Forumrxes
Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.
Adeel Hail
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Scott LeBrun
George C. Scott is effective in this sordid tale, playing Jake VanDorn, a conservative and religious business owner in the Midwest. His daughter Kristen (Ilah Davis) goes on a "Calvinist Convention" to various other points in the U.S., including Bellflower, California. Soon he's heard that she's gone missing, and disgusted with the apparent uselessness of California police, he first hires a private detective, Andy Mast (Peter Boyle). It isn't that long before Mast unearths a bargain basement pornographic film that stars Kristen. Heartsick and enraged, Jake decides to do his own sleuthing, navigating the seedy California underworld, and eventually hooking up with a part time hooker / part time adult film actress, Niki (Season Hubley), whom he hires to assist in the search.Writer / director Paul Schrader, unlike his uptight main character, isn't afraid to explore the whole idea of sex, and the attitude that less judgmental people have towards it. The way that he immerses his hero in the non stop array of seedy environments is never less than fascinating. Some viewers can easily find it sad, and yes, off putting as well, but his material is grimly compelling nevertheless. It's all brilliantly captured on film by a talented team including production designer Paul Sylbert and cinematographer Michael Chapman. The story does have a message in it about learning to be more open minded and not so critical towards others, something that Jake has realized by the end. This is driven home by the whole relationship between Jake and Niki, which is nicely developed by Schrader, Scott, and Hubley. While the tone is mostly fairly serious, there is some humor to be found as Jake sees that his confrontational approach in pornographic places of business doesn't work, and tries ruses like masquerading as an adult filmmaker.The cast is superb. Scott anchors the tale with his sober performance, Hubley is just wonderful, and Boyle is fun to watch (in an interesting twist, Mast is actually rather sleazy himself). Dick Sargent lends a warm presence as Jakes' brother-in-law, who's concerned for his safety. There's a parade of familiar faces for viewers to enjoy: Gary Graham, Marc Alaimo, Hal Williams, Roy London, Bibi Besch, Tracey Walter, Reb Brown, and Ed Begley Jr. It's a truly gut wrenching moment when Jake recognizes his daughter in the $200 stag film, and Scott just acts the hell out of it.Some people take issue with the resolution (and, admittedly, the character who's more or less established as the villain of the piece is barely in the film), but at least Schrader refrains from making it conventionally Hollywood-happy. There's some hope for the future, but also a nagging doubt. The actors play it well.Overall, a good, solid drama.Eight out of 10.
PimpinAinttEasy
In Taxi Driver, we never get to know what Iris thinks about Travis "saving" her. We get to hear from her parents who thanks Travis in a letter. But maybe Iris was happy with the pimps and the junkies. She was probably not fit for Middle-America. Anyway, we are never really told what Iris thinks about the whole shootout. We assume (with good enough reason) that Travis saved her and she is in safe hands. Hardcore is a film about the sort of background and patriarchy that might have created a runaway teenage prostitute like Iris.Jake Vandrom (played by George.C.Scott) could well be Iris' father. Jake is a straight laced furniture salesman who follows Calvinism. The adherents to Calvinism believe that god has already decided whether you're going to be saved or not. Nothing you do in this life can save you unless god deems it because the decision has already been made.Jake's daughter disappears while attending a Christian summer camp. After he seeks the help of a private investigator (Peter Boyle), it is revealed that his daughter acted in a porn film and might be hanging out with all sorts of seedy folk. The rest of the movie is about Jake's search for his daughter. So an extremely conservative man from conservative America penetrates the Californian porn underworld to find his daughter.Paul Schrader does portray Jake as the only decent man among a variety of pimps and prostitutes. But there is a scene where JAKE has a conversation about Calvinism with a prostitute who agrees to help him find his daughter. It gives clues to Jake's strict attitude towards life and why his daughter might have run away from home.And in the end, when Jake finally finds his daughter, we get to hear her side of the story. She left him because she was fed up of life with him. And while she says she is loved among the pimps and prostitutes, she does agree to go back with Jake.The ending was quite stupid. I read in the trivia section that Schrader had to change the original ending. I guess the film suffers from the lack of a firm directorial hand and vision. It is sort of a thriller and a mystery. Schrader does try to exhibit some directorial flourishes in the final action scenes. But i don't think he is a very good director. The film is flat. It does not have the stamp of the director. It could have been directed by Ron Howard for all I know.There are a few gripping scenes here and there. There is a scene where Jake is in bed at his hotel after getting thrown out of a brothel. A group is singing a Christian song on TV and then the camera pans on to the window showing the concrete jungle that is California (the music changes from the soppy tune on the TV to a disturbing background score) and the camera finally rests on Jake thinking about what he ought to do next. In the next scene, he sheds his conservative demeanor, having decided to make some adjustments to fit into this brutal and alien world.George.C.Scott has an imposing screen presence. I liked the way he uses his eyes. Peter Boyle's role was so ill conceived. I hated the way he changes his mind and becomes goody two shoes in the end. Season Hubley was adorable as the prostitute who helps JAKE.
