Lovelace (Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein, 2013): USA

Reviewed by Sofia Nagel. Viewed on DVD.

AmandaSeyfried

Lovelace, directed by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein, is a film depiction of the life of Linda Lovelace, the star of the massively-popular Deep Throat (1972). The film’s story is non-linear. At times, one feels like a fly on the wall while at others it can prove difficult to follow. Lovelace occasionally feels like a VH1 behind-the-scenes account of Linda’s life. It is an intriguing way to portray her life; the viewer sees what seems to be happening on the surface and what is going on underneath.

Linda, played by the vivacious and lovely Amanda Seyfried, is a bubbly and beautiful girl in her early 20s. She lives with her overbearing, bible-thumping parents. She isn’t close to either parent. Her mother, Dorothy (Sharon Stone, who is almost unrecognizable) criticizes and chastises her for incredibly normal things for a 21-year old girl to do. Her father John (Robert Patrick) is a police officer who imposes strict curfews and demands awkward outfit-approvals.

One fateful night, Linda and her best friend, Patsy (Juno Temple), decide to go roller-skating. Linda basks in the attention as she and Patsy begin go-go dancing. For once she feels free. Linda later meets Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard), a down on his luck, sleazy older man. Yet Chuck is appealing to Linda because he serves as an escape. He wears a facade that he’s well-off, seems to worship Linda, and sweeps her off her feet quickly. She moves out of her parents’ house, one night after missing curfew, and moves in with Chuck. He reassures her and makes her feel more confident about herself and her sexuality. Amanda Seyfried does an incredible job portraying Linda’s naivety and view of the world in her rose-colored glasses. Eventually things go awry, Chuck convinces Linda that she must prostitute herself to support them. Having been brought up to believe that a woman must stand by her man, she does with barely any questions asked.

Chuck has another idea for some quick cash, a porno film starring himself and Linda. She was unlike porn stars of the era; she was an approachable and real young woman. Linda was also still, somehow, struck with cupid’s arrow and loved Chuck. Chuck went to B&A Films and the film was produced by Nat Laurendi (Eric Roberts) and Anthony Ramono (Chris Noth). They were in awe of Linda. Deep Throat, as was the appropriate title, was the first mainstream porno that made hundreds of millions of dollars. During the first week, the film grossed thirty thousand dollars. The influence of Deep Throat was also profound. Porn suddenly wasn’t as filthy, the upper and middle classes developed an interest in what happened in those theaters. The height of Deep Throat was referred to by Ralph Blumenthal of The New York Times as “porno chic.” There were few who did not see Deep Throat. Jack Nicolson has proudly admitted to it, Martin Scorsese has as well, even Barbara Walters has mentioned having seen it. Deep Throat even became a very-well known and important pop-culture reference, most notably when the editor of The Washington Post, chose “Deep Throat” as his code name for the Watergate scandal.

Unfortunately, the name stuck for Linda Lovelace, or Linda Marchiano. Despite the film earning over $600 million worldwide, Linda earned roughly a thousand. In 1974, she, heavily on drugs, wrote and published two autobiographies endorsing the porn industry, Inside Linda Lovelace and The Intimate Diary of Linda Lovelace. In late 1976, she insisted that God had reformed and changed her life. From then on, she refused to do any nudity and became an Evangelical Christian and persisted in cleansing herself of her former life. Linda only did one porno film that only lasted 17 days yet it’s arguably what defines her most. Amanda Seyfried exudes the excitement and joy of Linda and of becoming a star and later regretting choices made. The film is a sad yet unfortunate reality of how decisions one makes can affect their lives later on. “You know I spent exactly seventeen days in the pornography industry and somehow these seventeen days are suppose to define who I am for the rest of my life, but I hope that people can see me for who I really am.” – Linda Lovelace


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