There certainly was a shock factor back in 1979, the shock of seeing the seedy underworld of sex workers and imagine teenagers getting lost in it.
Paul Schrader looks like he is not working hard when he just contrasts deep clean puritan America with Sodom and Gonorrhoea. Actually he realizes at the same time as his main character that he is going nowhere and for a moment it seems like we could ride on light humour about the vacuity of the porn industry and then the laborious search continues, till the end, not without strapping our heads real deep into darkness.
In the end there is nothing much you feel you've learnt, neither do the various characters. Nikki should have been the main character, directly challenging and unsettling the 'pilgrim' father. Unfortunately not much care has been taken into writing this part. A lost opportunity, especially given the fact that Marilyn Chambers auditioned for the role!
Paul Schrader looks like he is not working hard when he just contrasts deep clean puritan America with Sodom and Gonorrhoea. Actually he realizes at the same time as his main character that he is going nowhere and for a moment it seems like we could ride on light humour about the vacuity of the porn industry and then the laborious search continues, till the end, not without strapping our heads real deep into darkness.
In the end there is nothing much you feel you've learnt, neither do the various characters. Nikki should have been the main character, directly challenging and unsettling the 'pilgrim' father. Unfortunately not much care has been taken into writing this part. A lost opportunity, especially given the fact that Marilyn Chambers auditioned for the role!