New in home cinema: Dark erotic addition for all fans of “Fleabag” & Co.

A smart, articulate woman rudely holds up a mirror to society – and communicates directly with the audience during her sexually uninhibited story: series and theater fans should now think of ‘Fleabag’, the one-woman play by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. part of the series -became a sensation. If you like this hit, you should check out “The Whore.”

Ken Russell’s little-noticed film may have a different tone, but it still has enough parallels to “Fleabag” that the projects complement each other attractively. “The Whore” celebrated its German Blu-ray premiere this week – as a limited media book with a choice of different covers:

Regardless of whether you choose the above variant, Lid B*, Cover C* or Cover D* decides: The contents of the media books are identical. They include the drastic, bitterly funny and deliberately unpolished film on Blu-ray, as well as a DVD and booklet. The discs also include a making-of and an interview with lead actress Theresa Russell.

“The Whore”: The Cool Answer to “Pretty Woman”

Prostitute Liz (Theresa Russell) is provocative, confident and smart: she avoids the haunts of Los Angeles nightlife where many of her competitors get clients. In this way, she tries to avoid shocking incidents that she had to endure at the beginning of her career as Woman of the Night. But this caution comes at a price: Liz’s brazen pimp Blake (Benjamin Mouton) pressures her for more money. If she decides to no longer tolerate this, it will have drastic consequences…

The controversial one Director Ken Russell (“The Devils“) considered his 1991 look at the dangers of sex work as a response to the romantic comedy hit “Pretty Woman”. While Julia Roberts plays a prostitute whose life becomes a fairy tale, Russell and his co-writer Deborah Dalton wanted to focus on the painful reality. However, ‘The Whore’ does not point the proverbial bare finger at the main character:

Liz’s circumstances are depicted as harsh, but she is not depicted as a helpless victim, let alone someone who brought misery upon herself. She is the defiant, smart heroine of a sparse story. And she’s just as busy cynically exposing her clients’ fetishes and the absurdities of human sexuality as she is trying to get out of her misery.

Harsh monologues, destructive sexuality, no fourth wall

The clash between Liz’s frustrating life situation and the sarcastic humor, often expressed in comments that break the so-called fourth wall, brings back vague memories from today’s perspective. Especially when you consider that “The Whore” is based on a play:

Russell’s sexuality drama, which flopped at the box office, could therefore be described as a distant predecessor of ‘Fleabag’. The 1991 box office flop and the critically acclaimed British series share their origins on the British stage, as well as the balancing act between painful truths and eloquent, lighthearted humor. And the revealing directness with which a clear line is drawn between sexuality and everyday behavior – in a healing and destructive sense.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that all ‘Fleabag’ fans will automatically love ‘The Whore’, after all, there are plenty of differences beyond these parallels. Simply because Waller-Bridge’s hit series focuses intensively on the inner life (especially the self-esteem) of the nameless protagonist, while ‘The Whore’ is more about how men interact with Liz and how she sees through men.

And where ‘Fleabag’ sometimes radiates warmth despite all the drama thanks to Waller-Bridge’s nuanced performance, ‘The Whore’ is dominated by the clammy feeling of being isolated. Maybe even a little too much. Despite: Anyone open to sexually charged stories about brash, smart women who approach hard feelings with an ironic twist should give “The Whore” a try.