Pleasure (4 Stars)

This film isn't a documentary or even a biopic, but it's something that could be true. Everything that's shown is so stark and realistic that it's difficult not to believe that it's really happening. Much of the realism comes from the large number of characters who play themselves.

The porn industry is big business, though not as well paid as normal movies. Many people (especially women) enter the porn industry because they think it's easy. I mean, all they have to do is have sex. How difficult can that be? Just lie back and enjoy it, and if you don't enjoy it you can always pretend.

That's the attitude of Linnea, a 19-year-old girl from Sweden who moves to Los Angeles to become the next big porn star. She soon finds out that it's not just about sex, or at least not vanilla sex. Girls who only do that don't go far. The highest pay and the most jobs is for rough sex. Linnea, who now calls herself Bella Cherry, is traumatised when she has to play a rape scene. It's all consensual, as far as the actors are concerned, but as soon as the cameras are rolling the action is brutal. There's no stunt woman to stand in, Linnea is being slapped, punched and hurt in ways she never dreamed were possible.

More than anything, I'm shocked that a market exists for films like this. I have nothing against the male actors. They're just doing their job. As soon as the cameras are turned off they're the nicest people possible. My criticism is of the men who buy these films. I've watched porn films, and you can find the reviews in my blog, but I've never watched anything like the films that Linnea makes. They disgust me. Yes, tastes are different. I understand that. But what sort of man gets pleasure from watching a woman be raped?

Axel Braun appears in the film playing himself. I've watched a lot of his films. He doesn't make the extreme porn films that I just spoke about. His films are very stylish and classy. It's been a long time since I watched his films. It's time for me to go back and do a marathon.

There's just one inaccuracy in the film. Linnea stars in a film directed by Axel Braun, but he refuses to have actresses under the age of 21. This is because he says many young girls who appear in porn films regret it as they get older. I respect his opinion. It's very fair.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Lance Hart appears in the film. I don't usually bother with online porn, but I used to subscribe to his web site. Since appearing in "Pleasure" he's had surgery to become a woman, and he now calls himself Lucy Hart. I don't understand it. It's not that I disagree with a person's right to body modification, but Lance Hart of all people? He's been a male stud for many years, so he's the last person I would have expected to become a woman. Apart from that, he's married. Does his wife support his sex change? I wish I could talk to him, or at least hear a detailed interview where he talks about his choice.

I wouldn't call "Pleasure" an anti-pornography film. The director herself says that she used to be an anti-porn activist, but now her standpoint is neutral. However, the film strips away the glamour from the porn industry. It's not telling women (or men) not to enter the porn industry, but it's warning them what to expect. If a woman is willing to be punched and bruised for money, let her go ahead and do it. It's her choice.

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