Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageVariety (1983)
Director: Bette Gordon
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Written by blood-and-guts flavour of the month Kathy Acker, and directed by New York feminist film-maker Gordon, this boldly goes into feminine response to pornography - and the results are by no means predictable. Christine (McLeod) takes a job as a ticket vendor at a porn cinema; she finds herself slowly drawn towards both the ambience depicted on the screen and to one of the older clients, Louis (Davidson), a suave shark with apparent Mafia connections. She follows him around, eavesdropping on his world of very masculine power and money, while simultaneously indulging her curiosity in the equally voyeuristic roles played out in sex shops and movie houses. The elision of the two worlds is a good device, and well handled, for is not every sexual adventure also a form of detection? The film is not prescriptive in its designs, nor is it remotely prurient. A brave foray across a minefield. CPea.Author: CPea
Cast & crew
Director: Bette Gordon
Producer: Renee Shafansky
Cast: Sandy McLeod, Luis Guzman, Will Patton, Nan Goldin, Richard Davidson full cast
Genre(s): Horror
Duration: 100 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now