Hardcore

George C. Scott stars in this Paul Schrader vehicle as Jake VanDorn, a man of a different, more simple era whom finds himself thrust into the seamy underbelly of the pornography business after his daughter, Kristen, goes missing. The police are no help and the sleazy private investigator he hires (played superbly by Peter Boyle) is not much better. Jake tries hopelessly to keep his unvarnished soul intact as he looks for his daughter. This is a well-acted, well written, well directed film that kept me riveted...to a point. That point being the horrible studio required cop-out ending that forces the film to tie everything up in a neat little bow at the detriment of what could have otherwise been a classic. Tis a shame.

My Grade: B

Eye Candy: Linda Morell shows her heavy hangers; Season Hubley shows everything; Ilah Davis provides T&A; Gigi Vorgan, Leslie Ackerman, & Serena get topless as well

Hardcore is Paul Schrader's lurid odyssey into the seedy underbelly of pornography and prostitution in 1970's California. George C. Scott stars a conservative midwestern businessman who searches every street corner and dirty back alley in search of his missing teenage daughter whose started appearing in porno films.

Coming off the success of writing Martin Scorsese's masterpiece Taxi Driver, this film is essentially a B movie companion piece. Hardcore is a well written slow burn that has become slightly dated, but still manages to retain its potent commentary on the dark side of the City of Angels.

George C. Scott gives a tour de force performance as the religious calvinist Jake Van Dorn, Scott gives an earnest performance as a man willing to bend his moral compass in the slim hopes of finding his daughter. Whilst in the process of finding his daughter he hires the expertise of a slimy private investigator played Peter Boyle. Boyle once again gives an excellent understated performance, it's a shame Boyle never got the leading roles his talent deserved.

Hardcore is an excellent thriller which has some pacing issues and it also occasionally tonally riffs off Taxi Driver, especially in the last act. Other than that Hardcore is an uncompromising thriller that's supported by excellent writing a wonderful central performance from George C. Scott.

****SPOILERS**** George C. Scott, Jake Van Dorn, gives one of his best acting performances in "Hardcore". It's every bit as good as his role in "Patton" in this modern day version of the great John Ford Western "The Searchers" as the distraught and angry father searching for his missing and runaway daughter Kristen, Llah Davis.

Powerful and riveting film builds up to a fever pitch as Jake goes into the bowels of hell in his desperate and emotional quest for his daughter in the dangerous and sleazily world of the legal as well as illegal porn industry. The scene, in an empty and darkened porno theater, where Jake was shown by private investigator Andy Mast, Peter Boyle, a clip of his daughter preforming sex acts on the screen was so powerful that it made you forget that you were actually watching a movie, not the real thing. An unsuspecting Jake, who had never seen a porno film before, went from bewilderment shock outrage and then became sickened and nauseated by what he saw, all this in just under two minutes of screen time, ranks right up there with the greatest and most unforgettable moments in motion picture history!

Jake ends up finding his daughter but she was emotionally destroyed not only by the porno world that she was living in and was part off but also by her detachment and alienation from her very religious father's feelings for her. Jake is also faced with the fact that the world outside of his small and cloistered community in Grand Rapids Michigan is as different as the Earth is from the planet Pluto.

After Jake's daughter Kristen disappeared from a trip with her classmates and members of the local Dutch Reformation Church Jake with the help of private investigator Andy Mast and local L.A hooker and part time porno actress Niki, Season Hubley, track her down in the red-light district of San Francisco. Jake is then shocked to find out that she left him because of his possessiveness and restrictions that he had on her and the friends that she choose.

Even though the movie "Hardcore" is now a bit dated and the ending is a bit too pat and contrived in order for it to pull all the loose ends in the movie together and give the film a happy ending George C. Scott's Academy Award caliber acting in the film is good enough to make you overlook the movies many faults.

Both Peter Boyle and Llah Davis are also very effective as the hired PI and Jake's missing daughter. I feel that the most sensitive as well as tragic acting in the film, on par with Mr. Scott, was that of Season Hubley, Niki, as the hooker who lead Jake to, in the end, find his daughter. Feeling that she had a chance of, with the help of Jake, leaving the life that she had in the porno world Niki sadly learned in the end of the movie that hope was nothing but a pipe dream. Knowing her helpless situation Niki sadly accepted the reality of her life in it. I feel that Jake's very emotional and truly touching final scene with Niki was far more gripping and heart-wrenching then the final scene that Jake had with his daughter Kristen and almost as good as the scene of Jake in the theater when he broke down from watching Kristen in a porno movie.

Now that George C. Scott has passed away, many of my on-line acquaintances were citing selections from the movie "Patton" as their favorite on-screen quotes from the late actor.

My personal favorite, however, comes from what was the turning point of Scott's character in this movie. I pitied what Jake Van Dorn saw (then couldn't bear to see) as he watched his daughter coupling with the stringy-haired porn actor. Then I pitied him more as he unsuccessfully tried to crash the porn world in search of his only child. Finally, Scott made Van Dorn's final desperation palpable as he sat in the dimly lit motel room, head in his hands (although the toupee WAS hilarious) after "interviewing" the parade of hapless "actors" and "actresses".

When Van Dorn raises his tired eyes to see that the individual who just entered his room is the stringy-haired actor ("Jism Jim"), Scott's acting, the camera flashbacks and the music made me lean very close to the screen. As Van Dorn showed his little girl's picture to Jim, who thereupon throws a tantrum ("That BI***, do I have to act with HER? She made my c*** so...") I found myself very happy to watch Van Dorn beat the stuffing out of Jim with the table lamp.

And the quote? Van Dorn's, in George C. Scott's comforting, whiskey-cured voice as he prepares to shove Jim into a cold shower for some interrogation:

"CHEER UP, YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"

R. I. P. Mr. Scott.

In short; I did like the movie but still had plenty of problems with it.

The premise of the movie is really good and interesting and also lets this movie sound like it is a great and powerful movie, about some previously unseen and very ugly, dirty things. But the movie just isn't quite it. It never gets confronting or shocking enough and in the long run, the movie fails to make a true emotional or dramatic impact.

That is the real problem with this movie; it's lacking any good emotions and dramatic developments. The search for George C. Scott's daughter just never feels intense enough and he doesn't always make a very desperate or depressed impression at all.

The movie also gives you the feeling it really isn't delving deep enough into things. This could had been an interesting exploration into the darker and ugly side of the porn business but the movie just never quite goes there. You could blame it all on the writing but perhaps you should also blame it a bit on the approach that the movie is taking.

The approach just never makes the movie a real interesting one really. It's lacking a good buildup to certain things and situations, which also causes the movie to fail to make a true great impact with anything.

Some moments are still being made great by George C. Scott's performance. But unfortunately he himself also can't really ever make his character a compelling enough one. He isn't even all that likable and his character is also making some odd and very unlikely choices throughout the entire movie.

There still is plenty to like about this movie. I for instance loved it how it was taking a real typical '70's approach with its film-making, even though not everything about it worked out all that well. And like I also said before, the movie does still definitely has its moments and it besides still remains a original movie to watch, thanks to its main concept and premise.

Definitely good enough but it all had far more potential in it really.

7/10

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