Lovelace is a 2013 biography about a young woman who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
When it comes to biopics … ehhh, I usually tune out, preferring to sit through an actual documentary with archival footage and chats with people who lived through whatever it’s about than something largely overhyped (or outright false) for dramatic effect. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s part and parcel to the industry and a lot of people go for them, including Academy voters. Just look at Walk the Line, Ray, A Beautiful Mind, The Theory of Everything to name a few. All Oscar winners.
So let’s talk porn. In fact, let’s talk about the first mainstream porn film, credited with starting the modern trend. It’s the subject of filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman‘s biopic Lovelace, about the life of Linda Lovelace, the most famous pornagraphic actress in cinema history (despite her very brief foray), a film that certainly entertains, if not educates, though skimps a bit much on the greater depths of this truly compelling story.
Lovelace is played by Amanda Seyfried, in easily her most accomplished and challenging role, beginning the film as a 20-year-old girl in 1970. She’s just moved to Florida with her demanding and controlling parents (very well played by Sharon Stone and Robert Patrick), after a personal incident that was deemed too adult for her to handle. Smothered by their rules, she longs for some freedom and one night, out with her best friend, she meets Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard), an older man who sees potential in the young women and the two begin a romantic relationship, one where Linda learns to explore her sexuality.
Not long after though, Traynor needs money and knowing that Linda has some rather, um, special talents using her mouth, convinces her to make a pornographic film, taking the stage name Linda Lovelace in a movie called Deep Throat (in real life, this would actually be her third sex film). Unexpectedly, the movie becomes an international sensation, making her a worldwide celebrity and the subject of great controversy. Not surprisingly, we discover that Chuck is not entirely stable, becoming violent and eventually forcing her into prostitution … and then much worse, including gang rape at gunpoint.
You are what defines you, even if what does was only an instant in your life. Linda Lovelace was a porn star for only 17 days, but every day after, it’s all anyone believed her to be. As such, Seyfried is saddled with a monster hurdle, trying to give depth and humanity to a name that has for decades been – to the average Joe – a singular definition, that of oral sex. It’s no easy task, and Seyfried commits fearlessly to the harrowing story, one that sees her stripped, beaten, choked, sexually assaulted, humiliated and more. She creates a memorable character out of Lovelace, dragging us as deeply as she can into the trauma.
Unfortunately, the film is not as committed, skipping about timelines and subplots without much ferocity, hitting all the expected beats without the larger emotional swings we crave for in such a thing. Sure, there are some powerful moments, with Linda spiralling into hell and looking for salvation but refused sanctuary, even from her mother. There’s also a staggeringly good moment with Linda’s father, when he shatters under the weight of what choices his daughter has made … all over the phone. Stone is riveting but Patrick is sensational.
Chuck however, is all too obvious to matter, his quick change never all that convincing despite its roots in authenticity. Sarsgaard is a terrific actor but there’s just so much he can do with such a one-dimensional character. Yeah, we hate him, but of course we do. There’s an interesting cameo of sorts from Eric Roberts here, who earned rave reviews for a similar turn in 1983’s Star 80, about a Playboy model murdered by her jealous boyfriend. If you’ve seen that movie, and you really should, it’s hard not to compare the parts and see why one is better than the other.
Either way, this is Seyfried’s film, and while the movie itself lets her down, she emerges as every possible reason to give this a watch. Sweet, affecting, vulnerable and inviting, she works hard to bring us into the darker corners of Lovelace’s often misunderstood world, one not filled with riches and fame but tragedy and abuse. It’s a powerful, heartbreaking, performance.