Louis Theroux’s Altered States: Love Without Limits
Bbc2/iplayer
Iwould love to have been a fly on the wall when Louis Theroux was telling his wife about his latest assignment for BBC2 – a documentary about “ethical non-monogamy”. As part of his deep dive into the polyamorous community of Portland, Oregon, Louis decided to attend a blindfolded sensual dinner. “A what?” Mrs Theroux must have asked. “Well…” the documentarian presumably explained, “It’s this nice event where polyamorous types wander around semi-naked, indulging in semi-erotic massage while feeding foodstuffs to each other. And I’m going to join in!” Of course, it was all above board and part of the great man’s method of embedding himself with the subjects of his extraordinary films, getting them to trust him fully, so he can get to the nub of what makes them tick. If the sight of Louis with his shirt off, getting an earnest shoulder rub from a random dude while a topless lady shoved some chocolate-covered strawberries in his gob was the comedic highlight of the show, the rest of the film was endlessly fascinating. We got to meet an array of perfectly decent people who are seemingly content having multiple relationships that go further than sex. Or, at least some of them were. The complex truth of these “poly” types is that some of them were visibly less happy about their arrangements than others. They’re not all living in a permanent state of blissful freedom. There were obvious power struggles going on, especially when it came to the sleeping arrangements, which often left one of the participants feeling a tad left out. Like Louis’ own experience in the middle of the “sensual dinner”, the film was complicated yet truly eye-opening.