Linnea (19) leaves a small town in Sweden to become a porn actress in Los Angeles. As Bella Cherry, she wants to be the new star of the industry.
The starting point of “Pleasure” can cause incomprehension and even disgust in some, and instinctive curiosity in others. In addition, where the Swede Ninja Thyberg (37) cast her feature film debut mainly with real US porn actors and actresses. The main role went to actress Sofia Kappel (23).
Anyone who enjoys watching films a lot may still feel something – the uncomfortable feeling that Thyberg is showing a predictable crash that diminishes the importance of her work. From a purely female perspective, “Pleasure” tells the story of a male-dominated business of stark contrasts: its products are permanently available and consumable, and even in 2022 they certainly won’t be part of the table conversation. So the question of how power and violence works here has hardly become a publicly effective part of the MeToo debate.
But one of the best things that “Pleasure” manages to do is make Bella Cherry much more successful than you thought once morest this background. She overcomes her limits with an iron will: the very first shoot, the tougher jobs, the “perverse” shoots for her new agent. Kappel shows an enormously mature acting performance in all emotional facets. At its core, it always exudes a certain sobriety that reflects Thyberg’s portrayal of the porn sets: routine, factory-like processing according to a strict economic framework, in which women are theoretically allowed to say “no”. What if they do? “Pleasure” shows this in a way that characterizes the entire film: not in such a way that you see everything, but feel every abyss.
How much Bella dehumanizes herself is formed into a gripping message by Thyberg. She would have been even more believable if she had let Bella show her nerves appropriately towards the finale.
“Pleasure”: S/NL/F 2021, 109 min. In cinemas now
OÖN Rating:
The trailer for the film: