The Fractured Mirror: Lovelace (2013)
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Apr 10, 2024 at 10:00:49 AM
Lovelace (2013)
Linda Lovelace left behind a bifurcated legacy. As the star of Deep Throat, she was the face, body, and mouth of the most successful, influential, and lucrative pornographic film of all time. Deep Throat made Lovelace a household name, an icon of the sexual revolution, and a fixture of Johnny Carson’s monologue. That was one side of Lovelace’s life and career. The other side involved being viciously abused sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally by Chuck Treynor (Peter Sarsgaard), who made her a star and destroyed her mind, body, and spirit. Lovelace’s unusual structure reflects this split.
Amanda Seyfried plays the woman who would become infamous as Linda Lovelace as a shy, quiet girl next door type whose life changed dramatically, and most assuredly not for the better, when she meets Treynor (Peter Sarsgaard). A sadistic pimp, Treynor saw in the innocent woman a meal ticket that he could exploit until there was nothing left of take.
The first half of Lovelace portrays its subject as she was seen at the height of her fame, as a sexual superstar who rocketed to unprecedented fame as the world’s most famous porn star thanks in no small part to Treynor. The second half of the film offers a decidedly different angle on Lovelace’s early to mid-1970s fame. In this harrowing half, the actress’ fame is overwhelmingly the product of the abuse that she suffered at her ex-husband’s hands. In this version, Lovelace was forced at gunpoint to star in porn movies and have sex for money at his behest offscreen as well. These experiences led Lovelace to become a born-again Christian and anti-pornography activist.
Lovelace works best as a vehicle for Seyfried. The future Mank star lends the infamous survivor a poignant vulnerability. Los Angeles was full of attractive women willing to have sex for money. Lovelace’s innocence is what sets her apart. Despite fine performances from Seyfried and Sarsgaard Lovelace feels achingly, overly familiar, like a pay cable movie version of Star 80 minus the dark, uncompromising brilliance of Bob Fosse
