Pleasure

I think the low reviews are due to the discomfort one feels while watching Ninja Thybergs first real movie of substance. The research that went into this really gives us an inside look at the porn industry and what it takes to be successful in that industry. I didn't find anything disturbing or shocking, which i was grateful that Ninja Thybergs to it to the extreme. The story was fine enough for what the subject matter is, a shallow world.

I've seen at least one doc on porn life and more than one film that shows it, so there wasn't much here that would shock me. I think the most striking thing about the film is how much of what we see could be true across the film industry - women cheapening themselves more or less willingly in hopes of getting ahead, a progressive surrender of idealism, some unpleasant surprises, decidng to work past them until one or does not decide the price is worth paying to get where you want to be. Much of what we see is the maturation or hardening - depending on your point of view - of someone coming to terms with the requirements of a predatory world (and porn is far from the only such world in LA) while - possibly less realistically - questioning the price of her own ambition. Apparently many of the performers here are actual porn performers, which mainly shows in their ease in certain scenes. But there is a lot of good emotional life in their work as well. Anyone who watches this mainly for the sex is likely to be disappointed - there are non-porn related films with more overt sexual scenes - and some might find it simply hard to watch at times. But it's a real story with a real progress and real relationships that happens to be set in the world of porn.

I didn't think this story was all that compelling or satisfyingly told. There were some details that were memorable, but I really didn't get invested in where it was going. I will agree that the lead actress did an amazing job, and most everyone else brought a realism to their roles, especially since they work in the adult film industry in real life. But I didn't feel like there was much connection between the scenes. Yes, the overall goal of the main character remains consistent, but I didn't feel like we were shown what motivated her to make the specific choices she did much of the time. The effect is that the story doesn't really progress and build believably. Even though it has an outstanding central performance, I felt this was a fairly average drama overall which happened to have a few scenes that were difficult to watch.

Contrary to what a number of reviewers enthuse about this film, there is nothing "revolutionary" about it as far as edgy European filmmakers are concerned. In fact, the likes of Paul Verhoeven, Gaspard Noe and Ulrich Seidl did much of the heavy lifting several years before, in terms of explicit and frank cinema-verite material.

That said, this is a compelling, carefully researched slice-of-life movie with a central performance for the ages, and it's coming from perfect newcomer Sofia Kappel. With a less game actress, this could have been just another "Showgirls".

The director's insistence on sticking to crushing realism means that there's a complete lack of Hollywood moments, twists and turns, and no artificial tension -- which would admittedly make the whole affair an easier watch. It's never boring, but there's a distinct documentarist feel to everything, which does kill any budding drama.

Make no mistake, this is a European art movie, transplanted to the LA p*rn scene.

The story of a 19-year-old Swedish beauty who makes her way to Hollywood in order to become the next big porn star. The film has rightly had its fair share of publicity, due to the graphic scenes featured throughout. However, that shock value soon wears thin, leaving a somewhat hollow tale of cold-hearted loneliness. Still, it earns a slim recommendation due to a stunning central performance from newcomer, Sofia Kappel.