One Hour Fantasy Girl

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would do anything just to obtain it? If so, how far would you go? These are the questions that you may be asking yourself after viewing No Restrictions Entertainments latest film; One Hour Fantasy Girl.

One Hour Fantasy Girl, which is based on a true story, tells the tale of Becky Lewis (Kelly-Ann Tursi). Becky, a 20 year old who is struggling to make a living in downtown L.A., aspires to make it in the real estate business, but because of her financial woes, she is unable to. As a result, she decides to become a "fantasy girl"; a dominatrix of sorts who will do anything you want (except for kissing or sex) for an hour. During her time as a "fantasy girl", Becky meets some shady individuals, an odd real estate agent named Sal (John Buckley Gordon… probably the best character in the movie) and a guy who appears to be her saving grace… but is he really too good to be true? To be honest with you, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this movie… mainly because I don't see too many independent films that impress me much… but, this film was actually, quite surprisingly, well done. The film has some solid direction, some decent acting and, for the most part, is decently written.

The film's director, Edgar Michael Bravo, puts together a wonderful looking film that is dark and complex, yet, somehow, he manages to make the film look beautiful and simplistic. Bravo's only blemish comes from the writing. I said before that the writing was, for the most part, decent. I used "for the most part" because there are two characters that have their own thing going on that is kind of relevant to the story, but not necessarily needed. To make matters worse, Bravo throws in a twist. The good thing about the twist is that you don't see it coming… which is a good thing since most twists these days you see coming a mile away… but the bad thing about the twist is that it's very random and you're left sitting there going, "Huh?".

The acting is pretty much hit or miss. The two acting highlights of the film come from Kelly-Ann Tursi and John Buckley Gordon. Tursi is the heart and soul of this movie… if it wasn't for her the viewer wouldn't be emotionally attached to anyone in the film and probably wouldn't give a damn about it. Her performance single handedly saves this movie. As for John Buckley Gordon, he provides some comedic elements to the film that bring a breath of fresh air to the film by briefly brightening the mood of the story for a few moments. The rest of the cast, however, is pretty poor. I don't want to say that their bad actors or anything like that, it's just that I found their acting in this film to be rather bland and emotionless… there are even moments when these actors appear to be rushing through the dialogue and, because of this, it kind of kills the pacing of the film.

No Restrictions Entertainments' One Hour Fantasy Girl has its weak moments, but, overall, turns out being a pleasant surprise.

I wasn't sure what to expect with One Hour Fantasy Girl, but this small independent film is worth checking out. It turned out to be a surprisingly non-sleazy, non exploitative drama that had me intrigued from its opening minutes. The real revelation here is Kelly Ann Tursi, a stunningly beautiful young actress who plays the aforementioned lead character. One look at her and it's easy to understand why men would pay $150 for an hour with her. She carries the film with an understated, subtle performance. Her character is clearly not comfortable with her line of work, but she's willing to go through with it to somehow achieve her dream. Expect big things from this actress in the future.

"One Hour Fantasy Girl": Portrait of a life less ordinary. A review by: Casey Ryan – The Cutting Room Floor.

"One Hour Fantasy Girl" is based on a true story. It tells the tale of a young woman named Becky Lewis (played by Kelly Ann Tursi) who works as a dominatrix to support herself while dreaming of a successful career in the glamorous world of real estate. Writer/director Edgar Michael Bravo paints a portrait of a life that is at once haunting, harrowing, and painfully vivid.

Still plagued by memories of her abusive alcoholic mother, Becky is ardently devoted to her goal despite the many obstacles that lay in her path. Her website, where she refers to herself as "Brandi", advertises that she will fulfill any fantasy so long as it does not involve sex or kissing. As the film plays out, we're witness to several examples of just how far some of her clients are willing to push this particular envelope. Veteran character actor Jon Morgan Woodward turned in a memorable and blood curdling performance as one of Brandi's regulars named Roger that was arguably the film's strongest.

Bravo's greatest strength, however was character development. All of the players clearly have their own agendas but Bravo isn't about to let his audience off easy. Using the skill of a surgeon, he keeps their motives carefully hidden – strategically revealing key bits of information at select points in the film.

The underlying theme behind "One Hour Fantasy Girl" is a struggle for normality in the face of a set of life circumstances that is anything but. To that end, Kelly Ann Tursi does a phenomenal job of bringing this dichotomy to life on screen. In conclusion, I'm starkly reminded of the most telling line of the film - uttered in an opening scene by Becky's manager (played by Paul D. Nguyen).

"We create the world we want to live in."

One Hour Fantasy Girl, directed by Edgar Michael Bravo, is a film about a young woman named Becky (Kelly-Ann Tursi), a girl with an unusual day job.

Becky earns money as a "clothed escort" via a Fantasy Girl branded website. Her business partner routinely drops her off at a meeting place, and she then proceeds to fulfill men's fantasies... as long as they stay within her guidelines: "no kissing or sex allowed".

Becky was abused as a child, and makes a scapegoat out of that situation, claiming that she had no choice but to take such an unusual career path. As she continues working, the jobs being to get increasingly perverted, until her situation finally boils over. The camera follows Becky like a fly on the wall, and everything is so naturally shot, with realistic lighting, that you could easily confuse this with reality. It's only fitting that this is based on the true stories of real-life call girls.

The acting matches the over-the-shoulder cinematography, and is top notch. The characters rarely smile, and never raise their voices loud enough to wake the neighbors. Fitting for their bizarre circumstances. But there is a point when you have to have to start wondering when the depressive scenarios will come to an end, or at least one character will find what they're looking for. When that does happen, it's too little too late. There's no way around it... you leave it depressed, and even a cherry ending would've felt wrong, given the rest of what you've seen. I can understand a character experiencing tough times, but you can make a better story of that than One Hour Fantasy Girl accomplishes.

"One Hour Fantasy Girl" conveys the essence of the human condition through the victories and tragedies of Brandi, a fantasy call girl. This condition: That we are as particles floating in a gravitational field, only to be freed by finding the way up, out, and away. In her desire to find Beingness, she seeks the surety of financial freedom. And, this freedom eludes her and betrays her in her quest for it. The film's pinnacle is her ability to exhale, when she believes that she may finally find the momentum that will lift her out of the gravity that ultimately, binds us all to the Human Condition. "One Hour Fantasy Girl" is a layered modern fable where hope and reality collide, then find a way to co-exist in the heart of young woman. "One Hour Fantasy Girl" is compelling Film worth Being With.