Content warnings: these films include scenes and themes of self harm, suicide, addiction and both sexual and non-sexual abuse.
A slightly different post today as I am discussing two films together. Why? Well basically, because they're very similar films, both from writer/director Robin Bain and both tackling closely related topics.
The first of the two is 2016's Girl Lost, while the second is 2020's Girl Lost: A Hollywood Story.
Both films follow a young woman who sets out escape her current life and pursue her own dreams, but who finds that there are many people out there who are looking to exploit those dreams for their own ends.
The first of these two young women is 15-year-old Shara, the daughter of an aging sex worker. When her mother's boyfriend sexually assaults her, Shara runs away with her boyfriend Jamie, a street hustler. The two young people soon find themselves running short of money. Is there any future for Shara other than the same profession as her mother, with all its attendant risks and dangers?
The second young woman is teenager Hope. Feeling invisible to her father and his pregnant girlfriend, Hope is seduced by her former babysitter's tales of the bright lights and opportunities of being an actress and model in Los Angeles. Naive to the predatory dangers that linger in the shadows of the big city - or that present themselves openly to her under a friendly face - Hope takes the plunge. Will she end up drowning?
Both of these films depict the risk of sexual exploitation that faces vulnerable young women. They seem earnest in their attempts to depict these risks with authenticity, while avoiding committing exploitation of their own. Not an easy balance to achieve, given that the subject matter more or less ensures that the films will include sexual scenes and nudity. This is one area where I think A Hollywood Story improves on its forerunner. While I think the 2020 film is overall weaker than the 2016 one, in large part because it covers so much of the same ground, it does a better job of making the exploitative sexual scenes feel more uncomfortable and unwelcome: there are times in Girl Lost where the exploitation sequences looked and felt a bit too much like conventional 'sexy scenes'.
The films are quite harsh and unflinching in their depictions of
exploitation. Both women are subjected to some terrible things;
probably Hope suffering even more than Shara. On the other hand, Hope's
story is actually (and perhaps appropriately, given her name) the more
hopeful. Awful things are done to her, and she certainly doesn't end up
where she dreamed of, but Hope does at least meet a few people who are
willing to help her, not to just use and exploit her. Shara ultimately
has absolutely no-one she can rely on.
Both films also acknowledge and depict the exploitation of women by women, as well as by men. This female on female exploitation is less physical and overt, but just as toxic and dangerous. I don't presume to know how accurate the film's depiction of such matters is, but given the evident sincerity of intent, I am willing to believe that Robin Bain knows the subject better than I do!
Technically, the films are also much better than usual for low budget features. The production values are solid and the acting, if perhaps a little uneven in A Hollywood Story, is generally competent.
The subject matter certainly won't be for everyone, and I'm not sure that seeing both offers much more than seeing just one of them - they really are very similar projects - but these films do a pretty good job of portraying and publicising the sexual exploitation of young women.
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