WFG RATING: C-

Breaking Glass Pictures presents a Sétima production. Written and directed by Ángel Figueira. Produced by Anxos Fazáns. Cinematography by Marcos del Villar. Edited by Sara Fernández and Ángel Figueira.

Stars Lidia Veiga, Ánxela Ríos, and Xulio Besteiro.

What started out as a chance at a throuple leads to complications in this Galacian film that tends to be somewhat dull and yet at the same time, bring in a sense of reality among the three leads.

Mariña and Ada are two women in a relationship. Both bisexual, they have decided to add spice by adding a man, Tomás, and forming a throuple. The trio go camping and even at a nightclub while enjoying each other at first chance. An aspiring writer, Mariña goes back home one day to focus on her writing. Meanwhile, Ada and Tomás soon start their own heat and it leads to a jealous Mariña confronting Ada. However, a chance at a camping trip with Tomás and some of his friends could change the course of the relationship either for the better…or worse. 

This film by Ángel Figueira has some potential as from the plot, it sounds like it could be something similar to the 1982 film Summer Lovers, which involved a throuple between an engaged couple and a French woman during a vacation in Greece. However, this one starts out with a relationship between two women and them bringing a man in the mix, which starts out fine, but leads to complications. Where the former brings in a sense of not so much jealousy, but more of a worrisome compilation as to question what will happen when the vacation ends, this film does bring a sense of realism as to complications.

The only problem with this film is that it seems a bit dull and boring at times. While the focus is on the relationship between Mariña, Ada, and Tomás, it feels more like a bore of a trip with just beats of softcore erotica mixed in. Perhaps it is because at one point, we see Mariña out of the picture for most of the second act, which then shows Ada and Tomás taking advantage of her absence because it is clear that while Tomás is the “third wheel”, it is like Mariña is the dominant party between her and Ada and now that she’s out of the picture, the other two try each other out and of course, when Mariña learns what had happened, this leads to an all-out tense scene between the two women. And that’s not even the third act. 

That doesn’t mean that the acting isn’t great because Lidia Veiga, Ánxela Ríos, and Xulio Besteiro make the most of their roles. This is the case where the acting outdoes the execution of the story and actually elevates it, but still comes off as dull and ho-hum. 

Stroking an Animal comes off as a softcore dud of a film involving a throuple that mercifully is just over an hour long. However, the three leads make the most of what they have to work with but overall, could have been executed better with more dramatic tension throughout.