Claire Dolan

After seeing this film I was immediately struck by its similarities to Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman. Certainly, they are very different films, but there is a significant overlap, not just in subject matter and character--Jeanne and Claire--but also in approach. So much of Claire's life passes in silence or repetition that the parallels to Jeanne are fairly strong. Also, viewing Claire in the context of Jeanne at least suggests that having a child will not at all be the answer and solution that Claire is looking for, as motherhood did not make Jeanne Dielman's life wonderful. This film never looks as stark or as imagistic or as metaphorically thought through as Akerman's film, but as it moves along, and despite prosaic and occasionally clumsy scenes, it does attain a visual presence, and aspires to some imagistic displays. When her pimp asserts ruthlessly deterministic views of Claire, they cast a huge shadow on the events left unresolved, and few viewers can come away from this film with anything approaching an upbeat reading; but as a reminder that humans are fragile, frustrating, frustrated and often just aimlessly pathetic, this can stand alone, a stones throw away from a brilliant experiment like Akerman's Jeanne Dielman.

One's first impression might be that the characters and scenes in this movie are simply too cold and emotionless. However, a careful study reveals the "seething" emotions going on in each player; from the pimp Cain who "seethes" with a misogynistic disdain of the women working for him to Elton (played with excellence by Vincent D'Onofrio) who seethes with longing to fulfill something greater in life than just being a cab driver (the attempted mugging scene whereafter he breaks down is just superb!). I think that the final two scenes of the movie--one between a "converted", pregnant Claire being approached by a former john, the other between the Cain and Elton with his wife -- excellently display the tormented, soulful emotions of the characters involved in this story.

It is an intriguing film, told from a woman's point of view. This film allows the viewer time to think which is a big thing. It allowed me to become involved. It is well directed and has unpretentious camera work. Claire is a sensitive woman trying to escape her present, and her past. The action is paced well and does not push a lot of dialog onto us. Like the main character, Claire, the characters draw their reactions to situations at the same time as we do, giving us time to draw our own conclusions. Vincent D'Onofrio plays Elton, the caring lover, discovering the unusual woman. I thought he played his character with great depth, and I really like finding his old films before TV. The Irish pimp, Cain, played by Colm Mearey played his role straight enough. The film shows the world of high-class prostitution with sex scenes that are never voyeuristic but tasteful, again from Claire's viewpoint. And there are nice locations like Manhattan as well as gritty ones.

An excellent evocation of urban alienation, this film has a consistently minimal style that reveals a lot without showing much. Pure cinema, one of the most interesting independent American movies (actually it looks like a genuine European film) of the past few years. It establishes director Lodge Kerrigan as one to watch.

Claire Dolan (Katrin Cartlidge) is a prostitute. Like many of them, she really doesn't like sex at all, or even most men, and sees it as a job. She's in debt to her pimp, Roland Cain (Colm Meaney) after he helps pay the medical bills of Claire's dying mother. When her mother passes on, Claire runs off and starts working in a salon, and meets a nice cabby named Elton (Vincent D'Onofrio). But Cain finds her, and he wants his money.

Lodge H. Kerrigan has not directed many films, but if they are as good as this one, I would like to see them. He captures how sterile the sex Claire has is, and shows how she really doesn't enjoy it. I was a bit shocked by how many of the men spoke to Claire. I was taught not to talk to women that way, but then again, guys going to prostitutes probably aren't exactly classy people anyway. Kerrigan does great work with reflections throughout this film, and the ending with Roland and Elton talking on the street gives closure in it's own way.

The acting was awesome. I didn't know Kartlidge could be so prickly, and I would never have imagined Meaney playing a guy who could yell like that. D'Onofrio is a good actor who wasn't given much to work with, although in his last scene with Claire he is far more disturbing than I think any other actor could be, which was what Kerrigan needed. Good, but not for the squeamish, as the movie is about a prostitute and is graphic.