Sundance '13 Review: LOVELACE
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Screenwriter: Andy Bellin
Principal Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco and Sharon Stone
Official Synopsis: In 1972—long before the Internet porn explosion of today—Deep Throat became a cultural phenomenon. As the first pornographic feature film to be embraced by mainstream audiences, Deep Throat took a multitude of risks: it boasted a plot, humor, and an unknown and unlikely star named Linda Lovelace.
Lovelace tells the story behind the phenomenon.
Story and Direction:
I'm sure most of you have heard of Linda Lovelace, the star of the most popular and highest grossing porn movies of all time, Deep Throat. Lovelace gives us the behind the scenes story of how Linda Lovelace ended up starring in the movie. It's a pretty dark tale, this poor girl lived through a nightmare and was basically forced into making the film by her abusive husband. It was a heavy drama that was pretty depressing.
The first half of the movie shows us the the fairy tale aspect of the story, the side of the story that most everyone knows and saw. The second half shows is what happened behind closed doors between Lovelace and her husband, and it wasn't pretty. He abused her both mentally and physically, and was constantly threatening her life if she didn't do the things he asked her to do. It was heartbreaking to watch.
The movie is based on a book that Lovelace wrote, and the publishers made her take a lie detector test to prove what she was claiming was true because people couldn'r believe it. She passed the polygraph, and went on to speak out against abuse and pornography. As depressing as this movie can be, at least it ended with her having changed her life for the better.
Performances:
The performances in the movie were fantastic. Amanda Seyfried was perfect as Lovelace; it's easily one of the best performances of her career. Peter Sarsgaard played her abusive husband, and I just couldn't help but hate this character so freakin much. He played the character so well that I just wanted something bad to happen to him. James Franco had a small role as Hugh Hefner which was interesting, I normally like Franco, but this role didn't fit him at all.
Similar To:
The movie is very similar to Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, but it wasn't as good. It just had that same kind of setting and vibe. If you liked Boogie Nights then you'll probably like Lovelace.
Chances You'll See it in Theaters:
You'll definitely be able to see Lovelace in theaters as it was picked up by Harvey Weinstein. It's not a movie that you need to rush out and see in theaters, but its definitely worth watching a some point.