Lovelace is a quiet revolution. Without much fanfare or sensation and relying on simplicity, restraint, and a dash of comic relief, it shows the truth behind the glamour and seduction of the porn life.
The film stars Amanda Seyfried as Linda Lovelace, the first famous porn actress and star of the film Deep Throat (yup), and Peter Sarsgaard as her husband and manager Chuck Traynor. The biopic details Linda's upbringing in a strict Catholic family and her first meeting with the attractive, older Chuck. It details how he seduced her and how their relationship got started and her rise in the porn industry and the glamorous lifestyle she led, heralded as a poster girl for Women's Lib and the Sexual Revolution.
But it also details the dark truth, the one very few people even today know, about Linda Lovelace. The fact that she was abused and raped by her scoundrel husband, who pressured her into prostitution and sold her virtue to gangs of men. The fact that she was mistreated by the entire smut industry"”and how she got out.
Lovelace doesn't break any conventions as far as script goes"”the pacing is steady and confident without any beating around the bush. The acting is real film quality, not porno acting. Peter Sarsgaard is awesome as always. The period setting of the "˜70s is put on with joy, and supporting characters (like the unbelievably-perfect-for-this-kind-of-thing Bobby Cannavale) inject a dose of much needed humor into this otherwise dark tale.
The thing that makes Lovelace really stand out, apart from the gripping story, is its sense of moderation. I know, I know, surprising for a story filled with excess, debauchery, and violence"”but all the more admirable for that very paradox.
There's about as little that's pornographic in this movie than is possible given the subject matter"”nudity is reduced to a couple of minutes total of Amanda Seyfried's bare bosom. The sexual content is seldom put on for titillation and prevents Lovelace from falling into the trap of being just as exploitative as the industry and people it claims to stand against"”a problem, it seems, that plagues just about every movie that comes out these days looking to say something about "something serious."
But even more notable is the fact that the filmmakers also show restraint in their depiction of the dark underbelly of the Lovelace story. They don't shock us with graphic depictions of the abuse and violence she went through"”the scenes and shots often ending at markedly more merciful places than less classy directors would have chosen.
Some critics will mistake the measured simplicity for emotional dullness"”I disagree. And the grown men I saw weeping as we left the theater would probably second that.
If you're a college student, you came of age in an absurdly pornographic culture. Deep Throat would seem like the can-can in comparison to some of the stuff you know is out there. Watch Lovelace.
If you're a human being, watch Lovelace. It won't win an Oscar; you won't have to watch it again and again and again. You could rent it if you don't make it to the theater (but try). But if you can handle a movie that will make you think seriously about what you turn a blind eye to in your own life and what we corporately ignore on a societal level, you should see it.
