Lovelace (2013) * * *

First of all, I have a confession to make. I watched this movie because I just love Amanda Seyfried. She's beautiful and very talented. It was strange to see her as a brunette, but she looked good with that too. Now, on to the movie review.

The story itself is about Linda Lovelace, one of the best-known porn actresses in the 70s. Frankly, having grown up in Europe and been born in the 80s, I never heard of her. I did read up afterwards though. From what I could gather, the events in the movie are taken from her autobiography, Ordeal. It is controversial in a way, and some sources have contradicted several statements in it, like just how much porn she participated in, or how willingly. It also leaves out the reported drug and alcohol abuse she was doing at the time.

However, as a woman of today, these things didn't matter to me. What spoke to me was the way she grew up, and the way people dealt with the domestic abuse that was going on at the time. In a way it was shocking to see just how much the attitudes in the general public have changed since then, but also keeping in mind that in some places, that is still the case.

The way the story was told was particularly interesting. I'm trying not to spoil it, but let's just say that first you get the outside, then the inside. It played with the mind of the viewer, by having them sort of see the surface at first, and establish a view of the events, only to show the flip side later. It especially works if you go into it not knowing anything about Lovelace.

Amanda Seyfried was great as the slightly naive girl. Due to the rather pornographic nature of the theme, it was probably not an easy role to play. However, I had to remind myself that she wasn't just the innocent Sophie in Mamma Mia!, but also the strange and sexual creature in Chloe. I could wholly believe she was Linda.

Peter Sarsgaard played her husband. He was just as hateable as you would want from the villain of the story.

The reason that I'm giving it 3 stars is because while the storytelling is done very well, and the actors are good too, the whole thing feels disjointed, and incomplete. We get glimpses of Linda's life, we do see the problems, but it feels like something is missing. I would have especially liked to see more of just how she managed to get out of the marriage and the porn industry. The story did have a beginning and an end, but it was a shadow. You didn't see what was actually casting the shadow. However, I do recommend it, especially to women, but it's something for a Sunday afternoon when you want to relax, but also engage your brain some.