Lovelace - Review

Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman Writer: Andy Bellin Studios: Millennium Films, Radius-TWC Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Adam Brody, Juno Temple Release Date (UK): 23 August 2013 Certificate: 18 Runtime: 92 min

Co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman struggle to conjure a compelling human drama from the fascinating life story of legendary adult actress Linda Lovelace in this bog-standard, ironically impotent biopic of the ‘70s porn sensation. Based on Lovelace’s 1980 biography “Ordeal,” it casts Amanda Seyfried as the foxy, freckle-faced Floridian who, at the age of 23, became a pop culture icon when she starred and showed off her — ahem — keen oral skills in the 1972 adult movie theatre phenomenon “Deep Throat.” Epstein and Friedman’s film charts her overnight rise from shy, suburban unknown to world-famous household name, along the way chronicling her increasingly troubled relationship with her controlling and abusive husband/manager Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard).

Seyfried is well cast in the title role, boasting both the fragility and sensuality, if not the girl-next-door looks, of the real-life Lovelace, while Sarsgaard initially charms before frightening in later scenes when Linda rebels against Chuck’s domineering ways and he viciously bites back. The true nature of their relationship is revealed quite cleverly, when the film rewinds itself halfway through to show us that earlier, ostensibly lighthearted events on- and off-set may not have been as pleasant — nor, indeed, as voluntary —as they first appeared.

It’s an intriguing story, and one littered with contradictions over the years, but there’s little on show here that you won’t already find on Lovelace’s Wikipedia page. Andy Bellin’s script tries but fails to get underneath Lovelace’s skin, instead portraying her as a one-dimensional victim, and whatever insight it has into the ups and downs of the ‘70s porn industry was already explored with much more power and panache in Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic and enthralling “Boogie Nights.” “Lovelace” is certainly not terrible — Seyfried and Sarsgaard’s performances are too good for that — but it’s too basic to be fully satisfying and too “TV movie of the week” to really do justice to such a fascinating figure.

Rating: 5/10