[7] The story at the center of the movie is the tumultuous life of Nic (Julian Sands), a British director beginning a new film project in Tunisia.

He was effusive in his praise for Figgis creating the film's atmosphere "through its mixture of music, beautiful outdoor cinematography and somber, silent acting."

"[11] Taking a more playful approach in his review, Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle came to a similar conclusion as Holden and Ebert and explained, "If you are an adventurous filmgoer, interested in technique, certainly go.

"[12] Emanuel Levy of Variety was critical of the movie as commentary on Nic’s loss of innocence and the entire state of civilization, stating that "it’s in this intent that the film fails most conspicuously, giving Figgis’ skeptics the strongest ammunition to dismiss his work as pretentious and overreaching.

"[3] Desson Howe of The Washington Post was more scathing in his analysis and declared, "For me, at least, The Loss of Sexual Innocence is the highly cinematic equivalent of a smoke-and-mirrors job.