Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Ninja Thyberg
Starring: Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle, Evelyn Claire, Chris Cock, Dana DeArmond, Kendra
Spade
Cinematic depictions of the porn industry tend to adopt either the
conservative view that everyone involved deserves to burn in Hell or the
liberal take that the women involved are victims of an exploitative
patriarchal system. Not so Swedish director Ninja Thyberg's
feature debut Pleasure. For Thyberg, the Los Angeles adult entertainment industry is simply a
backdrop for what is essentially a sports movie, one in which an athlete
pushes themselves to their physical limits to reach the summit of their
game.
The athlete here is wannabe porn star Linnea (Sofia Kappel), a
19-year-old who leaves Sweden and heads to California with ambitions of
becoming "the next big porn star." Adopting the stage name Bella Cherry,
she throws herself into this world, and has a career trajectory mapped
out that will see her begin with "normal" stuff like "solo, boy/girl,
girl/girl." Bella soon finds things don’t work that way and to make an
impact she needs to push her limits, which sees her moving into the
realm of BDSM.
Along with playing like a sports movie, Pleasure is also
a backstage drama with an All About Eve subplot – you
know, the one where a newcomer tries to usurp the veteran who was
initially mean to them. Perhaps a more appropriate comparison in this
case might be Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls. Here the Bette Davis/Gina Gershon figure is Ava Rhoades (real life
porn star Evelyn Claire), the current superstar of the industry.
Rhoades is represented by top agent Mark Spiegler, a real life
figure in the industry, and Bella immediately sets her sights on joining
Spiegler's stable. In a rather damning critique of American race
relations, Bella catches Spiegler's attention through her willingness to
perform that most taboo type of porn – inter-racial!
Pleasure is something of a companion piece to the recent
college rowing drama
The Novice. Both movies feature young women pushing themselves physically,
seemingly just to prove they can achieve something, anything. This would
seem to speak to a generation of young people who no longer have the
traditional route of college into a defined career. Being good at
something no longer guarantees you a job; now you also need a
"following," with even jobs outside the realm of entertainment being
handed to the candidates with the most impressive social media presence
(is this the modern version of how in the mid 20th century men would win
promotions based on how good of a dinner party their wife would throw?
It seems talent and skill have never really been enough).
Bella's motivations are kept under wraps as Thyberg and co-screenwriter
Peter Modestij refuse to editorialise her experience. Initially
claiming she left Sweden because she found it boring, we might assume
she's rebelling against her upbringing but a phone call home suggests
her mother is fully onboard with her daughter's career choice. I
couldn't help think of George Segal's gambler in Robert Altman's
California Split, who gets a thrill from winning until he eventually hits the jackpot
and becomes despondent that there's nowhere left for him to go. Bella
follows a similar path as she ticks off various taboos, finding herself
left with no new way to shock.
With a supporting cast comprised largely of real life porn stars and
filmmakers, Pleasure certainly isn't an exposé of that
most exposed industry. With its many lingering shots of its young star's
body, it would be entirely hypocritical for Pleasure to
pass any judgement on the porn world for doing likewise. As a workplace
drama it could have been set against any career backdrop. Like any
workplace, Bella makes friends and enemies among her colleagues; the
difference here is that she has to fuck her co-workers regardless. Bella
has some awful experiences, but mostly mundane ones, and the filmmakers
she works with are constantly asking her if she's comfortable, though
some have found manipulative ways around this. At one point Bella
compares one particularly gruelling shoot to a rape, which sees her
immediately scolded for using such a description. There are several
encounters here that might be described as sexual assault depending on
your definitions of consent, but the one that most plays like an out and
out rape features a surprising aggressor, a final damning critique of
how far some will go in the pursuit of greatness.
