Mylène Mackay, a Quebecois actress who claims to be personally shy, puts herself out there as Nelly Arcan in the Canadian biopic Nelly. The ex-prostitute turned writer achieved great popularity in Canada and France, and local director Anne Émond got the opportunity to make the long-awaited movie.
Mackay deserves credit for her courage, not only for bearing all in terms of her body, but for her performance and craft in bringing a fictionalized Arcan to life. Nelly is explicit and gritty, and particularly towards the end, begins to drag in its mood. It's not, however, overly melodramatic. It handles its subject from different angles, as numerous different characters, which was perhaps inevitable given the real Arcan's double life and pseudonyms. Parts are erotic, to an extent that wouldn't fly in today's puritanical Hollywood, though it's not pornographic. I can imagine many viewers will be completely shocked and horrified about how "unnecessary" the little bit of nudity is in a film about prostitution. But Mackay (and young Mylia Corbeil-Gavreau) also humanizes the character. The direction and visuals are competently done, and it's nice to know the film was made by a fan in Émond, though one can't help but feel it could have benefited from a touch more of the unorthodox, beyond the nonlinear narrative.
Mackay deserves credit for her courage, not only for bearing all in terms of her body, but for her performance and craft in bringing a fictionalized Arcan to life. Nelly is explicit and gritty, and particularly towards the end, begins to drag in its mood. It's not, however, overly melodramatic. It handles its subject from different angles, as numerous different characters, which was perhaps inevitable given the real Arcan's double life and pseudonyms. Parts are erotic, to an extent that wouldn't fly in today's puritanical Hollywood, though it's not pornographic. I can imagine many viewers will be completely shocked and horrified about how "unnecessary" the little bit of nudity is in a film about prostitution. But Mackay (and young Mylia Corbeil-Gavreau) also humanizes the character. The direction and visuals are competently done, and it's nice to know the film was made by a fan in Émond, though one can't help but feel it could have benefited from a touch more of the unorthodox, beyond the nonlinear narrative.