
• Venice Film Festival
• Verified Hot Movies

Zipper Reviews

It's well-acted, dramatic, has several thematic elements that are solid, even if it doesn't always peel back the curtains to reveal the reasons why or make use of the consequences of the protagonist's choices.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 2, 2019

[It] plays like one of those sections in certain House of Cards episodes that feel cheap and easy and trashy. For a minute or two it's fun, before it quickly becomes laborious and grating.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Feb 24, 2016

None to subtle in its approach, Zipper works only when it wants to.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2016

It's a muddled tale of sexual obsession that's both predictable and ridiculous, although Wilson brings some depth to his performance.

Full Review | Sep 25, 2015

Too much of the feature is devoted to condom unwrapping, not an excavation into the black heart of personal excess.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Sep 2, 2015

Zipper is yet another political thriller laced with adultery, but despite Patrick Wilson's surefire performance, it's not a particularly interesting one.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Sep 2, 2015

[Zipper is] clumsily structured with poorly drawn characters ... it's ugly, boring, and a complete waste of time.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/10 | Sep 2, 2015

As it stumbles to the finish line, "Zipper" means to be a condemnation of our political system, but the impact is negligible. The fate of a dull enigma doesn't have much weight.

Full Review | Sep 1, 2015

Another cautionary tale that hits a snag...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Aug 31, 2015

"Zipper" is a borderline unmarketable anomaly that exists right in the middle of two completely separate narrative approaches.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Aug 29, 2015

If you love Scandal you'll love Zipper. Wilson and Headey head excellent cast.

Full Review | Original Score: A minus | Aug 28, 2015

Of interest perhaps only as a glossy bit of Eliot Spitzer fan-fiction.

Full Review | Aug 28, 2015

The film as a whole feels sort of retro as a tawdry cautionary tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 28, 2015

Lurid and cheesy and sometimes unintentionally funny.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 27, 2015

Another cautionary yarn about a political hopeful whose adulterous behavior catches up with him, Mora Stephens' "Zipper" hits a snag from the get-go.

Full Review | Aug 27, 2015

What "Zipper" lacks in depth it makes up in interesting, morally shaded supporting characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 27, 2015

Mr. Wilson, as dexterous with righteous bravado as with calibrated self-disgust, ably captures Sam's growing enslavement to his impulses.

Zipper has ambitions that go beyond mere prurient exploitation appeal, but the film's reach significantly exceeds its grasp.

Zipper takes its sleaze seriously, which isn't quite the same thing as actually caring about it.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 27, 2015

This Zipper gets stuck halfway up to the moral outrage it clearly wants to inspire.

Sundance Film Review: ‘Zipper’

By Geoff Berkshire

Geoff Berkshire

Associate Editor, Features

• Sci-Fi Newbies Hope to Follow in ‘Game of Thrones’ Epic Emmy Footsteps 7 years ago
• ‘Rectify’ Star J. Smith-Cameron Breaks Down Final Season 7 years ago
• Bob Odenkirk Recalls His First Emmy Win 7 years ago

Following a potential political sex scandal through the eyes of the politician, “Zipper” plays like an odd hybrid of “Shame” and a season-long subplot on “House of Cards.” Tawdry but cripplingly self-serious, the second feature from Mora Stephens (a full decade after her little-seen, also politically themed debut “Conventioneers”) benefits from Patrick Wilson ‘s committed star turn. Still, the awkward end product would inevitably struggle in theatrical venues, making it more advisable to play to the base and go straight to VOD and premium cable.

Federal prosecutor Sam Ellis (Wilson) is on the fast track in national politics. He’s got it all: high-profile career success, good looks, charm, a well-connected and shrewdly strategic wife, Jeannie (Lena Headey), and a clean-cut image as someone who wants to punish the bad and protect the good. Sam even rejects the advances of comely intern Dalia (Dianna Agron) when they share a drunken kiss after a work-related celebration.

Related Stories

Disney’s Theme Parks Problem Is a Monster of Its Own Making

Cord Jefferson and Jordan Peele Among Guests for 'In Proximity' Podcast Season 2

But when he interviews an alluring young escort (Elena Satine) as a witness on a case, his mind starts wandering and his libido takes over. Usually content to masturbate to online porn, Sam investigates a high-class escort service, eventually working up the nerve to arrange a date when Jeannie is away for a long weekend.

