One of the most popular and sensational films of 1972 (a great year for movies, incidentally) was a 61 minute long pornographic "comedy" about a woman whose clitoris is located in her throat. Linda Lovelace's (nee Boreman) ability to engage in the titular sex act launched her into short-lived fame. Despite her popularity, Lovelace's life was a hell. Coerced into the porn industry by her physically abusive husband, Lovelace was a symbol of the sexual liberation movement despite being a prisoner herself.
Lovelace attempts to show both sides of Linda Lovelace's life--her public persona as a sexy, bubbly young woman and her private life having the shit beaten out of her by Chuck Traynor, her terrifying husband. The film mostly succeeds, but it doesn't go far enough and comes off as white-washed for a mainstream audience.
The actors are the film's greatest strength. Amanda Seyfried gives a strong performance as the wide-eyed Lovelace, and Peter Sarsgaard (who has made a career out of playing characters at once both sexy and menacing) is perfectly cast at the terrifying Traynor, who seduces Lovelace and convinces her to marry him, only to become more and more physically and sexually violent towards her. The ensemble cast also includes Sharon Stone playing Lovelace's strict, dowdy, and unloving mother. Adam Brody shows up as Harry Reams, Linda's gentle and charming costar (from the interviews I've seen of him, Reams actually did seem to be a truly nice guy). James Franco is inexplicably cast as Hugh Hefner, which is more silly than anything else.
For a movie about the most famous porno of all time, Lovelace's main focus is on Linda and Chuck's relationship and her efforts to escape him. I liked that the movie was able to show the seediness of the porn industry while not blaming it for Lovelace's abuse. It wasn't the porn industry's fault that no one stepped in to help Lovelace--it was the culture of the early 70's; a time where sexual attitudes were becoming more liberal, but attitudes towards women's "place" were still very retro. Women were seen as the property of their husbands and men in general. Porn was a symptom of this, not the cause. So the movie manages to stay neutral on this issue of pornography while showcasing the horrors of domestic violence.
Eventually, Linda left Chuck and became a spokeswoman for the feminist anti-pornography movement. She wrote a book called Ordeal about her time in the porn business and her marriage to Traynor. Unfortunately, Lovelace only touches on this portion of her life very briefly, and she is portrayed as a dowdy victim who is expected to "atone" for her sins and prove herself to the public. This is a shame, because it glamorizes the most vulnerable time in Lovelace's life while painting her to be a pathetic victim once she actually escapes her abusive marriage.
The issue of pornography and the porn industry is a tough one, and no single filmmaker can capture the complexities of the issue. But a film that does a better job of thoroughly exploring the phenomenon of Deep Throat and its effect on the culture at the time is the excellent documentary Inside Deep Throat.
Lovelace features wonderful performances by Seyfried, Sarsgaard, and Stone. It's an interesting (and occasionally funny) movie. But if you are really curious about the history of the famous sex flick and the actors involved, I'd recommend watching Inside Deep Throat instead.
3.5 out of 5 stars
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