Name: Hardcore
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2001-04-07
Rating: 6.6
Cast: Lee-anne McQueen, Max Hardcore, Dick Nasty

Stephen, Felicity and Richard's Adventures in porn

Hardcore is an interesting exercise in sexploitation, that being documentaries with the ostensible goal of uncovering the truth of the adult entertainment industry while, purely through the necessity demanded by the subject, exploiting a salacious interest in the topic. Filmed by Stephen Walker, who also credits himself with the role of director, Hardcore takes us on Felicity's three week journey touting for work in the US porn business with her agent Richard. There's a question arising immediately here about the economics of this arrangement, how does an agent make any money while devoting his time to a single client? Felicity's first gig bags a fee of 300 dollars, of which we might expect Richards cut to be about 60 dollars, wow that's gonna but a real dent in the bill for the flight and petrol costs. There's something not quite right here, the arrangement as stated by Stephen Walker and the events transpiring on screen don't seem to be consistent, an inconsistency which is compounded later as the narrative progresses.

What is that narrative, well Felicity is a 25 year old single mother from, wait for it--Essex and she's got daddy issues, wow whadyaknow Stephen hit the jackpot, I'm sure this circumstance hasn't been the least bit contrived. Felicity's exploits, as she wends her way into the porn business, are suitably interspersed with references to her five year old daughter and troubled family life. There's tearful long distance phone calls, cute widdle drawings of mummy in crayon, Richard even treats us to a little heart-string music during some of these moments, you know just to let us know how much we care.

Everything seems to be proceeding according to the normal expectations for this kind of documentary right up until the moment we meet Max. Now if I was going to be charitable I would assume that Stephen got in over his head and that which transpires next, is a complete and utter shocking surprise to him. The trouble is though, Max, Max Hardcore to give his full name (Hardcore? yeah I think it's an Estonian family name), is someone whose arrival is anticipated with a certain, how can I say, er--trepidation? Max has a reputation see, and the temptation to create a narrative is so strong for Stephen, that he can't help foreshadow Max's role in that narrative by repeatedly alluding to that reputation.

For a while, I thought Max was going to be bit of a Pepe el Romano, he's referenced continually but he's nowhere to be seen, finally he turns up and what is he like, well imagine a crack or meth head, only made good or on his first day after rehab. I wouldn't say he's completely devoid of charm, there was a few, very few, moments where he could turn on something, other than that though, well let's just say you gotta see him, because words fail me here. Max is around for about 30 seconds before he's stuck his dick in Felicity, which let's face it, is not something one normally expects. This is where things get kinda surreal, Felicity is having an attitude attack while being knobbed by the person her surliness is directed at, uh--people do this?

This encounter was merely the audition though, not surprisingly Stephen's camera is not on set for the main event, which surprise surprise does not go smoothly for the unfortunate Felicity, who after 30 minutes of Max's brand of romance, rushes off set in some distress. Now we're treated to possibly, the most obnoxious example of hypocrisy ever committed to video tape and it's where that inconsistency I mentioned before resurfaces. After some cajoling, Max persuades Felicity to go back on set with him to complete the shoot, only it's all too much for Stephen and he pulls the plug. Oh thank goodness, our heroine has been spared, Stephen has saved the day, oh really? How so exactly because I see something slightly different, Stephen Walker states at the beginning of this documentary that he's accompanying Richard on a trip to promote Felicity's career but it's become apparent with this episode, that it's Stephen who's calling the shots here. How otherwise can he exercise control the over situation and just what is the nature of his control over it, is he financing the trip, has he promised Richard a stake in the production of the documentary? Whatever the answer, Stephen's casting of his role as kind of benign chaperone, albeit one of limited influence, is pretty disingenuous.

I still think though that the Max Hardcore episode, did catch Stephen off guard, even if did prove fortuitous by providing suitable grist for his narrative. The rest of the documentary is anticlimactic, Stephen baits another porn industry producer by posing asinine questions:-

'Isn't this degrading'?

Er duh.

'Why don't you want me to film your face'?

Oh I dunno, perhaps I don't want my 8 year daughter goaded with words like 'Your daddy is a sex peddler' as she's on her way to school.

My responses by the way, the actual producer Stephen was talking to was a knob. Stephen Walker's Hardcore is interesting because of the territory it inhabits, some people want to exploit the sex trade but they want to keep their hands clean. You know, so they don't have to suffer the kind of indignities that Stephen was willing to risk subjecting that porn producer to and Hardcore is an example of this kind of enterprise. British law defines pornography as materiel intended for the purpose of masturbation and Hardcore fulfils that criteria in its own way, it promotes the abuse of your emotions rather than your genitals.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

Hard hitting documentary about an 25-year-old English woman, Felicity trying to break into the American pornography industry to support her daughter.

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