Popular on Variety

Although he almost backs out, the sweetly seductive Christy (Alexandra Breckenridge, superb in a single scene) lures him in hook, line and sinker. And even though Sam promises it was “just a one time thing,” he’s soon making regular calls on his burner phone to book appointments with a different girl every time.

The suspense, then, becomes twofold: First, as Sam’s behavior grows increasingly obsessive and difficult to control it’s clear the film is trying in some way to explore the dangers of sex addiction. And secondly, what will happen when Sam is inevitably found out? Will his political career go down in flames? Will Jeannie be more upset about the cheating or the possibility that their carefully mapped out future (she dreams of being First Lady) might fall apart?

Stephens and her spouse/co-writer Joel Viertel aim for a sophisticated nail-biter but wind up more in the rarely mined territory of early ‘90s erotic thriller. Antonio Calvache’s slick, hyperactive camerawork and Viertel’s occasionally frenzied editing do a solid job of putting the audience inside Sam’s head, but just as often have the sheen of a lurid potboiler, in over its head when it comes to the thematic concerns.

Unfortunately, the script has a nasty habit of explicitly spelling out those themes in clunky dialogue. “Why do we hold politicians to a higher standard when it comes to marriage and adultery?” asks Sam. The film’s ultimately cynical take on cheating politician won’t really help audiences reach any greater clarity on that issue.

The often underappreciated Wilson is ideally cast as a self-pitying philanderer. Sam’s privileged lifestyle offers plenty of comforts, but Wilson renders an impressive study of a man who is never quite satisfied with what he has, owing both to personal demons and being in the position to get anything he wants. (In one of the film’s best twists, Sam essentially takes charge of investigating his favorite escort agency — the better to protect himself.)

The supporting cast is largely squandered, including Richard Dreyfuss and Ray Winstone in roles that threaten to become more menacing than they ever really do. But that’s more intriguing than what the script offers Agron and a barely seen John Cho.

Headey’s stock wife role picks up in the third act when Jeannie is faced with a thorny moral dilemma of her own and the savvy thesp more than rises to the challenge. Penelope Mitchell is another standout as a college dropout-turned-escort who bonds with Sam in a surprising way. Their contrasting pair of dialogue scenes — one professional, the other devastatingly personal — pack more punch than the entire rest of the film.

Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (Premieres), Jan. 27, 2015. Running time: 112 MIN.

• Production: A Magnolia Financial Group presentation of a Protozoa Pictures and 33 Pictures production in association with Hyphenate Films. (International sales: Company, City.) Produced by R. Bryan Wright, Amy Mitchell-Smith, Mark Heyman, Joel Viertel, Marina Grasic. Executive producers, Scott Franklin, Ari Handel, Darren Aronofsky, Danya Duffy, Jan Korbelin, Beau Chaney, Christian Oliver. Co-­producers, Deborah Aquila, Julianne Hausler.
• Crew: Directed by Mora Stephens. Screenplay, Stephens, Joel Viertel. Camera (color, widescreen, HD), Antonio Calvache; editor, Viertel; music, H. Scott Salinas; music supervisor, Sean Mulligan; production designer, Hannah Beachler; set decorators, Gretchen Gattuso, Deanna Simmons; costume designer, Shauna Leone; sound, Mark LeBlanc; supervising sound editors, D. Chris Smith, Glenn T. Morgan; re-recording mixers, Will Riley, D. Chris Smith; stunt coordinator, Bill Scharpf; line producer, Charles Rapp; assistant director, Julian M. Brain; casting, Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood.
• With: Patrick Wilson, Lena Headey, Richard Dreyfuss, Ray Winstone, John Cho, Dianna Agron, Christopher McDonald, Alexandra Breckenridge, Penelope Mitchell, Kelton DuMont, Elena Satine.

More from Variety

‘Alien: Romulus’ Bursts Onto U.K., Ireland Box Office Charts, Dethrones ‘It Ends With Us’

Can Today’s Tech Touchstones Solve Hollywood’s Loneliness Epidemic?

