As soon as I saw the title of this film, I thought of the Everley Brothers' cheerful, chirpy number. And indeed the track is sampled in the opening credits, albeit a covered version with renewed bitterness attacking the lyrics, whilst the audience is alternately treated to Frederick Weller making business deals on his mobile, walking through the streets of an American city, and a soaping wet, nude Neve Campbell in a state of nirvana in the shower.

"I've been cheated, been mistreated... when will I be loved?"

As the first few minutes show Ford (Weller), a smooth-talking slippery fish who borrowed $9300 two years ago, and Vera (Campbell), a beautiful young woman dressed in a floaty floral dress, attempting to earn a decent living by becoming a University professor's assistant, we think it clear who is the cheater and who the mistreated. However, the film switches these characteristics back and forth so much, rendering us constantly intrigued.

Campbell is wonderful as the woman in control, pretending to be a confused little girl, and her sex scenes show her in three very different lights: in gentle ecstasy undressing her girlfriend, bathed behind a see-through white curtain, in arousal but clear, physical pain with her supposed boyfriend and utterly cold and detached with the rich man who pays her one million dollars as a "gift for giving her pleasure."

I would argue that the film does show Vera as a character who very much needs to be loved, but that the dangerous path she goes down to achieve it may cut her off from the ability to ever experience it again. Although it does not jar as we switch from Vera's side of the story to Ford's, with the use of R'n'B. While it works well, at times reminiscent of Death And The Maiden, silence might have provoked a greater reaction to the events on screen.

It is an old cliche to say the film is beautifully shot, but there is no better way of phrasing it in this case. I particularly admired the way director James Toback is able to present the nude body as art; never do you feel that the film verges on anything too explicit.

Several celebrities appear as themselves, including Toback, but it never feels like name dropping; they add to the story, providing black comedy in measured doses.

My only criticism is that I did not feel for the characters, but then Vera is presented as an anti-heroine, who undoubtedly would not give a damn whether I pitied, envied or admired her.