This isn't a bad looking film and the performances are all fairly effective but once the first 30 or so minutes have passed you've pretty much seen what this has to offer. Story takes place in New Orleans in 1981 where Sonny Phillips (James Franco) has just been discharged from the Army with the hopes of finding a job someplace but his mother wants him to come back to what she taught him. Jewel (Brenda Blethyn) is an ex-prostitute who taught her son the same thing and he was very popular for the wealthy older ladies in the area. Jewel has a young girl named Carol (Mena Suvari) working for her and even though she has a number of tricks every day she still talks about getting out of the business and living a normal life. Also living with Jewel but just as a renter is long time friend Henry (Harry Dean Stanton) who has lent a helping hand for the both of them.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Sonny doesn't want to go back to being a prostitute but when he is unable to get a job he seems to have no other resources in life and at times gets very angry after finishing with a customer. He becomes very jaded and remorseful and when Carol suggests that they go off together and start a new life he can't even bring himself to admit that it's possible for such a thing to happen.
This film marks the directorial debut of actor Nicolas Cage and while he does show that he can tell a story at a good pace the main flaw comes from the script itself. This story is very reminiscent of the ambiguous neo-realism films from Italy and France of the 50's and 60's in which the script just allows us to watch Sonny slowly become angry and bitter and to allow prostitution to inevitably become his unfortunate life. Critics point out that the film doesn't offer any insight to Sonny and instead we see the usual clichés and one can't deny that those flaws are evident but there are some good things that should be noticed in Cage's direction. One is the solid performances he gets by all of his actors and I think Blethyn's Southern accent isn't to bad but I think Suvari gives arguably the most effective performance in the film. There is some of the usual prostitute with a heart of gold in the script but when she begs for Sonny to say something positive about their future while it's pouring rain it reminded me that she is indeed one of the more talented young actresses out there. Cage also gives the film a more sordid look at what was going on around Bourbon St. during the early 80's and I found the mood to be pretty effective. But the script doesn't give you anything fresh to view and for the most part the characters just seem to be going through the motions of the films actions. This isn't a bad film and Cage seems to have some talent as a director but this is still a script that fails to be revealing.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Sonny doesn't want to go back to being a prostitute but when he is unable to get a job he seems to have no other resources in life and at times gets very angry after finishing with a customer. He becomes very jaded and remorseful and when Carol suggests that they go off together and start a new life he can't even bring himself to admit that it's possible for such a thing to happen.
This film marks the directorial debut of actor Nicolas Cage and while he does show that he can tell a story at a good pace the main flaw comes from the script itself. This story is very reminiscent of the ambiguous neo-realism films from Italy and France of the 50's and 60's in which the script just allows us to watch Sonny slowly become angry and bitter and to allow prostitution to inevitably become his unfortunate life. Critics point out that the film doesn't offer any insight to Sonny and instead we see the usual clichés and one can't deny that those flaws are evident but there are some good things that should be noticed in Cage's direction. One is the solid performances he gets by all of his actors and I think Blethyn's Southern accent isn't to bad but I think Suvari gives arguably the most effective performance in the film. There is some of the usual prostitute with a heart of gold in the script but when she begs for Sonny to say something positive about their future while it's pouring rain it reminded me that she is indeed one of the more talented young actresses out there. Cage also gives the film a more sordid look at what was going on around Bourbon St. during the early 80's and I found the mood to be pretty effective. But the script doesn't give you anything fresh to view and for the most part the characters just seem to be going through the motions of the films actions. This isn't a bad film and Cage seems to have some talent as a director but this is still a script that fails to be revealing.