Trapped in a Hole for Days and Covered in Blood and Lube, ‘Alien: Romulus’ Star Aileen Wu Breaks Down What It’s Like to Battle Facehuggers and Chestbursters

Box Office: ‘Alien: Romulus’ Hatches $18 Million Opening Day

Why Studios Still Haven’t Licensed Movies and TV Shows to Train AI

Ridley Scott Says ‘I Don’t Need Advice’ on Directing and Tried Not to Meddle With ‘Alien: Romulus’: ‘If I Fall on My Own Sword and Lie Bleeding’ Then ‘It Was My Fault’

More from our brands, concert venues accuse yelp of pushing fake tickets.

Where to Shop in the The Hamptons, Bellport, and Beyond, According to 6 Local Tastemakers

Bengals’ Vote Against NFL Private Equity Is Par for the Course

The Best Loofahs and Body Scrubbers, According to Dermatologists

Emmys 2024 Poll: Who Should Win for Lead Actor in a Limited Series?

Suggestions

Review: zipper.

It wants for a keener vision of corrupted power, but at least it navigates its main character’s sudden slew of infidelities without banalizing them.

Early into Zipper , Sam (Patrick Wilson), a high-profile, South Carolina federal prosecutor, is flatly told by his boss that “no one cares about human frailty.” But Sam does. He’s in the midst of considering a run for political office, but for the moment empathizes with a star witness in an upcoming case; she’s an escort for a service under investigation for soliciting sex to politicians and wealthy businessmen. “I save the lowlifes for my personal life,” she tells him. Director Mora Stephens, along with co-writer Joe Viertel, soon makes Sam the latest misbehaved politician, crossing from the comforts of family life with his wife, Jeannie (Lena Headey), and delving into an underworld of prepaid cellphones, nylon stockings, and expensive hotel rooms, where he arranges meetings with various call girls from a service much like the one he’s investigating.

Stephens’s sporadically distinguished take on middle-aged lust casts Sam as a hypocritical softie, who tells each woman he frequents that they’re “better than this” while dissociating himself as an active, perpetuating participant. These are tantalizing feelers, but Zipper conventionalizes deceit by failing to truly put Sam through the ringer. Neither able to stylize the proceedings to challenge standard notions of on-screen sex, nor provide a compelling justification for Sam’s plight aside from its vague Eliot Spitzer parallels, the film is content to have characters speak ominous lines regarding ethics and desire without actually locating them within the course of its own narrative.

Stephens is keen on montages of bras being removed and flashes of differing sexual positions as evidence of Sam’s descent into sex addiction, rather than offering sustained passages that unearth individuated reasoning or passions driving Sam’s sudden immersion into a world he previously knew nothing of. In fact, Sam is so much of a square at the start that he cautiously treks onto escort-service websites, as if visiting a prostitute never even occurred to him prior. Accordingly, his quick-pulsed descent lacks immediacy beyond the inevitable onslaught of consequences once Sam’s secret becomes apparent to his wife and draws the suspicions of a news reporter (Ray Winstone).

Zipper wants for a keener vision of corrupted power, but at least Stephens navigates Sam’s sudden slew of infidelities without banalizing them. When Jeannie asks what the escorts have that she doesn’t, Sam is only able to muster a simple “nothing,” and Wilson convincingly plays the assertion with a mix of regret and apathy. Perhaps he really doesn’t know why he cheated, but Stephens doesn’t let him off the hook for it either. As George (Richard Dreyfusss), an influential campaign adviser, appears near the end of the film and lets Sam know that he’s aware of his “zipper problem,” he places a large donation on the table, from interested sponsors. When Sam takes the envelope and inspects it, registering his acceptance of these under-the-table funds as the identical form of transaction he’s been conducting for the last few months, it’s meant to be an “a ha!” moment of full-circle recognition; instead, it registers as a “well, of course” resolution to a film that is, in part, better than this.

