Movie Review: "Choir Girl" (2020)
Choir Girl Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Nexus Productions
Written and Directed by John Fraser
2020, 95 minutes, Not Rated
Released on September 1st, 2020
Starring:
Peter Flaherty as Eugene
Sarah Timm as Josephine
Jack Campbell as Daddy
Krista Vendy as Polly
Andy McPhee as Mikhail
Lee Mason as Julius
Review:
A movie like John Fraser’s Choir Girl makes me breathe a sigh of relief at the knowledge that not only is it not my job to pass judgment or give my moral weigh-in on the subject matter but it’s also not in my nature to do so. Art is highly subjective as it is; when you get into the world of exploitation and underage prostitution, it’s safe to say that buttons will be pushed.
That’s a solid case of the ends justifying the means, as well, since you can’t sit through this impressive statement without having a strong reaction and a lot to think about. You’ll probably be uncomfortable on a few occasions. I damn sure was. I was also quite taken in by a pair of strong leads who each have different reasons to hate the place they live but share an intense desire to get out by any means necessary.
Eugene (Peter Flaherty; The Faceless Man) is a talented photographer with nothing to show for it, a painfully shy and awkward human who captures street photography of an almost painfully voyeuristic and creepy nature. When he becomes enrapt with an underage prostitute working out of a nearby flophouse named Josephine (Sarah Timm), his life is quickly and brutally altered forever by her potential to change his situation and get his work some real recognition. His work is disregarded and written off as exploitative with real justification, but others feel his work should be seen and help his cause. Josephine’s pimp, a powerful figure from the shadows known only as Daddy (Jack Campbell; All Saints), is not one of his fans. Now Eugene has a debt to be paid to Daddy, but all he wants to do is get Josephine out of the situation she’s in. Is there a way that he can do both? As he’s drawn further into her world, he finds his motivations changing along with his feelings toward her.
In recent years, I’ve become a huge fan of Australian Exploitation like Hounds of Love and Wake in Fright. In similar fashion, I love the grimy street aesthetic and raw power of films like Taxi Driver and Joker. When you combine that with the fact that I’m a sucker for black and white films, the result is an experience where the movie made it more than capable for me to work around the distressing and upsetting scenes that were necessary for this character study. The pacing goes through some drag in the middle, but the performances of the capable cast will carry you along and the deft writing greases the wheels well enough.
What’s that, you say? This is exploitation and not a character study, dammit! Except it’s not…not really. Choir Girl is the story of two people in shit situations in a shit place where poverty, degradation, and exploitation are the norm- a tale with an outline that’s all too familiar to millions of people. They both want out of their misery and into something better, but they’re both somewhat responsible for where they are. These are very flawed characters framed inside the world of underage sex trafficking, so it’s easy to see why it’s easy to dismiss Choir Girl as straight exploitation.
One of the easiest kinds of films to hate on is the one that offers you no clear answers (or even a bullshit happy ending) while showing you the truth of a situation that’s all too real. Writer-director John Fraser runs a dangerous gambit by doing just that and making virtually every character’s decisions and motivations murky at best. The point seems to be that these are people who know true desperation, and that level of desperation changes what’s acceptable and what isn’t.
Of course, you can also take Choir Girl as face-value exploitation and have a pretty good time with its dedication to telling an unflinching story. There’s also nothing wrong with that. Like I said, I’m not judging. That’s not my style. It’s a film that opens up a whole truckload of points to debate the morals and ethics of, sure, but that’s not all there is to it.
Maybe…just maybe…the point is that how wrong something is is relative to the circumstances you find yourself in. Now that’s a hell of a point to consider, a dangerously human one. Those damn devil’s advocate style films always have the best food for thought.
Grade:
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
