Hustlers
From Showgirls (1995) to Magic Mike (2012), films about strippers are not renowned for their quality. Sadly, this aligns with society's general perception of the profession as sleazy, tacky and lacking much skill or depth. The truth is that to be a stripper takes, firstly, physical fitness like you wouldn't believe, and secondly, emotional strength to detach from the judgemental society aforementioned. Hustler's bypasses any preconceptions you may have about being a stripper and cuts to the core of the problem behind stripping and sex work- that the degradation behind it all starts way before the person even begins to take their clothes off.
Based on Jessica Pressler's aritcle The Hustlers at Scores, the film follows Destiny (Constance Wu), a new employee at Moves, a strip club popular with the very worst of Wall Street's bankers and brokers. Feeling lost about how to make the most of these men while their trousers are down, Destiny turns to Ramona (J Lo), who takes her under her wing and shows her how to exploit the clientele at the club. After the financial crash in 2007, men are less willing to flash their cash for the gorgeous girls at Moves, and so Ramona forms a posse of the staff willing to go the extra mile to make a profit. Fishing for new clients turns into borderline extortion, as the group of women take their hustling further than anyone could have imagined.
Scafaria's screenplay is a tragic portrayal of the way in which patriarchy and capitalism permeates the actions of the working class, as they are backed into a corner of crime in order to get by. Stuck between believing that cash is the only symbol of success, and not having the opportunity to gain that cash through any means not controlled by the elite, the film effectively persuades us that these women really do have no other way out. All of the women in the film are as empowering as hell, however, Scafaria intelligently composes a narrative that slowly reveals how the class system in the U.S. ensures that, even while drugging the bankers of Wall St., Destiny and Ramona are still under the thumb of patriarchal oppression. As a result, the film is a heart-breaking imitation of how impossible it is for the working class to break free from patriarchal structures. Nonetheless, this harsh reality is balanced by the ambition and compassion of Ramona and her team of tireless hustlers.
J Lo's performance is outstanding, perfectly depicting the two sides of the battle for autonomy and success which bubbles underneath the narrative. The performance of the relationship between J Lo and Wu is as tense and anxiety inducing, eventually hailing the power of female friendships in the face of inequality and adversity. The film always maintains the social issues at it's core, while never degrading the strength of it's subjects. This is an astonishing feat story telling, making Hustlers one of the most important pieces of feminist cinema from recent times. Frank, entertaining, empowering and thought-provoking, Hustlers is tremendous, and I cannot think of a better film to remind women why all of us our feminists, whether we are taking our clothes off or not.
Photo Credit: Hustlers, Dir.Lorena Scafaria, 2019.
Based on Jessica Pressler's aritcle The Hustlers at Scores, the film follows Destiny (Constance Wu), a new employee at Moves, a strip club popular with the very worst of Wall Street's bankers and brokers. Feeling lost about how to make the most of these men while their trousers are down, Destiny turns to Ramona (J Lo), who takes her under her wing and shows her how to exploit the clientele at the club. After the financial crash in 2007, men are less willing to flash their cash for the gorgeous girls at Moves, and so Ramona forms a posse of the staff willing to go the extra mile to make a profit. Fishing for new clients turns into borderline extortion, as the group of women take their hustling further than anyone could have imagined.
Scafaria's screenplay is a tragic portrayal of the way in which patriarchy and capitalism permeates the actions of the working class, as they are backed into a corner of crime in order to get by. Stuck between believing that cash is the only symbol of success, and not having the opportunity to gain that cash through any means not controlled by the elite, the film effectively persuades us that these women really do have no other way out. All of the women in the film are as empowering as hell, however, Scafaria intelligently composes a narrative that slowly reveals how the class system in the U.S. ensures that, even while drugging the bankers of Wall St., Destiny and Ramona are still under the thumb of patriarchal oppression. As a result, the film is a heart-breaking imitation of how impossible it is for the working class to break free from patriarchal structures. Nonetheless, this harsh reality is balanced by the ambition and compassion of Ramona and her team of tireless hustlers.
J Lo's performance is outstanding, perfectly depicting the two sides of the battle for autonomy and success which bubbles underneath the narrative. The performance of the relationship between J Lo and Wu is as tense and anxiety inducing, eventually hailing the power of female friendships in the face of inequality and adversity. The film always maintains the social issues at it's core, while never degrading the strength of it's subjects. This is an astonishing feat story telling, making Hustlers one of the most important pieces of feminist cinema from recent times. Frank, entertaining, empowering and thought-provoking, Hustlers is tremendous, and I cannot think of a better film to remind women why all of us our feminists, whether we are taking our clothes off or not.
Photo Credit: Hustlers, Dir.Lorena Scafaria, 2019.
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