EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

meddlecore "Whore" is a fantastic movie by Ken Russell (dir. of Altered States, Crimes of Passion) that is absolutely hysterical from start to finish. The film is shot in a pseudo-documentary style, in which we find ourselves taking on the perspective of a film crew that is following around a prostitute on the lamb (Theresa Russell). She bares all for the camera, telling her stories, revealing both the humorous and the frightening aspects of life as a hooker. From putting up with the local quacks, to having guys want to f**k her in the ass and dominate them, to saving her troubled colleagues and putting up with her idiotic pimp..this movie has it all...and it will have you laughing your ass off. It shows how life as a whore can be tough and that you have to be careful about who you choose as your friends in "the oldest profession on earth." This is another winner by Ken Russell that cant be missed by any of his fans. 10 out of 10.

Coventry Good old Ken Russell … The glorious days of "Savage Messiah" and "The Devils" were obviously long gone in the early 90's, but still he was always up for directing a controversial and provocative motion picture. I read in several articles and interviews that "Whore" was primarily intended as a harsh and confronting response to the Julia Roberts comedy "Pretty Woman"; which depicts prostitution as a carefree and happy happy joy joy profession. Of course everybody already knows that the job of a prostitute includes more than just sleeping with Richard Gere, but Russell nonetheless insisted on dedicating a full movie based on this reality lesson. "Whore" is one part gripping docudrama and one part clichéd venting, but the overall impression it leaves is a positive and lasting one. Theresa Russell is excellent as Liz and, since she speaks most of her monologues straight into a camera, the viewer becomes irreversibly involved in her daily routines of abuse, humiliation, danger, fear, indescribably odd fetishes and general bullying. Whilst on the constant lookout for her relentless pimp, Liz lectures about what she does and doesn't tolerate from customers, tells lovely anecdotes about her wackiest clients (like an elderly man who only gets off when she hits him with his own cane!) and openly mentions the rookie mistakes that gradually turned her into the nihilistic and cynic woman she is now. Multiple sequences are, unfortunately, dreadful clichés (like a failed marriage and the cute son Liz was forced to abandon) or just plain weird (the reoccurring meetings with the semi-spiritual Rasta guy). Strangely enough – but perhaps typical for Ken Russell – our director interlards the most involving moments of sincere human tenderness with revolting footage of the pimp also facing the camera and proudly talking about his spirit of enterprise and generally discriminating opinion on women. "Whore" tends to get a bit monotonous and repetitive, but thankfully it's not too long, and occasionally it too obviously shows the script is adapted from a stage play. And perhaps the biggest problem of the film might be that the subject matter actually TOO realistic to be a genuine Russell success formula. Those who're familiar with the man's repertoire know that he's at his absolute finest when adding grotesquely surreal plot material and visually imaginative gimmicks to a rudimentary concept. The everyday life of a prostitute simply doesn't lend itself to a lot of creative and artsy expanding, and for Russell this is definitely a shortcoming. Notwithstanding the brutal approach and rather repellent promotional elements (the blunt title, the tagline "This is no bedtime story"), "Whore" is a unique and compelling drama worth tracking down.

Scarecrow-88 The night of confession for one "that walks" hooking while trying to dodge a homicidal pimp, Blake(Benjamin Mouton)who she wishes to abandon if he doesn't find & kill her first. Theresa Russell portrays Liz as bluntly honest, no-nonsense about her job and what comes with the territory of being a hooker. She seems a bit uneducated and a tad obnoxious, but, at the same time, you can't take your eyes of her because you never know what is about to come spewing out. Antonio Fargas portrays Rasta, a street denizen for whom becomes someone for Liz to lean on and eventually her protector as it seems Blake could kill her at any time. We see in one of several past vignettes explained to the camera(us;a device director uses to optimum effect..this will either be a charm or annoyance to the viewer)by Liz what violence can happen when an "employee" of his gets out of hand..a hooker gets her stomach slit open and nearly bleeds to death. We also see that even having a friend to chat with seems forbidden as Liz has a forming relationship with a bi-sexual named Katie(Liz Morehead)for whose life is threatened by Blake. Blake is such a mean, cold-blooded bastard he threatens to hook Liz's son when he comes of age.The film is set up as a means for a hooker to speak candidly about what it's like being a "whore." We see Liz working those who stop off to check her out and even see one or two possible clients getting a chance at a "good time." One client gets so worked up his heart stops! The film doesn't seem to judge Liz, but the profession and it's disadvantages. Be warned:the film is sexually explicit and profane from the moment we're introduced to Liz until the fade-out. I think either you will find Russell's performance grating and terrible or very watchable. I think Theresa is terrific, capturing a character who really fell off the side of the tracks and is trying to confront what her choice of profession has done to her(loss of her child to adoption, the joyless task of getting men off, etc). I will agree with many that Ken Russell's film is a mixed bag often drifting from comedy into tragedy, but I myself just don't see how a woman like this' story could be told any other way.

preppy-3 A prostitute named Liz (Theresa Russell) relates her life and times to the viewer. She's running away from her vicious pimp (Benjamin Mouton) who wants to kill her. Rasta (Antonio Fargas) pops up from time to time to inexplicably help her.This was made in response to "Pretty Woman" (which actually made prostitution look glamorous). Director Ken Russell had trouble getting funding for this--no actress would take the role and the title alone scared away investors. Finally Theeresa Russell (no relation) agreed to do it but he still had trouble getting funds. The movie was cheaply made and it shows in some of the sets. It also prevents Russell from any overindulgences (which are usually the highlights of his films). It comes off, cinematically, kind of muted.The acting carries this. Theresa is a great actress--she pulls off the role showing the humor and pain in equal doses. Also she has quite a few long monologues which she pulls off without a hitch. Mouton is also good as her slimy pimp and it's always good to see Fargas in anything (although his character makes no sense).The screenplay is great--it doesn't shy away from any of the realities of prostitution and is quite graphic. Nothing is really shown but the descriptions and sounds make it quite clear what's going on. It does fall apart at the end leaving a conclusion that was totally unbelievable. Some posters have complained that Russell is too glamorous to be a prostitute. That's true--but who wants to watch a movie with a real prostitute who aren't exactly attractive and are in terrible shape? Also there are a few cute references to earlier Russell films here--one movie theatre is playing "Lair of the White Worm" and another is playing a porno film starring China Blue (the character Kathleen Turner played in his "Crimes of Passion").I saw this originally in 1991 in a theatre in it's NC-17 version. The one I saw on cable was R rated and dreadfully edited. The cuts are obvious and in one stupid moment a word is bleeped out (????). It still works as an R rated but try to find the uncut version. Good movie but the low budget hurts.