Louise Smith Movies
- 1989
In this docudrama, the menace posed by Australian efforts to ward off terrorist attacks is shown to be at least as great as that posed by the attacks themselves. The story is told by a female German sociologist exploring the expanding power of the state, and her didactic commentary is interspersed with scenes of a hostage situation. Throughout, heavy-handed police responses to the situations they encounter, whether terrorist or not, make everyone look bad. In fact, the police soon deport the German academic as an undesirable. The filmmakers contentions seems to be that Australia is very virtually a police state already. However, the very fact of the film's being made and widely released within the country would seem to contradict that assertion, despite many well-documented abuses by the authorities. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
The Working Girls in this New York-based film are laboring away at the World's Oldest Profession. Molly (Louise Smith), a Yale grad whos lives with her lesbian lover, turns tricks to keep food on the table. She approaches each day with fear and loathing, carrying out her responsibilities with crisp, businesslike efficiency. Her coworkers include Gina (Marussia Zach), who hopes to stay a hooker just long enough to finance her own business, and Dawn (Amanda Goodwin), an outspoken college student who harbors dreams of becoming a lawyer. The film covers a single day in the lives of these three ladies, neither judging nor apologizing: a job's a job, the film seems to be saying, whether it's punching a clock or rolling in the sack with an elderly stranger. Director Lizzie Borden's matter-of-fact approach to her material (based on six months' worth of interviewing genuine prostitutes) places Working Girls head and shoulders above the usual lachrymose "ladies of the evening" drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Smith, Ellen McElduff, (more)
