Sensitive romantic porn from the Mitchell Brothers

Another early Mitchell Bros. / Cinema 7 effort, WOMAN OF THE NIGHT impresses with its unusually professional spin on a standard porn story. The "portrait of a prostitute" was common in early '70s media, and the burgeoning adult film market was no exception: countless "one-day wonders" and even some bigger-budget features center around girlfriends and wives who decide to start turning tricks. WOMAN focuses on Ali, who's just begun dabbling in hooking. Falling in with a small group of other female prostitutes, she operates out of a run-down motel in San Francisco's tenderloin, quickly learning the ropes from her closest friend, Maggie. When she's not out working all night, Ali enjoys walks in the park by day, and one afternoon meets handsome college-looking guy Chuck playing frisbee with his friends. The chemistry is obvious, though Ali puts off Chuck because she doesn't have a free evening to go out. Eventually, however, she relents, and the two are soon in the middle of a Semi-Obligatory Lyrical Interlude, followed immediately by lovemaking. When Chuck comes up with a position at his company that could offer Ali a way out of her secretive "night job," she's at first hesitant but finally excited to exit the street life. However, Maggie's jealousy may not portend well for her friend's fledgling romance.

At its core, the simple story WOMAN tells is far from unique, but what distinguishes it is the unusual sensitivity with which it's portrayed. The film's vision of sex work is forthright rather than alarmist, and despite intimations of a pushy pimp, this cliched threat never materializes. Indeed, Ali's reasons for seeking out prostitution are left opaque - it mainly just seems to be easy(ish) money and an available option. As Ali begins her dalliance with Chuck, it's presented as delicately as in any romance, and their scenes together communicate real tenderness. In addition, WOMAN avoids falling into the trap a lot of "romantic porn," which so often attempts to force emotion by slathering sex scenes in treacle. Instead, the Michells and Co. Go for documentary verisimilitude, employing mostly direct audio to great effect. These sounds - not the exaggerated moaning of modern porn but the soft noises of actual lovemaking - really do a lot to sell the intimacy.

As noted, there's nothing all that novel about this set-up or any of what happens in WOMAN, but there's still something affecting about seeing a simple love story told with such grace. The Cinema 7 team would move into more Earth-shaking terrain the following year, via their monster crossover hit BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR. But in 1971, WOMAN OF THE NIGHT marked a small but impressive feature-length success, a vast step up from many of the Mitchells' tossed-off shorts and an excellent example of low-budget but high-class "romantic porn" done right.

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