Lovelace (Blu-ray) (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio & Animation Trailer-Salinger; The Family; Afternoon Delight. Featurette-Behind Lovelace
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	92:41
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Amanda Seyfried Peter Sarsgaard Sharon Stone Robert Patrick Juno Temple Chris Noth Bobby Cannavale Hank Azaria Adam Brody Chloë Sevigny James Franco
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Stephen Trask

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (4608Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

“X marks the legend.”

     Linda Lovelace’s entry into notoriety was both explosive and ground breaking. Not that she did anything inspirational, or motivational, or even anything really new. For whatever reason her one and only entry in the porn hall of fame, Deep Throat, became a phenomena of marketing hype and brought porn out of the closet at a time before video recorders and the internet made porn a staple diet for countless millions. The movie Lovelace purports to cover this part of Linda’s life, and also document the movers and players that surrounded her at the time. Lovelace here is given a very sympathetic hearing during proceedings whereas most of her associates fare poorly. I have no idea how accurate this portrayal is, but I suspect there was a conscious decision to follow the accounts as depicted in her book Ordeal. Given the inherently seedy atmosphere surrounding porn it’s easy to believe the accounts of intimidation, deception, threats, and abuse, but nevertheless we should be aware that there are always two sides to a story, and the only thing that is 100% predictable is self-interest.

     Linda Boreman (Amanda Seyfried) is a fun loving girl living in a conservatively harsh but loving family unit. Mum Dorothy (Sharon Stone) and dad John (Robert Patrick) moved their daughter from New York to Florida after John’s retirement from the police force. Linda later returned to New York in apparent disgrace after having a baby at age 20. Injuries from a car accident forced her back to the family home in Florida, and it is here where the young Linda and her friend Patsy (Juno Temple) meet Chuck Traynor (Peter Sarsgaard) at a roller skating rink. The girls dance provocatively and Chuck declares that Linda in particular could have a future in entertainment. Before long the couple are romantically linked although Linda is not totally clear on what Chuck does for a living. Chuck coaxes Linda into sexual relations and it is during one of these sessions that Linda’s skill with fellatio is revealed. He films one of these sex sessions and presents it to some friends in the porn industry (played by Bobby Cannavale, Hank Azaria and Chris Noth) who become convinced that they have a gold mine on hand. All of a sudden Linda is on the set of the porn film Deep Throat and porn star Harry Reems (Adam Brody) makes her acquaintance. It is not really explained how Linda made this sudden leap into porn, but at this point she seems pretty willing and excited about her prospects.

     As predicted the film Deep Throat becomes a mega-hit which attracts mainstream attention despite its subject matter, ludicrous plot, and shoddy production standards. Linda, as Linda Lovelace, becomes a star who mixes with the likes of Hugh Heffner (James Franco), and Hollywood heavies. At this point the movie Lovelace becomes darker with Traynor’s drug and financial problems becoming apparent along with the increasingly abusive treatment of his new wife Linda. A flash forward to Linda taking a polygraph test takes place which confirms the truth of her story as told to a book publisher. The events around Linda’s porn debut and subsequent relationship with Traynor are now laid bare with missing excerpts of her story so far being revealed. The manipulation of Linda by the industry and Traynor in particular are put into focus, but fortunately we also see that Linda has the courage to leave and make a new life and family for herself.

     Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman with writer Andy Bellin have depicted Linda as a sweet girl who was led astray but finds redemption against the odds. Sarsgaard is excellent as the manipulative Traynor who is battling his own demons but who is still truly a cad. His fall to the bottom is conversely proportional to Linda’s redemption. Amanda Seyfried puts in the performance of her career as Linda, with a fresh faced innocence that belies her subject's notoriety. Stone and Patrick are also effective in their roles as the stoic but firm parents who eventually let the love for their daughter overcome their disgust at what she has done. Their road of discovery is in many ways just as dramatic and sorrowful as the road Linda herself had travelled. The film Lovelace makes no statement on the porn industry as a whole, or on the people who produce and distribute the content, although the seedy context is more than hinted at. This is purely a depiction of the circumstances surrounding the Deep Throat phenomena, and the rise and fall and rise again of Linda Boreman who became Linda Lovelace and ultimately remarried as Linda Marchiano. Her latter foray in the anti-pornography movement as an activist is described in closing notes, along with her death from a car accident which compounded complications received in the New York car accident many years earlier.

Video

     Video is presented in the theatrical aspect of 1.85:1 with 1080p high definition. Filmed using Super 16 there is a real retro look to proceedings with lots grit, grain and soft edges. This 70’s look is intentional and so you can’t fault the Blu-ray presentation on that basis. Similarly colours are oversaturated especially in skin tones although there is a predominantly pastel palette of yellows and browns. There is a documentary style used at times with the use of loose framing techniques and hand held cameras (thankfully not shaky-cam). Overall a nice if uninspiring video presentation which suits the subject matter.

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
Colour
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Film Artefacts
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Audio

     Unlike the video this 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track at around 4500 Kb/s is at modern standards with many musical interludes bringing LFE and surrounds alive. The dialogue is clean and clear and never overshadowed by surrounding events. Synchronisation with the video is faultless. Apart from the musical score the soundtrack is very front centred but I had no problem with this and it did serve to make the music more grabbing. In addition to the 5.1 track is an English Dolby Digital and English Descriptive audio 2.0 track both at 192 Kb/s.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

     The menu featured looping audio with animated background.

Movie Trailers (appearing before the main menu)

     All HD video and Dolby Digital 2.0 at 192 Kb/s. Salinger (2:25); The Family (2:27); Afternoon Delight (2:11).

Featurette: Behind Lovelace (13:57)

     HD video and Dolby Digital 2.0 at 192 Kb/s. A background featurette including inputs from the main actors and directors Epstein and Friedman. Delves into the documentary background of the directors and how those techniques were used in bring Lovelace to the screen. Includes origins of the production, the drama of Linda’s story, and the filmmaking style.

    The Region A release appears identical apart from subtitles.

     As an insight into the porn industry Lovelace isn’t up there with Boogie Nights, however the performances are compelling and the story is worth telling. Linda’s portrayal is from her perspective and as such paints her in a sympathetic light. Whether this is completely accurate is questionable, nevertheless the circumstances of Linda’s rise and fall and eventual redemption are a salutatory reminder of how people can be manipulated. Despite the subject matter Lovelace is not titillating or sexually gratuitous which is to the filmmaker’s credit. Overall it is well worth a look and may even deserve repeat viewing.

     The video quality is good.

     The audio quality is very good.

     Extras are meagre but interesting.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall