Agony of Love

Agony is right. When the film began I thought it was going to be a winner. Interesting camera shots, a woman who's really stacked (Pat Barrington), and some well-cast loser types to play the various clients Ms. Barrington entertains as an unfulfilled prostitute looking for love in all the wrong places.

But then the camera-work became a chore -- lingering on shots for too long, not really expressing anything other than what we've already allowed to sink in. We become aware that this dirty woman is mentally tormented very early on, and then all that begins to happen after awhile is that the director keeps indulging himself by driving that point home again and again and again. Okay, she has personal demons; we get it already -- now what? As I said earlier, Pat Barrington has a nice package, and that's about the only reason to endure everything else that drones on in between getting an eyeful of her natural gifts. It's too bad that even her nude scenes are not filmed in a more enticing manner.

0 out of ****

This whole movie is like a psychedelic experience and the story has surprising depth for a cheap roughie. Pat Barrington plays as a woman moonlighting as a prostitute and delves into the mental torment she goes through. The scenes with the men are done in a surreal dreamlike way expressing her mental state and it's a neat idea. Pat elevates the whole thing and is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful women of the period.

The beginning of the movie is especially great with a strong setup and a nice glimpse at 1966 Los Angeles with some fun camera work and music. Once the theme is established, it unfortunately goes downhill. We get a lot of lingering pointless shots at objects, faces, and excessive repetition. But considering how terrible these 60's low budget sexploitation films typically are, this still manages to be one of the better ones.