You might be interested in

‘Oh, Canada’ Review: Paul Schrader’s Profoundly Existential Reflection on Estrangement

4K UHD Review: Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-Winning ‘The Departed’ on Warner Home Video

Damsel Review: How to Dance with a Dragon

Clayton Dillard

Clayton Dillard is a lecturer in cinema at San Francisco State University.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Review: The Falling

Review: No Escape

Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter

film reviews and movie discussion

• Top Ten Lists

ZIPPER (2015) review

written by: Mora Stephens and Joel Viertel produced by: Darren Aronofsky, Mark Heyman and R. Bryan Wright directed by: Mora Stephens rating: R (for strong sexual content, nudity, language and brief drug use) runtime: 109 min. U.s. release date: January 27, 2015 (Sundance) & August 28, 2015 (limited)

You’d think a movie called “Zipper” about a dude with sex addiction would be a comedy, right? Wrong. There’s no laughs to be had in Mora Stephen’s sophomore film, a decade after  her feature-length debut “The Conventioniers”, which I haven’t seen is listed a political rom-com and this movie is being marketed as a political thriller – only there’s really no thrills. So, no laughs and no thrills. What does that leave us with? A mediocre and predictable quasi-examination of sexual addiction that lies somewhere between a Lifetime Movie of the Week and Skinemax that is actually kind of a snooze.

Sam Ellis ( Patrick Wilson ) is high-profile South Carolina prosecutor and a family man with a beautiful whip-smart wife, Jeannie ( Lena Headey ) – she did better than him in law school – and a young son named James ( Kelton DuMont ). They live in a nice home, Sam’s political star is rising and life generally looks great for the Ellis family. There’s only person who can ruin it all for them: Sam. That’s because he’s addicted to sex – not the kind with his wife. He’s addicted to pornography on his laptop (work or home, makes no difference)  and is a chronic masturbator.

It doesn’t help that young women in his office flock to him and soon the temptation for more increases with online porn failing to meet his insatiable desires. It definitely doesn’t help when one randy intern ( Dianna Agron ) makes moves on Sam after a work party or when Sam has to interview an alluring young escort ( Elena Satine ) as a witness on a case. Both of these encounters burn in his mind, providing images for fantasies that fuel his ever-increasing libido.

At the same time, opportunities arise for Sam to make a giant leap in his career with an interested campaign advisor, George Hiller ( Richard Dreyfuss ), pointing him toward a U.S. Senate seat. Sam’s colleague ( John Cho,  funny how he gets third billing on the poster, but he has a total of about 5 minutes on-screen) and boss ( Christopher McDonald ) are behind him as is his wife, who has brought in a journalist and friend of her father’s, Nigel Coaker ( Ray Winstone ), to do an expose on Sam to provide an even greater spotlight for the charismatic attorney.

Instead of preparing himself for a major career move, Sam has given in to his secret sexual compulsion and has moved on to a local escort service, something he’s never done before. His first meet-up at a hotel with Christy (a great Alexandria Breckenridge  “The Walking Dead”), an escort from Executive Privilege, is quick-pulsed and understandably awkward. Sam almost backs out, but the newbie is lured, persuaded and ultimately conquested by his host. He swears this was a one-and-done appointment, but we know how far gone he is. With guilt and career pressures weighing him down, Sam continues his path of immoral behavior with a handful of other escorts, including Laci ( Penelope Mitchell “The Vampire Diaries”), to feed his carnal desires in order to evade the stresses of his sins and pressure of his job. But, as we know….it all comes out in the wash.

The age-old subject of infidelity, specifically middle-aged flings is no stranger to  the big-screen. Movies like “Fatal Attraction” and “Unfaithful” dealt with it from all nuptial sides and recently two recent movies, Steve McQueen’s drama “Shame” and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s comedic directorial debut “Don Jon”, covered the subject of sex addiction from the mind of the single modern-day internet-obsessed man.  All of those films handle these subjects in a more compelling and accomplished manner than “Zipper” does, which just doesn’t provide us with enough characterization to pull us in.

In fact, Stephens, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Joel Viertel skims the surface of the protagonists psyche while offering insubstantial subplots that divert from the main narrative. We get the idea that Sam was really close to his mother, who died of cancer and has obvious emotional scar tissue from that event  – but is his sex addiction on outlet for dealing with that grief? This movie doesn’t follow through on that. That can be a problem or at least an annoyance. Another problem is the way “Zipper” concludes, primarily what Stephens and Viertel do with Headey’s Jeannie. Her behavior comes way out of left field, yet unfortunately falls into utterly predictable and unsatisfying behavior.

