Variety

classified 18
Film

Please note: This was screened in Aug 2023

Director
Bette Gordon
Cast
Sandy McLeod, Will Patton, Richard M. Davidson
Details
101 mins, 1983, USA
Primary language
English

Bette Gordon’s Variety follows Christine (Sandy McLeod), who takes up a job as a ticket-seller in a New York porn theatre, gradually forming a fascination with the films playing and the clientele visiting.

She decides to go on a date with Louie (Richard Davidson), one of the venue’s more suspect regulars, gradually coming to believe he’s involved with the mafia as she flies closer and closer to the flame.

What emerges is a story of obsession and female sexual awakening, backed by a small galaxy of American indie talent, many of whom emerged from the late '70s/early '80s New York No Wave scene that cross-pollinated across film, music, photography and art. Talent which includes; cinematographer Tom DiCillo, actor Luis Guzmán, music by John Lurie, and a small role for Nan Goldin (most recently seen in Venice Festival winning documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed).

Presented as part of Cinema Rediscovered on Tour, a Watershed project. With support from BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery and MUBI.


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