Short Review - Lovelace (2013)

The best word to describe this biopic starring Amanda Seyfried as porn icon Linda Lovelace: disjointed. It is not a bad film. It is competently shot and well acted with Seyfried turning in a particularly good preform. However, the film does not deliver a coherent story. While individual scenes are interesting, even gripping (in particular the scene where Linda asks her mom (an almost unrecognizable Sharon Stone) for marital advice - and refuge from her abusive husband, Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard) - and is told to "obey" him, not realizing that Linda interprets this as "do porn for him"), they all feel like scenes not a flowing story. This is not helped by the decision to jump back and forth in the timeline. It is not always clear when a scene is taking place. While I was never lost, these transition are not well handled and, in general, do not add anything to the movie.

In the end, the story that is told doesn't amount to much - sheltered girl gets involved with abusive man who exploits her - even though all the parts needed to make a compelling movie are there. It's worth checking out for the performances and for those parts of the movie that do work and are engaging. However, don't expect to come away knowing much about the life of Linda Lovelace or the making of the film that immortalized her in pop culture, Deep Throat.