Based on true events detailed in her diaries, Henry and June is about Anais Nin (Medeiros), who bored with her sedate life as wife of an upright businessman Hugo (Grant) becomes increasingly drawn to the flamboyant writer Henry Miller (Ward) and his enigmatic wife June (Thurman). Following their lead she begins to explore her sexuality in more and more daring ways.

Henry and June is an absorbing and sensuous journey following one woman's descent into debauchery and the pleasure and pain that it causes to her and to those around her. The film is so beautifully filmed and performed that its lack of any clear-cut conclusions can be forgiven. It should be mentioned that Henry and June is NOT intended to be a biopic of Henry Miller and shouldn't be judged that way.

Despite dealing with erotica and being the first film to gain an NC-17 rating (it needn't have), Kaufman's film is surprisingly short on raw sexuality. Instead he evokes a heavily romanticised and intellectual approach to Anais' experiences. Anais' desires feed not out of a lack of sexual satisfaction, but out of a lack of passion and excitement. She tells her husband "I need to know people who are alive!" Anais envisions the way she thinks that life should be lived to the fullest. Henry and June embody this for her, so she is naturally drawn towards them.

If Anais' sexual exploits are an effort on her part to feel alive, then in a way she is not much different than someone who gets their kicks by skydiving, or by joining a "fight club". It's not broken bones that are at stake for her though, but the complex, and perhaps more treacherous, world of human emotions. What's interesting about Anais is that when the consequences of her duplicity catch up on her, she doesn't back away or seek shelter but is instead exhilarated by the drama she has created. She is hurt, yes, and she feels pain. But even in the end when she loses June, she seems to look upon it as a growing experience.

Henry and June features magnificent performances from the whole cast. Maria de Madeiros anchors things superbly as Anais, simultaneously appearing innocent and erotic. She also carries off some rather flowery language, making it sound wonderful with her deliciously provocative accent. We could have quite easily been laughing at this dialogue in less able hands.

Fred Ward plays Henry Miller as rough, passionate and boisterous. "He is a man who life intoxicates" as Anais writes in her diary. He is also more than a little selfish, always putting his own desires first with little regard for others feelings. It is strange, but Anais somewhat dubiously seems to find this an admirable quality in him. Ward gives Miller an entertainingly old-fashioned charismatic spin.

The other object of Anais' fascination is played with captivating lushness by Uma Thurman. June begins the film as an extremely intimidating being who takes pleasure in stringing people along with her vampish allure. However by the end, when things begin to fall apart for her and she loses control of the situation, she is revealed as a deeply troubled and tragic women. Thurman's rich performance reveals endless fascinating angles into June.

In a thankless role as the ever-devoted Hugo, Richard E Grant provides a solid counterbalance to the flamboyant Ward and Thurman. The rest of the supporting cast also offer nice moments, including a pre-fame Kevin Spacey as Henry's roommate. You have to go a long way to find a better acted movie than this.

The characterisations aren't the only highlight of the film however. The presentation of the film is superb as well. It's expertly crafted with the cinematography and period music combining to create an exquisitely sensual flavour to proceedings. Some of the transitions between scenes are masterful in themselves. Several passages, like an interlude with a photographer, successfully take us away from the characters for a while to give us a sense of the atmosphere in Paris of the time, or at least the Paris that these characters saw.

At the time of writing (1999) this is still my favorite single performance from Uma. I was already quite a big fan of Uma before seeing this film, but Henry and June removed any doubts I had had about her ability.

She really gets an opportunity to role up her sleeves and show us what she's capable of. From the mannerisms, the accent, the speech pattern, the way she carries herself and the look in her eyes this is a complete transformation from the sweet waif that charmed us in Dangerous Liaisons. It's almost impossible to believe it's the same actress really.

It is such a multi-layered performance. June is an extremely complex character, which is obviously what inspired Henry Miller and Anais Nin to write about her. I have watched Henry and June many times and Uma's performance only gets better with repeat viewing. June must be incredibly hard to play because as a person she is always putting on a show. She creates drama around her, but unfortunately is eventually the one suffering for it. Uma had to subtly reveal that June was putting on a show without revealing her own show. She manages it and her performance is faultless.

The nature of June allows for plenty of legitimate scenery chewing, as they say, and Uma doesn't hesitate to throw herself at the role. It's not completely unheard of for an actress so young to show as much courage in a performance as Uma does here, but I can't think of another where it was backed up with such skill. Not to mention the pure soul she brings to the role. Just when you think she's reached perfection, in the next scene she'll go one step better.

Uma gets the chance to show a full range of emotions. From bitter anger to quiet contemplation to anguished self-loathing, she goes through them all. There is a real sexual menace about her too, the look in her eyes will send shivers down your spine. She's creepy. It's hard to fathom that she was only 19 when she did this.

I can't really do justice to how much I think of Uma's performance in this film. Maybe I overrate it, but it certainly has impressed me!