The Lifetime movie Sex & Lies in Sin City(Sony) was directed by Peter Medak, maker of such gripping early-90s thrillers as The Krays, Let Him Have It and Romeo Is Bleeding. The true story of Las Vegas casino mogul Ted Binion's death and the suspicion cast on his stripper girlfriend Sandy Murphy is material tailor-made for Medak to hone into a sharp-edged, unsavory character study; unfortunately, Sex & Lies comes off as original and scintillating as its generic title. Although Medak is unable to dive into the sordidness of the Vegas underworld, his actors are up to the challenge: Matthew Modine as a perfectly sleazy Ted, Marcia Gay Harden as his blustery sister Becky, and Mena Suvari as the sexy but vulnerable Sandy. In the end, however, basic cable's demands for a safe middle ground destroy any chance of this being a truly adult, honest film.
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The Lifetime movie Sex & Lies in Sin City (Sony) was directed by Peter Medak, maker of such gripping early-90s thrillers as The Krays, Let Him Have It and Romeo Is Bleeding. The true story of Las Vegas casino mogul Ted Binion's death and the suspicion cast on his stripper girlfriend Sandy Murphy is material tailor-made for Medak to hone into a sharp-edged, unsavory character study; unfortunately, Sex & Lies comes off as original and scintillating as its generic title. Although Medak is unable to dive into the sordidness of the Vegas underworld, his actors are up to the challenge: Matthew Modine as a perfectly sleazy Ted, Marcia Gay Harden as his blustery sister Becky, and Mena Suvari as the sexy but vulnerable Sandy. In the end, however, basic cable's demands for a safe middle ground destroy any chance of this being a truly adult, honest film.