Aside from the fact that this documentary displays little technical skill, it also seems to possess no real artistic or narrative INTENT. This is supposed to be Grace Quek's chance to tell the REAL story of her alter-ego, porn starlet Annabel Chong. Naturally you expect some in-depth analysis of Quek's unconventional trajectory, with adequate psychological insight and complex discussion. However, you get none.
This is an exploitative and disjointed sleazefest - but Quek herself is largely part of the problem. Instead of making sense of her dubious and scandalous career choices, she flounders, displaying faux-confidence and nonchalance at times, emotional instability and fragility at others. Quek is one of those privileged and intelligent people who orchestrate their lives in order to precisely undermine their privilege and intelligence. It is this unrepressed, egocentric, ungrateful display of self-indulgence that makes such people unable to garner sympathy or respect from anybody. Such happens here, and it is rather pointless to have the subject of a documentary be so contemptible.
Quek grew up as the only child of well-meaning, middle-class parents in one of the world's wealthiest nations, where she attended some of the top schools before being granted the means to attend university in the UK. Yet amidst this oasis of privilege and opportunity, she was oh so overwhelmed by her existential lack of purpose and identity that she headed for L.A., where she nosedived into the underworld of drugs and pornography.
Meanwhile, she rationalizes her choices by claiming there is some sort of higher philosophical quest embedded in what is otherwise blatantly self-destructive behavior. Although it is clear Quek has unresolved issues, and most probably longstanding clinical depression, there is a catch: she is, and always has been, in a position to DEAL and SEEK HELP. That she CHOOSES to destruct beyond repair and delude herself about her motives is the real travesty here, and not all the nonsense some people keep pointing out about the porn industry being sleazy and exploitative and devoid of morals.
Most women who get into porn come from working-class, if not downright desolate backgrounds. Their childhoods and adolescenes are best quantified by LACK rather than excess. Many have a history of child abuse, sexual abuse, violence, and early drug and alcohol addiction. That Quek would choose such an exploitative industry as the medium to carry out some of sort of "intellectual exercise" to, in her words, "subvert Western ideals of masculinity" only exposes the fact that her choice had NO SUCH INTENT. Partaking in the infamous "gangbang" was merely indulgence in a high form of self-destruction - hey, with an audience to boot (Quek seems is undeniably a narcissistic sort of masochist). The fact that she doesn't care about never having been paid a cent also compounds this. Name a single porn actress who would work for free!
The sad this is, her intent in making this documentary is one and the same as her intent in doing porn: more self-indulgence, more self-absorption and more self-destruction. I am only sorry that she consented to getting her parents involved in it - watching the scenes of her mom is heart-breaking. Many kids fail their parents, but for a kid to be so ungrateful as to FLAUNT their failure, is just unnecessary.
This is an exploitative and disjointed sleazefest - but Quek herself is largely part of the problem. Instead of making sense of her dubious and scandalous career choices, she flounders, displaying faux-confidence and nonchalance at times, emotional instability and fragility at others. Quek is one of those privileged and intelligent people who orchestrate their lives in order to precisely undermine their privilege and intelligence. It is this unrepressed, egocentric, ungrateful display of self-indulgence that makes such people unable to garner sympathy or respect from anybody. Such happens here, and it is rather pointless to have the subject of a documentary be so contemptible.
Quek grew up as the only child of well-meaning, middle-class parents in one of the world's wealthiest nations, where she attended some of the top schools before being granted the means to attend university in the UK. Yet amidst this oasis of privilege and opportunity, she was oh so overwhelmed by her existential lack of purpose and identity that she headed for L.A., where she nosedived into the underworld of drugs and pornography.
Meanwhile, she rationalizes her choices by claiming there is some sort of higher philosophical quest embedded in what is otherwise blatantly self-destructive behavior. Although it is clear Quek has unresolved issues, and most probably longstanding clinical depression, there is a catch: she is, and always has been, in a position to DEAL and SEEK HELP. That she CHOOSES to destruct beyond repair and delude herself about her motives is the real travesty here, and not all the nonsense some people keep pointing out about the porn industry being sleazy and exploitative and devoid of morals.
Most women who get into porn come from working-class, if not downright desolate backgrounds. Their childhoods and adolescenes are best quantified by LACK rather than excess. Many have a history of child abuse, sexual abuse, violence, and early drug and alcohol addiction. That Quek would choose such an exploitative industry as the medium to carry out some of sort of "intellectual exercise" to, in her words, "subvert Western ideals of masculinity" only exposes the fact that her choice had NO SUCH INTENT. Partaking in the infamous "gangbang" was merely indulgence in a high form of self-destruction - hey, with an audience to boot (Quek seems is undeniably a narcissistic sort of masochist). The fact that she doesn't care about never having been paid a cent also compounds this. Name a single porn actress who would work for free!
The sad this is, her intent in making this documentary is one and the same as her intent in doing porn: more self-indulgence, more self-absorption and more self-destruction. I am only sorry that she consented to getting her parents involved in it - watching the scenes of her mom is heart-breaking. Many kids fail their parents, but for a kid to be so ungrateful as to FLAUNT their failure, is just unnecessary.