Whore (1991 film)
| Whore | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Ken Russell |
| Produced by | Ronaldo Vasconcellos Dan Ireland |
| Screenplay by | Ken Russell Deborah Dalton |
| Based on |
Whore by David Hines |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Michael Gibbs |
| Cinematography | Amir M. Mokri |
| Edited by | Brian Tagg |
|
Production
company |
Cheap Date
|
| Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
85 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,008,404 |
Whore is a 1991 British-American drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Theresa Russell. The screenplay by Russell is based on David Hines' prize-winning monologue, Bondage. While not a financial success grossing a little over $1 million, the film did attract some positive notices, and generated an unrelated sequel, a 1994 film Whore II.
Liz is a Los Angeles street prostitute. The audience first sees her attempting to get a customer on a busy downtown street near a tunnel. She addresses the audience directly on her life and problems throughout the film. When a van stops by, she gives it the brush off, recalling the last time she serviced a man in a van: it turned out there were several other men in the van, who gang-raped her and left her for dead. A passerby gives her his handkerchief and offers to take her to a hospital. She refuses, makes up a boyfriend story and asks for some money. She sends him the money back with a thank you note and a new handkerchief.
Liz isn't merely attempting to get a customer, however: she is attempting to escape her pimp, Blake. Blake is a well-dressed, businesslike and extremely controlling man.
As Liz stops off at a strip club for a drink, she explains how she ended up as she did: she was a small town girl, who married a violent drunk named Charlie (Frank Smith). Though they have a child together, she can no longer take it and leaves him, taking her son with her, as he's sleeping it off. She takes a job on the graveyard shift at a diner, and when a customer offers her more money to have sex with him, she decides, given her rather low pay, to take it. She does this independently for a time until she meets Blake, who takes her to LA. Though Blake does do some things for her (including getting her tattooed), he is ultimately as cruel as her husband, so she decides to escape from him.
A local homeless person/street performer named Rasta decides to treat Liz to a movie. Though Rasta is a bit scary (his act involves walking on broken glass), Liz agrees. At this point the scenes of Liz and Rasta at the movie are intercut with Blake explaining his life to the audience, giving the impression that Liz and Rasta are watching Blake's soliloquy.
...
Wikipedia