Miles' Rating:

Starring: This is what a hardcore Ingmar Bergman film would look like, with smoky mists, deep pauses, and depressive flashbacks that trace one isolated man's wait for death. The man is Jamie Gillis, an assasin who's been cuaght boning the wrong woman, not once but several times. Now, hidden in a dank flophouse, Gillis, who's excellent, awaits his fate while recalling the girls in his life. They include Tish Ambrose and Sharon Mitchell.

This is a decidedly downbeat production with director Richard Mahler lulling over every dark corner and houseless wino.

And that douses the film's sexual embers. The whores Gillis hires to perform for him bring no enthusiasm to their girl-girl, which is exactly Mahler's point. These people have no sexual spark, and perform without heart. Maybe this is the anti-porn film?

One of the hookers, Champagne, as dour as Gillis, decides to stay with him, then shows us why she's so despressed. The two actually develop a relationship of sorts, which gives the film it's soul.

But is this really what people want from a porn film? I love when a director elevates his work with the seriousness of a straight drama; Robert McCallum is a master of this. But this one is just oppressive.

A 6.

Posted By Miles, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/12/06 1:58 PM