If, as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s art, then surely the same thing is true of sexual proclivities, where the Internet has dragged out into the 21st century light of day sub-fetishes previously only whispered about, if discussed at all. Director Michael Ney’s Liberty in Restraint is a feature-length documentary that examines just this titillating intersection of the deviant and so-called normal sexual worlds. It’s not for all tastes, certainly, but if a more exhaustive and fair cataloguing of its subject matter exists, I’m certainly not aware of it.

As an aspiring photographer, the clandestine worlds of bondage, discipline, dominance-submission, sadomasochism and fetish fashion held a powerful attraction for Noel Graydon. For five years, he trained and worked as a BDSM “master” in the alt-sex trade, establishing friendships which enabled him to genuinely document this world as an insider looking out. Filmmaker Ney uses Graydon as a guide, peeking behind the scenes of his fetish portraiture to shine a spotlight on a curious roster of rope artists, lapsed Catholics, so-called “pain sluts,” adult babies and blood-play enthusiasts who approach absolution and sexuality like an advanced-level driving course.

Sitting for interviews are a litany of prima facie sources, from Graydon’s photographic mentor, John Elliott, to Sydney Hellfire Club’s Jackie McMillan, BDSM performance artist Zoo and a dominatrix named Mistress Synna. The title Liberty in Restraint works two ways, as ironic commentary on the very nature of fringe-dwelling excess, but also how these acts of extreme constraint give palpable release to folks who are into them. The electro-torture and blood-play stuff is a bit extreme for me — just flat out something I don’t want to see or experience, like chewing on aluminum foil — but it is interesting to hear from its purveyors and enthusiasts, if not always see it in practice. Much like David Schisgall’s suburban swinger documentary The Lifestyle, this movie gives voice to the psychology behind its practitioners, and not all of them are quite as outwardly damaged as you might expect.

Housed in a regular Amray case and presented in 16×9 widescreen with 5.1 Dolby surround audio on a region-free disc, Liberty in Restraint comes with a small but potent slate of supplemental extras. Director Ney, film guide Puck, rope artist Mistress Felina and Barton Staggs sit for a rowdy audio commentary track, while five extra interviews and a half dozen deleted scenes point up the fact that there was plenty of material with which to work. Perhaps most interestingly, there’s also a brief featurette on the making of the DVD’s cover image — a first for any home video release that I can recall. For more information, visit the movie’s eponymous web site. B (Movie) B (Disc)