Lipstick 1976

Chris McCormick (Margaux Hemingway), a stunning 21-year-old model for a cosmetics company, bears the weight of responsibility for her 14-year-old sister Kathy (Mariel Hemingway) following their parents’ tragic passing in a car accident. The siblings share an apartment, with Kathy attending a private Catholic school. Chris’s life is meticulously managed by her high-profile modeling career, leaving little room for personal connections or emotional depth.

Kathy, sensing the absence of warmth and intimacy in her sister’s life, takes it upon herself to orchestrate an introduction between Chris and Gordon Stuart (Chris Sarandon), their charming music teacher. Kathy invites Stuart to attend one of Chris’s photo shoots by the ocean, hoping that his unconventional musical compositions will resonate with her sister. However, the shoot runs late, leaving Chris no opportunity to hear Stuart’s innovative work.

The next day, Stuart arrives at the apartment, eager to share his artistic vision with Chris. But, due to Chris’s forgetfulness, their encounter takes an unexpected turn. Greeted by Chris in a bathrobe, fresh from her morning routine, Stuart’s intentions are clear – he hopes to leverage her connections in the music industry to further his own career. As he plays his musical tape, featuring a unique blend of environmental sounds and electronic synthesizers, Chris is interrupted by a phone call from her boyfriend Steve Edison (Perry King).

The sudden interruption sparks a tumultuous reaction within Stuart, who becomes enraged by Chris’s apparent apathy toward his art. His frustration boils over, and he enters Chris’s bedroom, destroying objects and physically forcing himself upon her. Chris, initially resistant to the assault, eventually succumbs to her attacker, ceasing to struggle as the rape unfolds.

As the ordeal reaches its climax, Kathy returns home from school, unaware of the gravity of the situation unfolding before her eyes. She enters Chris’s bedroom via a connecting balcony and sees the scene, but her innocent mind fails to grasp the horror that has transpired. Unbeknownst to Stuart, Kathy has witnessed the entire scene, choosing instead to quietly exit the apartment, shutting the patio door behind her.

Chris, realizing the gravity of the situation, begs Stuart to release her, suggesting a twisted “threesome” scenario as a means of escape. Stuart, though, is unmoved, commenting that Kathy must believe her sister has engaged in a romantic tryst with their music teacher. Following his departure, Chris collapses into despair, finally sharing her trauma with her sister Kathy, who only then comprehends the depths of her sibling’s distress.

As the police investigation unfolds, Chris seeks solace with a rape-crisis counselor while detectives gather evidence at the scene. Meanwhile, Stuart is apprehended and taken into custody. A few days later, Chris meets with District Attorney Carla Bondi (Anne Bancroft), accompanied by Edison and her priest/brother, Martin (John Bennett Perry). Bondi cautions Chris that securing a conviction will be a daunting task, given the circumstances of their encounter. Edison’s concerns about potentially tarnishing Chris’s reputation further complicate matters. Undeterred, Chris is resolute in pursuing justice.

As Stuart’s trial approaches, his attorney, Nathan Cartright (Robin Gammell), employs every tactic to raise reasonable doubt about the nature of the encounter. He even introduces Chris’s provocative photographs from a previous photo shoot as part of his strategy to besmirch her character. However, it is ultimately Chris’s own sister, Kathy, whose testimony proves pivotal in securing Stuart’s acquittal. Despite Kathy’s initial assertion that she believes her sister’s account, her failure to report the incident at the time suggests that she did not perceive the encounter as non-consensual.

Chris struggles to regain her footing in the modeling world, but her inability to focus on her craft prompts her contract to be suspended. Kathy, meanwhile, is forced to transfer schools as Stuart appears poised to reclaim his old job. As Chris participates in a final photoshoot at an incomplete mall complex, Kathy becomes restless and begins exploring the vacant space. Her curiosity leads her to stumble upon Stuart and former classmates rehearsing a dance performance set to his music.

As the friends depart, Stuart invites Kathy to assist him with the composition’s final mixing process. He places a contact microphone on her chest to record her heartbeat, which suddenly quickens as she realizes his intentions are anything but innocent. Fleeing in terror, Kathy is pursued through the mall’s subterranean tunnels until she is caught and…

As Kathy stumbles back into view, her anguished cries and tattered attire betraying the trauma she’s endured. Her tears fall like a relentless rain as Chris’s concerned gaze meets hers, prompting an inquisition about the horrors that have transpired. Initially, Kathy’s lips seal shut, refusing to surrender the truth, but eventually, the dam breaks, and she confesses the unspeakable: Stuart, her tormentor, had launched a brutal attack upon her.

Chris’s face contorts with fury as she hastens to the window, her eyes locking onto Stuart’s fleeing form. With a fierce determination driving her actions, she dashes to her truck and retrieves a rifle stored in the back, its presence a testament to her own resourcefulness. As Stuart exits his vehicle in the parking lot, Chris takes aim, unleashing a barrage of gunfire that sends him crashing to the ground. Still, her wrath refuses to be satiated, and she continues to pour bullets into Stuart’s lifeless form, even as her gun lies spent and empty.

The police arrive on the scene, their sirens piercing the air, as Chris remains frozen in a state of shell-shocked numbness. It is amidst this chaos that Bondi, stalwart defender that he is, appears on the horizon, his words weaving a tapestry of justice during Chris’s murder trial. With calculated precision, he argues to the jury that true justice can only be served if they acquit Chris of Stuart’s murder, her actions a righteous response to the brutality she had faced. As the camera pulls away from this tumultuous tableau, Bondi’s impassioned plea hangs in the air like a challenge, his conviction a testament to the unwavering dedication of those who fight for what is right.