There are other issue with the screenplay, one of which is the characterization of Sam. He has no real friends. Sure, his wife is supposed to be his best friend, as she reminds him once he comes clean (in a scene that finally gives Headey something to do), but no guy friends? None? Why would that be necessary? Well, at the least, it could provide Sam with someone who knew him a little better than his wife – a guy who know of his lustful desires and at least would be someone Sam could confide in or direct him in seeking help for his addiction. It just seemed odd to me that he had no peers and then it dawned on me that’s what he (and the movie) needed – another male perspective, one that’s not clouded by sex or career.

Nevertheless, it’s obvious Patrick Wilson makes for a great philanderer.  He’s done it before in “Little Children” and I would even consider him an underrated versatile actor (check out “Barry Munday”). I’ve liked him since  “Hard Candy” and he’s done a fine job in most of the roles he’s taken, even if a movie is mediocre and the script is predictable and the dialogue hits us over the head with eye-roller lines like, “Why do we hold politicians to a higher standard when it comes to marriage and adultery?”  Thank you for spelling out certain themes for viewers Stephens and Viertel! It’s obvious the role the handsome actor is playing is meant to vaguely resemble Eliot Spitzer in a “ripped from the headlines” SVU style, but it’s all so blandly conventionalized.

And what about the stock character wife? That’s a must in this subgenre. Well, Lena Headey deserves better.  It’s really hard to believe that she doesn’t notice her husband acting odd early on and when she does it seems like it’s more out of convenience to the bland plot.

Also, for us to really feel for this couple, we need to see them together and  in love. That would help. Rarely are Sam and his wife together and when they are they don’t seem connected. Maybe the fracture lines were already showing before this movie started, but it would’ve helped to at least show that there was a time when these two were crazy about each other. Headey’s character makes a choice in the movie’s last 15 or so minutes that is so left field that it makes her just as reprehensible as her husband. How sad.

The movie could’ve been a fascinating study on how addicts can never satiate their hunger and how the deeper they get the greater their inability to have any relationship whatsoever. Instead, it tried to be a thriller, both political or erotic, and failed at both. Near the end of the movie, the character Dreyfuss plays has a conversation with Wilson’s Sam and mentions that he is aware of his “zipper problem”,  a groan-inducing mention of the title. All it did was add to the problems the ridiculously titled “Zipper” has.

RATING: *1/2

Share this:, leave a reply cancel reply, donate to keeping it reel, email subscription.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Sign me up!

Recent Posts

• ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024) review
• DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (2024) review
• TWISTERS (2024) review
• IN A VIOLENT NATURE (2024)
• INSIDE OUT 2 (2024) review
• Fanboy Planet
• Filmspotting
• Gene Siskel Film Center
• IMDB: The Internet Movie Database
• Just Hit Play
• Larsen on Film
• Music Box Theatre
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Screen Crush
• The AV Club
• The Dissolve

Powered by WordPress.com .

Discover more from Keeping It Reel

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

Directed by Mora Stephens

Why take the risk

Sam Ellis is a man on the rise — a hot-shot federal prosecutor on the cusp of a bright political future. But what was meant to be a one-time experience with an escort turns into a growing addiction — a new demon threatening to destroy his life, family, and career.

Patrick Wilson Lena Headey Richard Dreyfuss Ray Winstone John Cho Dianna Agron Elena Satine Alexandra Breckenridge Christopher McDonald Penelope Mitchell Shauna Rappold Christian Oliver Daniela Lavender Han Soto Marco St. John Billy Slaughter Thomas Francis Murphy Phil Austin Mercedes Manning David Maldonado Kelton DuMont Woodwyn Koons

Director Director

Mora Stephens

Producers Producers

Mark Heyman Marina Grasic Amy Mitchell-Smith Joel Viertel R. Bryan Wright Julianne Hausler James Napper

Writers Writers

Mora Stephens Joel Viertel

Casting Casting

Deborah Aquila Tricia Wood Lisa Zagoria

Editors Editors

Joel Viertel Jessica Brunetto

Cinematography Cinematography

Antonio Calvache

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Darren Aronofsky Beau Chaney Danya Duffy Scott Franklin Ari Handel Christian Oliver

Production Design Production Design

Hannah Beachler

Composer Composer

H. Scott Salinas

Costume Design Costume Design

Shauna Leone

Protozoa Pictures 33 Pictures Cargo Entertainment

Releases by Date

28 aug 2015, 25 feb 2016, 11 mar 2016, 25 may 2016, releases by country.

