STELLA DOES TRICKS
UK, 1996, 99 minutes, Colour.
Kelly Macdonald, James Bolam, Hans Matheson, Ewan Stewart, Andy Serkis, Paul Chahidi, Lindsay Henderson.
Directed by Coky Giedroyc.
The background of this film consists of the filmmakers doing interviews with 45 young women from London and Glasgow, hearing their stories about life on the streets, their experience and inexperience, their attitudes and behaviour towards their male clients, the pimps. These are rather squalid stories.
They have been combined to form the screenplay focusing on one such young woman, Stella. She is played by Kelly Macdonald in a very early role, showing great promise for her future career in the UK as well as in the US. There are flashbacks to Stella’s childhood, an abusive father who works as a stand-up comedian, an absent mother, a dominating aunt. How much influence this has on Stella is left to the audience imagination.
We see Stella in action with Mr Peters, James Bolam, who serves as something of a pimp for her while he gets her to masturbate him as they sit in the park and he holds her ice cream. We see Stella with a gallery a rather repulsive elderly men. We also see her with her girlfriends, in similar situations. There is a rowdy group of young men in the city, and drugs.
The other main character is Luke, Hans Matheson, Stella’s friend, the possibility of love, her boarding with him, he having a drug problem, and he also been willing to let Stella prostitute herself.
By the end, Stellla has memories as well as dreams and hallucinations, her father (on whom she gets a rather fiery revenge) and her mother appear, talking to her while she takes tablets.
While Stella does tricks, does she have a future?
Well worth seeing in this connection is the BBC drama, Three Girls, 2017, the story of grooming of teenage girls in Rochdale and in other UK cities.
1. UK slice of life? Glasgow and its environment? London and its settings?
2. Homes, streets, parks, shops and restaurants, flats? Authentic feel? The musical score?
3. The title, the focus? On Stella herself? As a prostitute? As a young woman? Prostitution and clients? The reaction of the prostitutes, attitudes towards the men?
4. The film based on many interviews, the filmmakers, the young women in England and Scotland? Their lives, episodes, memories?
5. Kelly Macdonald as Stella? Her age? Seen with her young friends, friendship, chatter, shared experiences, in the cafes, with the young men, the older men? Stella’s background, as a little girl, her father, the comedian, his behaviour, walking out, her mother, her aunt? Stella and the pressures, abuse, her attitude towards her father, the aunt and the complaints?
6. Mr Peters, sexual gratification, his age, using Stella, the scene in the park, the ice creams, the masturbation? His serving as a pimp? The scenes with the older men, their dealings with Stella, age, sexual gratification? The film’s attitude towards the male clients?
7. Stella, going to see her father, his comic performances? Her later going to his performance, in the dressing room, the sexual handling, setting fire to him?
8. Stella, angry reactions towards the men, injuring them, burning them?
9. Her relationship with the men in the town, in the car, their bravado, jokes, sex, drinking? The drug background?
10. The relationship with Luke, friendship, the sexual relationship? Companionship? Going to his flat, living? Chris, leering at her? Luke and the drugs? Going out with Stella, the train rides, her being on the job? The issue of money? Luke and whether he loved Stella or not? His own self-preoccupation? Stella returning to the flat, the issue of the money, his going to sleep? Luke allowing time for Chris to be with Stella?
11. Stella, her memories, their coming alive, the little girl, her parents?
12. Mr Peters, with the girl in the park, the ice cream? Stella going to the police, his arrest? Later meeting him, his forgiveness?
13. Stella, her imagination, her parents appearing before her, the talking with her, her taking the tablets – her wish for life, her death wish?
