AROUSED
Cert 18
66 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong references to pornography and strong nudity
Watching porn stars was certainly an unexpected way to spend part of a Saturday afternoon.
Deborah Anderson's documentary, Aroused, has been shown at selected cinemas in the UK so, of course, I saw it in the name of everyfilm.
I purchased it through itunes but I did wonder about the type of person who would watch it on the big screen.
And much, I suspect, to Anderson's dismay, I could only conjure up a thought of men in dirty macs.
Anderson is a renown fine art photographer, having captured images of some of the world's most famous celebrities.
So she set about creating a fine art book, comprising of shots of porn stars. While she was compiling this, she interviewed and filmed the women for Aroused.
But on one hand her documentary attempts to be an earnest expose, on the other it shows off enough skin to encourage fans of the women.
It begins by interviewing them while they are being made up for their photoshoots so their modesty is preserved while they describe how they drifted into the industry and attempt to allay some of the myths about it.
But later they are symbolically naked as they reveal how being part of it has taken away slices of their souls.
It is during this section in which Anderson switches over and over again from their faces to their breasts and I was left wondering why.
Much of what is said by the likes of the interestingly-named Asphyxia Noir, Misty Stone, Alexis Texas, Belladonna and Kayden Kross, is actually quite interesting.
They all eloquently defend themselves and the industry, standing together against the perception of 'civilians'.
But in turn they reveal what it has taken out of them - either in terms of relationship problems or issues with drugs.
Aroused sets out to be more than skin deep and the interviews achieve that goal but I still wonder about its title and some elements of its content which will appeal to one particular type of audience - and I suspect they are not into fine art.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes, rather a lot
Overall rating: 5/10