‘Pleasure’ (2022) Review: An Examination of the Nature of Consent and Abuse of Power in the Adult Film Industry
Ninja Thyberg’s debut feature Pleasure doesn’t shy away from the story, which follows the life of Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel), who moves to Los Angeles to become a successful adult film star. In addition to glossing over the nature of consent, the movie examines the professional environment for women and men. It’s a graphic and emotionally gruelling movie that looks at the explicit world of the industry, and what lengths Bella must go to make it to the top, even if she has to sacrifice her friendships.
Bella travels from Sweden to Los Angeles to make it big in the adult entertainment industry. “Business or pleasure,” the customs agent asks her before she heads over to the set. Bella gets straight to business, as she balances on the bathtub and shaves her vulva, confirms her birthdate on a video, agrees to get paid after the video shoot is done, and consents to perfect sexually explicit acts on contract. As the crew welcomes her into a professional set with bright lights, Bella’s nerves kick in. They reassure her that she is completely safe on set and she goes on to film the scene without any hiccups.
Meanwhile, at her first photoshoot, Bella meets one of the new “Spiegler girls” Ava (Evelyn Claire), who is part of a group of adult entertainers that has no limits to their performance. When Ava tries to snap a picture of Bella’s awkward poses, her roommate Joy (Revika Anne Reustle) snaps the phone out of her hand and then coaches Bella on her poses. But Bella knows that she has to put herself out there on social media and network, so when she gets the opportunity to attend a party, she takes the matter into her own hands and secures a gig. From this point on, Bella learns about the different workplace environments — the good and the bad — and she fights for her safety and steps out of her comfort zone, regardless of whether it means losing the people she cares about the most in her life.
Pleasure looks at the contrast between an all-female and all-male workplace. After Bella is hired to do a scene with a kink-based company, the entire crew is made up of an all-female crew. They provide her with instructions, safe words, and make sure that she drinks water, and constantly check if she is tended properly. They tie her entire body and lift her, and in between the scenes, they make sure she feels perfectly safe. In contrast to another scene, Bella is hired to perform with two male adult stars with a male director in charge of the shoot. She is overwhelmed by the aggressive choreography, which wasn’t rehearsed before, and when she asks for them to stop, the crew continues to violently perform the act on her. Overwhelmed and in distress, the director berates Bella for stopping the shoot and pressures her into continuing the violent scene. He reminds her that she has already signed the contract agreeing to the terms of the scene, which is that she is open to having no limits in her performance to make it to the big leagues but Bella doesn’t feel safe around an all-male crew. Despite her disagreements, Bella continues the shoot but feels like she has been violated on set.
Thyberg and Peter Modestij’s script examines the nature of coercion, consent and the abuse of power within the adult film entertainment industry. The director attempts to show a positive way that women can have agency and power in sex work. Yet, there are some powers at hand that exploit the opportunity to make sex work and the adult film industry unsafe for a lot of women. The patriarchal aspect of the adult film industry is Thyberg’s bold and fearless message to show what happens to women.
Pleasure is difficult to watch because of the extremely explicit scenes that show how women are dehumanised on adult film sets. The boundaries of consent and trauma response are demonstrated within the movie, and how Bella reacts to them. The film shows the emotional toll it has on a woman in the adult film industry, and the path to success and fame is never an easy one. Kappel, who takes on a very complex role, displays many layers of emotion and the audience never knows what she is about to do next. Additionally, Thyberg is a fearless director for not shying away from the story and her boldness to show the harrowing experience in the adult film industry.
Edited by: Raayaa Imthiyaz
