Lovelace (Blu-ray Review)

29 Nov, 2013 By: Ashley Ratcliff

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Anchor Bay
Drama
Box Office $0.36 million
$24.99 DVD, $29.99 Blu-ray
Rated ‘R’ for strong sexual content, nudity, language, drug use and some domestic violence.
Stars Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco.

The year 1972 was a big one for the porn industry and girl-next-door-type Linda Boreman. It was the year that Deep Throat, the first scripted pornographic theatrical film, was released, and its star, Linda, acting under the stage name of Linda Lovelace, rose to fame.

Lovelace (portrayed superbly by Amanda Seyfried), who grew up in a strict, religious family, met charming hustler Chuck Traynor (convincingly played by Peter Sarsgaard) and soon fell for the sense of liberty that he offered her. The two married, and Traynor saw dollar signs when Lovelace embraced the sexual freedom that she gained. He pushed for her to get the lead role in Deep Throat, and with Lovelace’s newfound fame, things took an unfortunate turn.

Traynor, an increasingly violent and drug-bingeing man, began to squander Lovelace’s already meager earnings and essentially exploit her body, at gunpoint, for his own selfish gain. The abuse she suffered is hard to imagine but was indeed very real, despite views from outsiders suggesting otherwise later on.

While a well-done biopic, Lovelace contains some pretty gruesome scenarios that are uncomfortable to watch. I would have much rather seen more about Lovelace’s strides to empower women. However, the film only makes mention of this during the ending title sequence.

Rounding out the outstanding cast are Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Debi Mazar, Chris Noth, Chloë Sevigny, Sharon Stone, Juno Temple, Wes Bentley, Robert Patrick and James Franco, who stands out in his portrayal of a young Hugh Hefner.

The lone extra is a behind-the-scenes featurette that further explores life on set with co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and how being documentary filmmakers helped strike the right tone in re-telling the story from Lovelace’s point of view.

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