A late gem by Ken Russell. Ken
experiments with actress Theresa Russell talking directly
to the camera.
She is sick of passing her
money to her pimp, and the film develops through
flashbacks. There are strong links to Crimes of
Passion, and some scenes are repeats of the
earlier film, but whereas Crimes of Passion
looked at sexuality, Whore is another rite of
passage film as the whore develops her
independence. This coupled with Theresa speaking
straight to the camera make it almost a one-woman
film. The mixture of whore and mother is also
more convincing than China Blue's dual life.
Although the film is Russell's third American
film (Altered States and Crimes of Passion went before)
it was originally firmly set in Britain, based on a play
by David Hines. The play, about a prostitute around the London King
Cross area, was a monologue which led to Ken Russell's direct-to-camera
approach.
The censored title is If
You Can't Say It, Just See It.
This was a censored version to be
sold in malls and supermarkets. The new title is crudely
placed over the original. It grossed over
$1m in America.
|