The tale of two women: Sandra, an ambitious but naive Birmingham working girl who moves to London with the hope of securing wealthier patrons, and Louise, her social worker friend, who is fighting to change the antiquated and hypocritical prostitution laws. As both strive to achieve their goals, a cold dose of reality dashes their hopes, and the built-in biases against women in society are unmasked.
Acting
Forsythe's devastating naivety crumbling scene by scene.
Direction
Garnett's documentary roots bleed through every grimy frame.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes politeness against working-class women.
Director
Tony Garnett
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Tony Garnett was a BBC radical who produced 'Kes'—this was his feature debut after being blacklisted for political activism.
Released during the 1980 Criminal Justice Act debates, the film was ignored by critics who found its working-class women too 'unpalatable' for art-house audiences.
GB