• Digital R15+
• Physical 15
• Theatrical R

103 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by DNA cinephile🏳️‍🌈 ★★

Zipper. 2015. Directed by Mora Stephens.

Basically the Girlfriend Experience (2016) from the perspective of a family involved in politics). I watched this film because it was directed by a female, Mora Stephens and starred Lena Headey. The pacing was slow, Headey was exceptional as always. A great deal of reviewers say it was brave of Patrick Wilson. However, what was so difficult in the 20th Century about having coitus with numerous escorts? I guess that is the point. But, it is not a pleasant film to see how our tax dollars are really at work. In other words, Zipper concludes by saying in summary it is alright for politicians to have multiple encounters with escorts as long as it…

Review by Lola ★★★★

this film will really ride or die based on how attracted you are to patrick wilson. luckily, i am very.

Review by 🖤 ★★½

part of the 'lena headey drinks wine and puts up with her husband's infedelity for political power' cinematic universe

Review by Matías Franco

any movie where patrick wilson shows his ass is a masterpiece in my eyes

Review by Jenna Anderson ★★★

*bangs fist on the table* I wanted more Dianna Agron.

Review by Nonomoi ★★★

It's a kind of "Shame" in a commercial way...less well explored, less well directed, less intense, less visceral, less dramatic...less "film".. In conclusion...it's something to entertain, not a masterpiece. The acting is pretty good but the script and the production are just average.

Review by bri ★★½

he really got hit by a car for some pussy i respect that

Review by 𝚮𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖉𝖊 ❤️‍🔥 ★★★

Patrick Wilson banging hookers while creepy music plays in the background: The Movie

Review by amelie ★

he die for that pussy go to war for that pussy get hit by a car for that pussy dumpster dive for that pussy

Review by carenza ★★★½

not even 6 minutes in & patricks already sticking his tongue down someone’s throat…

Review by Harrison Mitchell ★★

My boy Patrick Wilson in "The Pursuit of Pussy."

Review by Lanny or lance ★★★½

Patrick Wilson's blandly handsome ennui-laden face gets old after about an hour. I'm sure lots of married men can relate to this plot quite well, but the actions of the women here, esp. L. Headey, are unbelievable.

Similar Films

Select your preferred backdrop

Select your preferred poster.

Zipper (2015)

Movie Details

Stream & watch zipper.

Trailers & Clips

Cast & Crew

Featured news.

Similar Movies

Movie Reviews

Follow Moviefone

Latest trailers.

Discovering good movies, one bad movie at a time

Zipper (2015)

Synopsis: sam ellis is a man on the rise — a hot-shot federal prosecutor on the cusp of a bright political future. but what was meant to be a one-time experience with an escort turns into a growing addiction — a new demon threatening to destroy his life, family, and career., connect with us.

Support The Show

• Celebrities
• Secret Invasion
• The Marvels
• Disney Plus
• Apple TV Plus
• Dwayne Johnson
• Brie Larson
• Ryan Reynolds
• The Witcher
• About & Advertising
• Affiliate Policy
• Privacy Policy

Zipper Review

The plight of the over-privileged is becoming one of THE most insufferable dramatic tools of today’s current cinematic landscape, and if this year’s The Runner didn’t satiate your appetite for sex-obsessed politicians, Mora Stephens’   Zipper brings more of the same. What’s a political thriller without a bit of secret canoodling, right?

The problem with Zipper is that there’s very little reason for yet another happy family man to turn into some sadistic, objectifying sex-fiend, and even less motivation when considering the defaming implications that could come out of any guilty admittance. But apparently this is what makes lawyers and politicians who they are – sleaziness, dishonesty, abuse, and a need to bang anything that stands on two legs. At this point, it seems less like a poor decision and more like a job qualification, according to Hollywood.

Patrick Wilson plays D.A. Sam Ellis, a fast-talking figure whose pathway into politics is all but paved in gold after bringing home a high-profile win. But his fame and determination leads to a lapse in judgement, as a one-off experience with an executive escort service spirals into an uncontrollable sexual addiction. His wife Jeannie ( Lena Headey) is no fool, growing suspicious of her husband’s appointments, but this doesn’t sway Sam’s unhealthy habit – until law enforcement comes into play. Suddenly his dirty secret becomes a monster that could destroy everything he’s built, so Sam rushes to clean up the scummy mess of breadcrumbs before his illicit past is exposed. If there’s still time.

