A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in search of his runaway teenage daughter who’s making hardcore films in the pits of Los Angeles.
Acting
Scott's trembling restraint, Boyle's sleazeball charm
Direction
Schrader's Calvinist guilt smothering every frame
Production
Authentic 70s porn district location shooting
Director
Paul Schrader
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Schrader wrote this fresh off 'Taxi Driver' and cast Scott after the actor's own daughter died, lending the role devastating authenticity.
The film mirrors Schrader's own strict Calvinist upbringing—Jake's journey from Grand Rapids to porn theaters literally traces the director's escape from religious repression.
US
