Can you remember life before the Internet? Well, in 1972 there was no Internet, no YouTube, but it was a time that saw the release of the pornographic sensation Deep Throat. It starred naive 21 year old Linda Boreman from a strict religious family but she changed her name to Linda Lovelace and a legend was born with the first pornographic feature with an actual story, script and a lot of sex. It became an absolute phenomenon worldwide. Not bad for a movie which cost $25 million, made $600 million and only paid its star $1,250! Lovelace features the outstanding Amanda Seyfried as the porn star and is a dramatisation of what happened during this time.
It reminds us of the Deep Throat phenomenon, yet it is also an indication of Linda Lovelace’s pretty sad story. Directed by Rob Epstein (who later won Oscars for documentaries The Times of Harvey Milk in 1984 and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt in 1989) and Jeffrey Friedman, Lovelace is roughly based on her autobiography Ordeal, with a screenplay by Andy Bellini (Trust 2010).
While Deep Throat became an international pornographic phenomenon in the 70s, Linda was controlled and abused behind the scenes by her horrible husband, Chuck Traynor (brilliantly played by Peter Sarsgaard in a role which is completely different to his bewitchingly seductive, but forgivable Peter in 2009’s An Education).
One of the best things about Lovelace is the outstanding cast. Next to Linda is her mother Dorothy, played by Sharon Stone, who is so unrecognisable that she basically takes the movie! Linda’s father John is played by the barely recognisable Robert Patrick, who is probably best remembered for his role as T1000 in Terminator 2 (1991).
I’m glad I saw this movie, because I thought Linda’s life would be very glamorous and was surprised to see that it wasn’t. I think the saddest thing though was, despite escaping it all and becoming a best-selling author of four autobiographies, then becoming a supporter for sexual freedom and for the safety of women, she died in a car accident in 2002. What a sad ending for such an unforgettable star…
Reviewed by Kirstey Whicker
Rating out of 10: 7
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