Starring: Sebastian Perez, Seth Hafley, Celine Jackson
Director: Le Han
Country: USA
UK Distributor: Amazon
Remember Tangerine? The low-budget movie about a sex worker in LA, all shot on an iPhone? Well here comes John, another low-budget movie about a sex worker in LA, all shot on an iPhone. Except this one isn’t slightly funny and is only half as good.
John (Perez) is an 18 year-old sex worker new to the scene in Los Angeles. Taken under the wing of Peaches (Jackson) he is shown the ropes and given hints and tips about how to survive the harsh underbelly of the city. Meanwhile his friendship with another hustler (Hafley) is much less positive, exposing him to the darker side of their profession.
While the above may sound like there’s a coherent narrative running through this movie, it’s actually the opposite. This is a much more episodic piece, choosing to peel the onion of sex work by showing interviews and observational scenes of a whole host of its participants. So for a film entitled John, it’s not really all that much about him.
Scenes with clients are trying to give some social commentary, as well as fabricating some moments of poignancy. But all in all, this drama takes itself far too seriously, with dialogue feeling pretty forced and acting that feels like... well, acting. It may have been made on a shoe-string budget, but – unlike Tangerine – you can really tell.
UK Release: Out now to watch on VOD on Prime