The reputation of this movie precedes it and kind of ruins it. My impression of this movie was that it was a sexy story of a gigolo who either finds a new relationship that makes him question his work or looks for meaning in his carnal existence. I imagined something moralistic, because that’s how I’ve been trained. I really didn’t expect this to be a crime thriller that just happens to center around a gigolo. In that respect, I was pretty underwhelmed. None of the most interesting parts had to do with Gere trying to prove his innocence. The more the movie leaned into that, the less engaged I was.
The good parts are Gere’s laconic performance and the overall vibe of the movie. Paul Schrader is good at this seedy underworld stuff. Centering it on a high-class gigolo creates a nice contrast. He’s very illegal but in a very respectable way. It’s a much more nuanced look at the profession than you get even now.
Look, I know I need to give some consideration for the era, but it was distracting how much this used the f-slur. For a movie that’s so progressive about sex work in general, it’s strikingly homophobic. That’s especially interesting given the gay subtext of the movie.
Verdict: Weakly Don’t Recommend
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