Portraits of Andrea Palmer (2017)

GENRE: Indie, Horror, Hardcore, Torture Porn, Prostitution

STUDIO/PRODUCER: Tomorrow Productions

PERFORMERS: Katrina Zova, Sheena Rose, Chad Alva, William Margold

MSRP: Blu-ray/TShirt (http://portraitsofandreapalmer.com/) 

I'm going to preface this review by saying it is not porn. Though it has pornographic material it is showcased as a pseudo-documentary style college level project with high production value, and expertly managed/edited 16mm video camera footage. Something that isn't meant to provide pleasure through alluring fantasy, but instead is meant to be an eye opening experience regarding what we don't see going on behind the scenes of the adult film industry. 

As it is it puts a lot of Hollywood's films to shame with realism so gritty, and unnerving it's shock value is hardly surpassed in films today. Both in context, and presentation. Expect going in some elements of gore, and sexual body horror. Also expect the portrayal of hardcore sex with sexual assault, and sexual exploitation being as real as it can get without being actually real. It is indeed a hard watch, but one that if you can stomach will lead you down the same dark downward spiral a lot of the industry performers face without you actually having to experience it for yourself. It's education value is definitely there, and could actually save lives of those thinking this easy money doesn't come with a hefty price. On with the review ...

The 2017 film, "Portraits of Andrea Palmer" is a visceral and unrepentant train wreck of events involving a fictitious female cam girl baring the title's namesake, who through, misfortune after misfortune finds herself a victim of porn's fabled easy moneymaking scheme. Through titled chapters laid out like the introductions to each canto within the "Divine Comedy" we find the rapid descent of Andrea Palmer, who is played by the brilliant "Katrina Zova", as she falls victim to the industry and underbelly of shady business therein. An industry she aimed to use in order to make enough money to get her daughter back with, and start a proper life. 

Beginning with a cam girl versus hater breakdown via a laptop live stream, and escalating through stages of gigs including a makeshift porn production, dirty street dealings involving pimps, the brief intervention of an unexpected sympathizer, and a final moment of tragedy we see the darkest side of porn as never really shown before. Everything from drug use, to sex acts of the most cruel kind, and self-harm plays out through a variety of 16mm lens filters that utilizes mostly speechless documentary style storytelling with added effects such as kaleidoscopic drug trances, B&W flashbacks, and aged coloring. 

All of which is enhanced by a electro-synth soundtrack that changes with each, and every scene as a calm before the storm, the plateau between, a brief moment of angelic hope, and the metaphorical descent into hell itself unfolds before the viewer's very own eyes. Creating the perfect unraveling into the inevitable ending of one of porn's most tragic cases as seen through the vision of the director telling the sordid, and saddening tale.

The Verdict ...

For $25 for the Blu-ray alone, or the $40 for the Blu-ray and T-Shirt combo you will be getting your money's worth. That being said you really do have to have the guts to see it through to the end as what lies in wait is about as hard hitting as hell itself. Supposing you are a part of the porn industry, or are an aspiring performer/cam girl facing said industry seemingly alone this could very well be your tool for redemption. 

While it doesn't end well for the main character I think her tragedy, as it is shown, makes for a compelling moral lesson. It showcases without an ounce of mercy what seeking the easy money provided by selling yourself through sex can cost you. It shows what it will turn you into as you become dependent on the cash flow from the entry point cam girl position, and also shows how easily one can be lured into positions that can make them a sex slave whether they ever intended to be or not.

In closing I feel this film earns it's place among film greats. It's not going to be something the porn industry or porn fans will appreciate, but for those who want to face reality, and learn the truth of the darker side of that sexually driven career choice it can be truly enlightening. Perhaps even life changing. Again, it is a very hard, and disturbing watch, but sometimes that's what the world needs in order to wake up.