The Escort

Pierre (Auteuil) is AWOL in London. A middle-aged university lecturer with a wife and teenage son, he's run away from the trappings of conformity to write that long talked about novel which will give meaning to his life. Instead, he winds up bruised and beaten outside a Soho sex club - which is how Tom (Townsend) finds him, takes pity and offers him a room. Young and handsome, Tom invites his new friend to a party. Turns out that their dates are paying for the privilege. Pierre is surprised, and flattered, to discover the gigolo within. Hanif Kureishi is credited with the seed for this not terribly original 'male crisis' drama, but writer/director Blanc must take the lion's share of blame for its banal development and perverse disinclination to exploit the set-up's obvious erotic, comic or suspense potential. Here we have a meagre parade of sour and dishonest relationships: between Pierre and his family back in France; with his new prostitute girlfriend (Walker); a client (Skinner); and of course Tom, who becomes increasingly alarmed at the heroin-guzzling monster he's created.