Released 12 March 2014
You don’t have to be a lesbian to enjoy Stacie Passon’s screenplay, which is both engaging and relatable despite an unusual premise.
Robin Weigert stars as Abby, a lesbian locked into a sexless marriage with her wife and two kids. After being hit in the head with a baseball, her concussion and mid-life crisis triggers an escape from her humdrum routine.
A chance encounter with a prostitute releases her sexual repression, leading her to help other sexually repressed women by becoming a prostitute herself.
Far from the soft porn expected of this film, there are genuinely touching scenes of first time encounters. Despite partial nudity and sex scenes aplenty, we relate to Abby’s self-exploration and understand her quandary between family and freedom.
Passon’s script depicts an ordinary married life, complete with picking up the kids from school and synchronising diaries. Her inevitable conclusion not only encompasses the expected, but accepts the diversity of relationships and culture.
Weigert is superb, as are all the cast. They neither emote excessively nor relent to melodrama. Every character has their foibles, whether they be clients, family or friends, yet we understand them all.
Ultimately, the illusion of choice is what challenges the main characters in this beautifully scripted, well-acted drama. The consequences of those choices are what makes these characters interesting.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Rating out of 10: 7
Concussion is released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy on 12 March 2014
