Lovelace is a 2013 American biographical drama film centered on porn actress Linda Lovelace, star of Deep Throat, a "seminal" 1972 film at the forefront of the Golden Age of Porn. Lovelace covers her life from age 20 to 32.
Directed by Oscar-winning duo Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the film was written by Andy Bellin and stars Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Adam Brody, James Franco, ChloΓ« Sevigny, and Juno Temple.
Lovelace had its world premiere on January 22, 2013, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and opened in a U.S. limited release on August 9, 2013.
STORY ;
In 1970, 20-year-old Linda Susan Boreman is living with her parents in Florida, having moved from New York.
While out dancing one night with her best friend, Patsy, Linda attracts the attention of a man named Chuck Traynor and the two soon develop a relationship after a vulnerable Linda reveals to him that the relationship with her parents is strained. The strain was caused because Linda had earlier given birth to a son out-of-wedlock and her mother had tricked her into putting the baby up for adoption.
Chuck, much older than Linda, begins teaching her how to perform sexual acts, which she is initially thrilled about. After breaking curfew one night, Linda is berated by her mother Dorothy; forcing Linda to move out so she can live with Chuck, later marrying him. During a party, Linda watches one of Chuck s homemade pornographic films for the first time and tells him that good girls never do things like that.
Six months later, Linda bails Chuck out of jail for facilitating prostitution, although he claims to have had little knowledge of what went on in the parking lot behind his bar. Desperate for money, he persuades Linda to become a porn actress. By 1972, Linda begins working on a film, Deep Throat, in which she uses her new stage name "Linda Lovelace".
The movie becomes a huge hit, making over $30,000 at the box office in its first week. After it becomes a worldwide phenomenon, Linda is interviewed by a variety of print and radio reporters, and becomes the subject of late night television humor. Her life is seen as exciting and glamorous, and Linda poses nude, and attends parties, weekly.
During a private screening in Los Angeles, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner convinces Linda that she has the potential to be more than a porn actress. However, Chuck s violent and cruel nature is gradually exposed and Linda s life is revealed not to be as perfect as it seems. Chuck seemingly chokes Linda during sex, refusing to stop when she asks, and later forces her into prostitution at gunpoint.
A battered Linda soon visits her parents seeking to move back in. Despite telling them of Chuck s dominating abuse towards her, Dorothy encourages Linda to embrace it. When learning that Linda has been discussing a new salary with the movie s director, Gerard Damiano, without telling him, an enraged Chuck punishes her by making Linda shower in freezing cold water.
Years after Deep Throat s success, Chuck tries to persuade Linda to do another porn film. When Linda refuses, a now sadistic Chuck takes her to a party and forces Linda to participate in a gang bang. Her attempts to escape result in Chuck sleeping on top of Linda, almost suffocating her.
The following day, Linda secretly meets with Anthony Romano, telling him she wants out of the porn business and also revealing the abuse she had inflicted on her by Chuck. Disgusted, Romano has her checked into a private hotel while he and his bodyguards attack Chuck for abusing Linda and for the $25,000 he owes.
Six years later, Linda marries Larry Marchiano, moves to Long Island and has a young son. Linda later takes a polygraph test before publishing her autobiography Ordeal, which details years of Chuck s physical and sexual abuse, as well as his stealing all of her earnings. Linda appears on Donahue, and her distraught parents break down in tears while watching her. A few days later, the Marchianos travel to Florida for Linda to reconcile with her parents.
RELEASE ;
The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2013.The film was released in the United States on August 9, 2013.
RESEPTION ;
Lovelace was met with mixed reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 53% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 129 reviews with an average rating of 5.68/10. The website s critical consensus states: "Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard do their best with the material, but Lovelace lacks enough depth and conviction to truly do its fascinating subject justice." The film also has a Metacritic score of 51 out of 100, based on 37 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote the film was "smartly done". Richard Roeper gave the film a B+, commenting that it "never really feels triumphant or inspirational. It s very well-made and well-acted, but it s a reminder that the most famous porn star of the most famous porn movie ever made was a victim through and through."On the other hand, Variety s Rob Nelson complained the true story behind the film had been simplified to a "series of cartoonish vignettes".Amanda Mae Meyncke endorsed Seyfried s portrayal as "excellent" but considered the film all in all only "mediocre".
Doubts were also raised as to the historical accuracy of the film s narrative. In particular, Gerard Damiano Jr., son of the director of Deep Throat, and Eric Danville, Linda Lovelace s biographer, spoke to The Rialto Report about how the film conflated spousal abuse with the treatment of actors in the adult film industry.
BLURAY COPPIES
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