A 25 year old mother travels from her UK home of Canvey Island to get into porn in America having done some UK videos with Ben Dover and others. She meets her agent Richard (aka Dick Nasty) and starts to meet the movers and shakers doing some films with fellow Brit Laya Jade. However the documentary follows her journey further into the business and watches as she is forced continually to exceed the limits she had set herself.
When Stephen Walker set out to do a documentary on porn he knew he wanted to avoid the tacky worthless stuff that gets made for cable etc ie they use plenty of porn clips to get the audience but have no substance to speak of. Originally he was commissioned to make a documentary about a male porn star but when he heard about Felicty (Leeanne's stage name) he decided to follow her on her first trip to the US, keen to see how motherhood fitted with porn. He has said himself that the final film isn't the one he set out to make he had no hidden agenda or particular dislike of porn.
The true nature of the business for many girls comes out quickly. Richard continually starts to talk about what Lee-anne COULD be doing and what she COULD get paid, despite the fact that she had already laid down what she was prepared to do and how far she was prepared to go. However he continues taking her onto the set of a gang-bang with one girl and a very large group of men to show her the potential. Even she is disgusted by what she sees and continues to refuse. She does several scenes some with girls and some hardcore movies but the tension continues because she still draws a line.
The film gets most disturbing when Richard takes her to Max Hardcore to meet him and talk about work. Max meets her to interview her a process that involves him simply putting baby oil on her hands to help her help him get wood and then taking her standing doggy without even looking her in the face once. Lee-anne clearly doesn't feel comfortable but is all alone and just laughs unconvincingly during it. She is talking into doing a shot that day, but she soon runs out of the studio crying Max had forced his penis so deep into her mouth that she had been unable to breathe. Max first tries to calm her and then gets abusive attacking her as a failure, letting the whole crew down over something so minor Lee-anne is so distraught that she eventually begins to crack and agree to carry on. At this point the crew (who have watched her shoot hardcore before) feel that what they're about to shoot is tantamount to rape and they escort Lee-anne from the house and take her back to the hotel.
This scene in particular and the whole film is very bleak. Yes some girls may do well in porn and have the star power to have great success, but there are lots of girls who come and go, who make scenes here and there. For them the potential for abuse or misuse is greater. Richard treats Lee-anne like a pimp treats a whore he occasionally seems to have her interests at heart but really it's not about what she wants. One director refuses to have his face shown on screen but talks openly when asked why he doesn't want people to know what he does he replies `because (this business) is f***ing shameful!'
The film interviews Lee-anne in her UK home and we find a woman with a childhood hurt by her father amongst others. It is disturbing to see her pushed to the limits. True she makes hardcore movies and does anal, oral etc but that still doesn't mean she shouldn't have limits based on pain or standards.
Overall all porn lovers should watch this. I'm not a porn fan but I do tend to ignorantly think that it's a business like any other and that the women aren't open to abuse (after all they all get paid more than the men). This film opened my eyes and at times was very hard to watch. Where some porn documentaries will use clips and sounds to get viewers by offering cheap arousal dressed as a documentary, Hardcore will turn your stomach and leave you limp with disgust. It's a rare thing for porn actresses to let down their barriers to the extent that the hurt and fear shines through so clearly.
