Alicia I love this movie so much

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

artisticengineer This is a profound movie; it is quite deep in it's implications, certainly not a movie that you would go to for a date as it really does not leave one feeling good. Many people have discussed the psychological overtones to this film, and all the comments do touch on something important though they really miss one point. The point they miss is that this movie has a paradox in it that is as much of a plot buster as the watch in "Somewhere in Time" (read the "goofs" section for that movie if you are unfamiliar with what I just mentioned). The paradox really comes down to the statement by the character Roland Cain that Claire is just a whore and will always be a whore. Incidentally, Colm Meaney does NOT play a pimp like a true pimp. True pimps are some of the ugliest (personality wise I mean) people you could ever imagine and most are worse than you could even imagine. His character, as a pimp, is actually quite lovable- as pimps go. In that profession his pimp would be considered a "choir boy". That is certainly one very unrealistic aspect of the movie. Anyway, the movie portrays Claire making a living as a prostitute in order to pay off a monetary debt that she and her mother owes the pimp for bringing them from Ireland to the United States (and presumably for the nursing home costs for her mother). After her mother's death early on in the movie (One observation - IMHO Karin Cartlidge did not act the scenes concerning the mother's death with the depth of emotion that one would expect from such a great actress. This may be due to the fact that, in real life, she never did go through the trauma of burying her mother) Claire decides to sneak away from her pimp and start an honest life elsewhere. The movie then shows that the pimp tracks her down and forces her back to the lifestyle of prostitution. That is the paradox of the movie. Obviously, contrary to the pimps opinion, she is not a "born whore" - she was driven to desperate measures by desperate circumstances; basically to take care of her mother. When Claire no longer had that obligation then she did try to leave. The film really shows no reason why she could not have remained clear of the clutches of her pimp. Even though he found her she only had to call the police and that would have ended everything. It may seem trite, but police do intervene in that situation to save the "dasmal in distress". They love to. Cops I know (and most cops are of this mindset) will tolerate prostitution. Once in a while, for show, a prostitute will be arrested and spend a night in jail but other than that it is pretty much a "live and let live" mindset with the police concerning prostitutes. But, the police have only scorn for pimps. They hate them, and will not waste an opportunity to put them in a state pen. The pimps know that, so they generally will not stalk the girl and force her back into the lifestyle if she does break away.The film has an interesting look, but it would be highly unlikely to occur in real life. The taxi driver, Elton Garrett, is a representation of people of that sort who do, in reality, have a hard time in life. Such people do exist and their existence is, at times, bleak.

Claudio Carvalho In New York, the Irish expensive prostitute Claire Dolan (Katrin Cartlidge) owes a huge amount to her pimp Roland Cain (Colm Meaney). When her mother dies, Claire moves to Newark, and tries to work honestly as a beautician. She meets the taxi driver Elton Garrett (Vincent D'Onofrio) and they have an affair. Elton falls in love for her and later, when he becomes aware of the situation, he tries to help her to pay her enormous debt to get rid off Roland, while Claire wants to have a baby."Claire Dolan" is an excellent independent erotic movie that presents a touching and very real story. The performance of Katrin Cartlidge is stunning, and she deserved a nominations for the Oscar for her acting as Claire Dolan. I could never imagine that Katrin Cartlidge has such a beautiful body. The excellent Vincent D'Onofrio and Colm Meaney have also great performances. The scene where Roland tells Elton that "a whore is always a whore" is very sad and the inconclusive open end is wonderful for such a good story. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Claire Dolan"

rosscinema This is one of those independent films that has an ambiguous ending and I don't mind those types of endings as long as the story leading to it is interesting and rewarding (400 Blows) but this one just doesn't have the coherency. Very cold and dark look at an Irish prostitute who wants to get out of the business and have a child to change her life. The characters in this film are distant, jaded and have a "Business as usual" attitude. The late and great Katrin Cartlidge stars and she once again proves what a tragedy her death is at an early age. She had the potential for real greatness. This film does showcase her natural screen presence and how strong her personality is without saying a word or saying very little. I loved her in Mike Leighs "Career Girls" and thats a must viewing for all! But this film never really develops any real style or rhythm. Rather it shows this woman in an almost docu-drama style and the coldness of the characters is the style. Colm Meaney is her pimp and while at times it looks like he's ready to strike her, he never does. But he does strike her boyfriend Vincent D'Onofrio when he meets him for the first time. After that he speaks his peace and then its "Business as usual", which reminds us of what he really is. A businessman. When the film ends its Cartlidges presence that stays in our minds. The wrong actress would have made this film totally forgettable. Instead, Cartlidge made her character interesting to watch and the shortcomings come from the script. Cartlidge leaves another indelible impression.

pyamada After seeing this film I was immediately struck by its similarities to Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman. Certainly, they are very different films, but there is a significant overlap, not just in subject matter and character--Jeanne and Claire--but also in approach. So much of Claire's life passes in silence or repetition that the parallels to Jeanne are fairly strong. Also, viewing Claire in the context of Jeanne at least suggests that having a child will not at all be the answer and solution that Claire is looking for, as motherhood did not make Jeanne Dielman's life wonderful. This film never looks as stark or as imagistic or as metaphorically thought through as Akerman's film, but as it moves along, and despite prosaic and occasionally clumsy scenes, it does attain a visual presence, and aspires to some imagistic displays. When her pimp asserts ruthlessly deterministic views of Claire, they cast a huge shadow on the events left unresolved, and few viewers can come away from this film with anything approaching an upbeat reading; but as a reminder that humans are fragile, frustrating, frustrated and often just aimlessly pathetic, this can stand alone, a stones throw away from a brilliant experiment like Akerman's Jeanne Dielman.