Whore is a American satirical drama film [ 6 ] directed by Ken Russell and starring Theresa Russell. It follows the life of a jaded street prostitute in Los Angeles. The film is partly presented in a pseudo-documentary format, [ 7 ] with the lead character often breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience with monologues consisting of her observations and reflections on her career as a prostitute.
While the source play, Bondage , was set in London, Ken Russell was unable to find funding for the film in Britain due to its frank language and sexual content, leading him to instead make the film in the United States and change its setting to Los Angeles. The film was shot in a fortnight in downtown Los Angeles in September The film was given an NC rating in the United States, and was banned in Ireland due to its depiction of sexuality and violence.
The film generated the unrelated sequel Whore II in Liz is a Los Angeles street prostitute who is first seen attempting to get a customer on a busy downtown street near a tunnel. She addresses the audience directly on her life and problems throughout the film.
One man stops and demands anal sex, and she crassly declines him. When a van stops by, she also brushes the driver off, recalling the last time she serviced a man in a van: It turned out there were several other men inside who gang-raped her, beat her, and left her for dead. An elderly man passing by gave her his handkerchief and offered to take her to a hospital.
She refused, instead asking the aldermancy man for money. Later, Liz sends him the money back with a thank-you note and a new handkerchief. Weary of her life as a prostitute, Liz is also attempting to escape her pimp , Blake, a well-dressed, businesslike and extremely controlling man. As Liz stops at a strip club for a drink, she explains how she ended up as she did: She was a small-town girl who married a violent drunk named Bill.