Do we really care, though? Zipper is just another exaggerated jab at political corruption and the morally repugnant icons we trust to run our government – a jab that’s less about making Sam Ellis feel like a flawed human, and more about generalizing politicians as devious wolves, preying on the weak.

Mora Stephens is quick to assert Sam’s boredom at home when he’s seen masturbating to internet porn (with headphones on, like a rookie), which is supposed to establish the fact that’s he’s an obsessive addict. He won’t interact sexually with his wife, because of boredom (we never really know why), so he’d rather just pleasure himself and pay for strange, random sex with “nameless” females. This is the basis for Sam Elliot’s chronic addiction, established in the most primitive and baseless manner imaginable. Man like sex, man pay for sex, man ruin entire future – so simple, yet so trivial.

It’s a shame, because Patrick Wilson strikes yet another thunderous persona. From horror ( Insidious ), to action ( Stretch ), to drama (take your pick), Wilson knows how to command his scenes given any circumstance. In this particular one, he becomes a seedy vagrant who deals with his crippling sexual addiction while grasping onto just enough humanity to remain watchable. It’s not Wilson’s fault that Sam Elliot is nothing but a contorted, narrow caricature of sexual addiction, and even though certain scenes are absolutely ludicrous (not even getting hit by a car can deter his sexual conquest), he runs around like a rabid dog frothing at the mouth. He’s contrived, silly, and cartoonish (like an adulterous superhero), but compared to Nicolas Cage’s turn in The Runner , Wilson wins my vote.

My disapproval of Zipper isn’t an attempt to laugh away temptation – addictions are real and can be vile beasts to tame. It’s more in Stephens’ inability to remain unbiased through her vision. Sam Elliot’s shameless exploitation of young females is extended to a preachy, weightless extent, and while I’m not naive enough to say such cheaters don’t exist in our world, Zipper says nothing about the problem it attempts to tackle.

Lena Headey’s victimized wife gets to the root of the issue, verbally lashing Sam for not giving her the satisfaction of pointing blame towards one party. By using an escort service where he’s a “client,” Sam appears cleaner than flat-out admitting prostitutes were hired (Jeannie’s words), and for this brief moment, it seems like Stephens is finally building all these insatiable encounters into an honest assessment of emotions. But then Zipper takes another turn towards political heroism, and Sam is let off the hook by the corrupt workings of tightly-knit collaborators. This is a movie for the conspiracy lovers out there who want another reason to hate politicians, and nothing more.

Zipper is a hyper-sexualized thriller about yet another rich white male who gets drunk on power and sex until his world comes crashing down (or appears to be). It’s not particularly intelligent, though, or unique in that respect. Patrick Wilson has numerous moments where his character asks why politicians are held to such a high standard, because all humans are flawed, but it’s just a new cinematic character asking the same question as so many before him.

The answer hasn’t changed, either – people need a false idol to believe in. There’s no sugarcoating these truths, but Stephens could have done without the soapbox under her feet while attempting to expose the fat-cats in Washington. It’s the difference between enlightenment and satire, Zipper being a lackluster attempt at the latter.

Review:  ‘Zipper’ hits a snag tracking randy politician

• Copy Link URL Copied!

Another cautionary yarn about a political hopeful whose adulterous behavior catches up with him, Mora Stephens’ “Zipper” hits a snag from the get-go.

Patrick Wilson plays Sam Ellis, a hotshot federal prosecutor with an eye on the attorney general seat, whose insatiable addiction to a high-end escort service comes back to bite him in his aspirations.

This isn’t exactly uncharted terrain. Instead of taking the audience in unfamiliar directions, filmmaker Mora Stephens (who wrote the script with Joel Viertel) is in such a heated rush to get to all the salacious bits, the story doesn’t build crucial dramatic tension.

SIGN UP for the free Indie Focus movies newsletter >>

More problematic: The dependable Wilson, an actor whose screen charisma allows him to get away with playing slightly darker characters, has been given insufficient time to earn viewer sympathy, resulting in a character that comes across primarily as a smug, hypocritical jerk.