punishmentpark
Paul Schrader tells it like it is, by means of a simple, but highly effective story (with wonderful dialogues) and capturing perfect atmospheres of both Midwestern America and the seedy underbelly of society that is a (at that time) new and rising porn industry from Los Angeles to San Diego to San Francisco, and even back to Grand Rapids. But the trump card in his deck is really George C. Scott, playing a truly excellent role as a religious, estranged and angry father trying to find his missing daughter.The usual complaint here is that 'Hardcore' has too many elements of an exploitation film to be taken seriously, but I find that certifiable hogwash; you can't tell a story like this and simply leave out those sleazy details, not if you want to paint an honest picture.Then I just read about the other ending, which probably would have been somewhat more poetic, but the way Scott and Ilah Davis play out the finale scene saves the film from a misfitting sentimental overtone.And finally, one could try to compare this to 'Taxi Driver' and Schrader to Scorsese. I prefer the sober direction of Schrader (and let's not forget the formidable, haunting soundtrack!), the more straightforward story that he tells ánd even the performance of Scott to De Niro. Call me a sinner, why don't you.10 out of 10.
Murder Slim
'Hardcore' (aka 'The Hardcore Life') proves that not every movie about sex has to be tawdry. It's been a weird divergence recently that sex in stuff like 'Sex and the City' is empowering, while sex everywhere else is demeaning. It doesn't have to be like that. Whatever angle you'll approach it from, 'Hardcore' will prove a thoughtful and deadly serious take on pornography.George C. Scott plays Vandorn, a successful Midwestern businessman and strict Dutch Reformationist. On a church outing, his daughter does missing. He hires a private detective, Mast (Peter Boyle, excellent as always), to find her. Soon, Mast calls him to a local porno theatre and Vandorn has to watch his daughter in a porno movie. After another couple of months, Vandorn can't take it anymore. He goes out to find his daughter himself... forcing himself to confront everything that disgusts him.George C. Scott paints a really interesting character. He starts off repulsed by investigating the porno world, and gets thrown out of a brothel for his trouble. But he ends up going undercover and reining in his religion because, as he says to Niki, the only thing that truly matters in his life is his daughter.Ah, his daughter, Kirsten. I want to get that one bad thing out of the way, because everything else in 'Hardcore' is spot-on. Sadly, the gal playing Kirsten can't act at all. From pronouncing "g***amned" with no venom, to horribly overacting other stuff. But it really is the only tiny bum note in a superb movie.Paul Schrader is on the top of his game as director. It's a very tight movie with no overlong or wasted scenes. There are also some nice visual touches. The shots of Vandorn distorted in mirrors to show his confusion; and one where Vandorn parks on a downward slope before he goes into a bondage place, to indicate him sinking into hell.Gary Graham from 'Alien Nation' turns up as a sleaze who gets into a fight with George C. Scott. They throw each other through the paper-thin walls of the bondage place. For all the sleaziness of the environment, it's an artificially tough world... and one where Scott feels he can triumph.Well shot and thought provoking, 'Hardcore' really is a superb film.
