Review of Stella Does Tricks

Introduction

`Stella does tricks` is a relentlessly depressing film about a young prostitute`s attempts to break away from her past (filled with tales of psychological and sexual abuse) and her present. Ultimately it`s a tragedy - it starts of badly and gets steadily worse.

It`s a strange opening scene. We see Mr. Peters (played superbly by James Bolam) talking to a pig-tailed girl, Stella (Kelly Macdonald - Trainspotting) as if he`s her parental guardian. There`s a kindness in his manner, though it soon becomes clear that he`s a very sinister and controlling pimp. She performs a sexual act on him as they talk (with her hand hidden under a newspaper), and he holds the ice cream he`s bought her until they finish. (This is typical of Coky Gierdroy`s (Mel of `Mel and Kim`s sister) directing style. No sexual or violent act is explicit in the movie. It`s always implied, leaving our own imagination to do the work - and during the violent scenes this is almost unbearably powerful.)


What follows is a series of increasingly depressing events as Stella tries to take vengeance of those who have harmed and abused her or her friends, with the help of a fairly useless junky boyfriend. There are frequent flashbacks to a murky past where her father (left to raise her in the absence of a mother) sexually abuses her. (You might want to consider subtitles here, only there aren`t any, as there is frequent use of Glaswegian vernacular that is barely understandable).

She tries to break away from the control of Mr. Peters, who recognises Stella`s `free spirit` and ability to detach herself from the present by disappearing inside her own mind. He cruelly punishes her (for inserting a `Fisherman`s Friend` up the back-end of a client who thought it was marijuana) by burning her arms with cigarettes.

When Stella decides that she wants to leave this self-styled generous benefactor, he softly reminds her that he will have to make an example of her and subjects her to a horrendous multiple-rape. Though all the action is implied, this makes for extremely harrowing viewing.

Apparently this is based on a book by A.L. Kennedy, though I don`t know how faithful the movie is to that book.

Video

The picture is fine. This was a UK feature produced on a budget in 1996 - and the look and feel reflects that. But the transfer is good with nice grading and no signs of digital artefacts. No complaints there.

Audio

A perfectly serviceable stereo soundtrack. No more or less than you might expect for a gritty, almost documentary like drama.

Features

Not much. There are some stills, but these look like frame grabs from the movie rather than production stills. Then there are some brief text-based biogs for Director Coky Ciedroyc, James Bolam and Kelly Macdonald. No amusing outtakes here though that`s hardly surprising.

Conclusion

`Stella Does Tricks` is a `feel bad` movie in so much as it`s the polar opposite of a feel good` movie. It`s quite simply relentlessly harrowing, extremely depressing, and very upsetting. Which is not to say that it`s without any merit. It`s just that you`re left wondering what the motivation was for producing such a bleak drama. I guess it could be argued that its an insight into how vulnerable many young prostitutes are, and how cruelly exploited they are in general. (Maybe `users` of their services might think twice after a viewing.) For me though, I would never choose to watch the film again.

There are some fine performances here (principally from Bolam who plays the part of the sinister pimp extremely convincingly), and Kelly Macdonald does a good job playing a fine balance between feisty and vulnerable.

Director Coky Ciedroyc does a good job though, using implied action brilliantly - though this, of course, just adds to the harrowing nature of the film.

I can`t help feeling that, hot on the heels of `Trainspotting`, that this was just another trawl through low-life. Is it entertainment or social commentary? Possibly well observed and sympathetically directed but extremely depressing nonetheless. I kept watching the clock and have to add that this felt far longer than it was. I couldn`t wait for it to be over.