Also squandered here are Lena Headey as Wilson’s wronged wife and Richard Dreyfuss channeling Karl Rove, while the intrusive, sinister-sounding score would have been a better fit for a cheesy horror flick.

“The Ashley Madison Story” starring Elvira, perhaps?

------------

MPAA rating: R for strong sexual content, nudity, language, brief drug use.

Running time: 1 hour, 52 minutes.

Playing: Sundance Cinemas, Los Angeles; Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, Pasadena.

More to Read

Review: In the quietly observed ‘Good One,’ a teenager grapples with aggressions small and big

Aug. 9, 2024

Review: Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play half-smart criminals in overfamiliar ‘The Instigators’

Aug. 2, 2024

Review: In the underpowered ‘Daddio,’ the proverbial cab ride from hell could use more hell

June 28, 2024

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

‘Honestly, I was terrified’: Winona Ryder on returning with ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’

Aug. 28, 2024

‘La Bamba’ is getting a remake. Luis Valdez isn’t sure why

Aug. 27, 2024

Hollywood Inc.

Bronfman drops out of Paramount bidding; Skydance to claim prize

Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez star in Netflix’s new ‘Emilia Pérez’ trailer

Aug. 26, 2024

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

Get us in your inbox

Sign up to our newsletter for the latest and greatest from your city and beyond

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Awesome, you're subscribed!

The best things in life are free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

Love the mag?

Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions.

• Things to Do
• Food & Drink
• Arts & Culture
• Time Out Market
• Coca-Cola Foodmarks
• Los Angeles

• Recommended

Zipper: movie review

Time out says.

Nobody ever thinks they’re the bad guy, but in Amy Nicholson’s sly documentary about the redevelopment of Coney Island, the villains certainly damn themselves. The film juxtaposes images of a bustling midway with footage of City Council members and real-estate developers lovingly listing the “creative retailers” (Dave & Buster’s, Williams-Sonoma) they want to bring in to “revitalize” the neighborhood. Meanwhile, the titular ride and its operators serve as stand-ins for the nearly 50 amusements and local businesses that were casualties of the 2009 rezoning. Combining footage of embattled town meetings and raucous boardwalk scenes with evenhanded interviews and visualized statistics, Zipper is a compelling argument for a populist Coney Island whose days are, alas, numbered.

Follow Jenna Scherer on Twitter: @secondhusk

Cast and crew

• Director: Amy Nicholson

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Discover Time Out original video

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies
• Advertising

Time Out Worldwide

• All Time Out Locations
• North America
• South America
• South Pacific

• Movies & TV
• Featured Categories

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image unavailable.

• Sorry, this item is not available in
• Image not available
• To view this video download Flash Player

• Prime Video $3.99 — $7.99
• Blu-ray from $3.72

Product Description

Sam Ellis is a man on the rise a hot-shot prosecutor on the cusp of a bright future. When an impossibly gorgeous intern at the office becomes infatuated with him, Sam unwisely attempts to quiet his desires by seeing a high class escort only to discover that the experience is more fulfilling and exhilarating than he could have imagined. A second appointment with an escort soon follows, and a third, sending his once idyllic life spiraling out of control. In the midst of wrestling with his demons, he suddenly finds himself being groomed to run for U.S. Congress thrusting him into the public spotlight, and forcing him to take increasingly dangerous measures to keep the press, the law and his wife off his trail.

This is a cynical time for American politics, and Zipper feels like the cynical kind of movie we deserve. --The Film Stage Has a real honesty at its heart and a terrific performance from Patrick Wilson. A worthwhile political thriller. --Cinehouse

About the Actor

Emmy Award® nominee Lena Headey stars in HBO's Game of Thrones .

Product details

• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 5.92 ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 16266
• Director ‏ : ‎ Mora Stephens
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 53 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 29, 2015
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Lena Headey, Patrick Wilson, Dianna Agron, Richard Dreyfuss, John Cho
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Alchemy
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ZSSFXLA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #8,673 in Drama Blu-ray Discs

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 59% 17% 9% 5% 10% 59%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 59% 17% 9% 5% 10% 17%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 59% 17% 9% 5% 10% 9%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 59% 17% 9% 5% 10% 5%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 59% 17% 9% 5% 10% 10%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices