SPOILERS...
Before reviewing this, I read through many of the other reviews, and for those that saw this movie as painting Weeks as a victim or that the movie overlooked the possible conflicts or problems with the industry, really missed some key points while viewing. I gave this movie 10 stars not because the acting was amazing or anything of that sort, but that it did do a great job of portraying the themes and conflicts realistically.
Some people apparently looked past the scenes that revealed the potential incongruities that her work may have had with the idea that it was empowering; for example, the scene in which she was supposed to film with an older man -- she asserted that she explicitly stated that she did not want to film with anyone over 35. However, her agent/manager basically told her that if she didn't do it, it would in a sense ruin her career as she would be considered "difficult". She begrudgingly walks back to the older man and sits in his lap. I felt that this scene very appropriately expressed the conflict between degrading vs. empowering.
On the other hand, the film also very well expressed the double standards of how women are treated and sexualized in society. That so many people regularly watch porn, while in the same breath, criticize the women that are part of the industry is absolutely nothing short of a double standard... as is, when girlfriends/wives/daughters are expected to "cover up" while boyfriends/husbands/fathers attend strip clubs. This is a very real double standard in society that the real Weeks and that the movie touches on and exposes.
Is the film attempting to convey that doing porn is a reasonable alternative to pay your student loans... that's not what I got out of it. I did get the point the film tried to make about the extraordinary cost of tuition, but I did NOT see that it was justifying porn as a reasonable means to paying for school. Weeks was able to stand firm as she was attacked by others for her decision, but throughout the film, she faced a great deal of anxiety about hiding it from her friends and her parents.
In real life, did Weeks have mental issues? I'm not sure that is anyone's place to say or make any judgment calls about her decisions based on that notion... It's incredibly easy for any of us to judge another individual as we are outside of the situation, bypassing our own current and past hypocrisies, conflicts, and flaws as we do so. But, the movie highlights Weeks' scars as NOT to hide the possibility of other conflicts from the audience. I do not think that the movie was untruthful in that regard at all.
It seems that some reviewers are, in some regard, offended that the movie should portray Weeks as such an ordinary woman, just trying to live life...but that is literally the case for anyone in ANY situation, no matter what decisions they are making and how society views such decisions. I very much liked, actually, that the film helped many people to relate to an individual that would be/was aggressively judged for her decisions. It reminds the viewer that just because we may not understand something or agree with something that someone/people choose to do, doesn't make said person(s) unequal to any one of us.
That was my experience of the film, and for that I gave it 10 stars and well worth my viewing time. :)
Before reviewing this, I read through many of the other reviews, and for those that saw this movie as painting Weeks as a victim or that the movie overlooked the possible conflicts or problems with the industry, really missed some key points while viewing. I gave this movie 10 stars not because the acting was amazing or anything of that sort, but that it did do a great job of portraying the themes and conflicts realistically.
Some people apparently looked past the scenes that revealed the potential incongruities that her work may have had with the idea that it was empowering; for example, the scene in which she was supposed to film with an older man -- she asserted that she explicitly stated that she did not want to film with anyone over 35. However, her agent/manager basically told her that if she didn't do it, it would in a sense ruin her career as she would be considered "difficult". She begrudgingly walks back to the older man and sits in his lap. I felt that this scene very appropriately expressed the conflict between degrading vs. empowering.
On the other hand, the film also very well expressed the double standards of how women are treated and sexualized in society. That so many people regularly watch porn, while in the same breath, criticize the women that are part of the industry is absolutely nothing short of a double standard... as is, when girlfriends/wives/daughters are expected to "cover up" while boyfriends/husbands/fathers attend strip clubs. This is a very real double standard in society that the real Weeks and that the movie touches on and exposes.
Is the film attempting to convey that doing porn is a reasonable alternative to pay your student loans... that's not what I got out of it. I did get the point the film tried to make about the extraordinary cost of tuition, but I did NOT see that it was justifying porn as a reasonable means to paying for school. Weeks was able to stand firm as she was attacked by others for her decision, but throughout the film, she faced a great deal of anxiety about hiding it from her friends and her parents.
In real life, did Weeks have mental issues? I'm not sure that is anyone's place to say or make any judgment calls about her decisions based on that notion... It's incredibly easy for any of us to judge another individual as we are outside of the situation, bypassing our own current and past hypocrisies, conflicts, and flaws as we do so. But, the movie highlights Weeks' scars as NOT to hide the possibility of other conflicts from the audience. I do not think that the movie was untruthful in that regard at all.
It seems that some reviewers are, in some regard, offended that the movie should portray Weeks as such an ordinary woman, just trying to live life...but that is literally the case for anyone in ANY situation, no matter what decisions they are making and how society views such decisions. I very much liked, actually, that the film helped many people to relate to an individual that would be/was aggressively judged for her decisions. It reminds the viewer that just because we may not understand something or agree with something that someone/people choose to do, doesn't make said person(s) unequal to any one of us.
That was my experience of the film, and for that I gave it 10 stars and well worth my viewing time. :)