STARS (2022)

 

Something brand new for a change, couldn't be newer than this since the film was released yesterday. The minute I've heard about this movie the first time I put it in my schedule since I believed that it had the potential to be one of the best movie of the year. It's the story of Jane Wilde before she became Jane Wilde and what lead to it, but more important she co-wrote and co-directed this movie with Bree Mills. So let's find out if the movie is as good as it sounds on paper.

Jane Wilde

The movie start just after the first professional scene of Julia (Jane Wilde) but we don't it yet, but this isn't important since quickly we go back in time fifteen months earlier. Julia who just hit eighteen years old not long ago is stuck in a boring 9 to 5 job. One day she sees a publicity online for a 1,000$ a week job and she decides to call the number to ask for more information. After talking for a bit Kevin (Seth Gamble), the man offering the job wants to meet her. They meet at his house, she gets the job and he will help her... but first thing first he wants to test the merchandise (big red flag if you ask me)

Seth Gamble

Later Julia is at her home ready to do her first cam show and one of friend, at least I think he is just a good friend, knock at her bedroom window to see her. She tells him that she got a good paying job and what it is. He doesn't see anything wrong with this life choice, they start being more romantic and one thing leading to another they start making love until they heard sounds from the computer... the show is life but he doesn't care and they continue what they started. If he doesn't Kevin sure does and he calls Julia quite angry later.

Oliver Flynn

That second red flag is quickly forbidden since Kevin gives her a top of the line camera for her live show. For a while she continues to perform, at one point one of her auditor invite her to Los Angeles with one of friend and he will pay for everything. She decides to go for a weekend to change her mind and before leaving she is told by two women (Aiden Ashley and Ryan Reed) that she doesn't need a middle man to cam.

Cam Damage and Aiden Ashley

It doesn't take long after Julia is back home for the major trouble to begins... Kevin is nowhere to be found and, to make thing worse, she can't access her money since he is the one who pay her. Her situation is so bad that she doesn't have any other choices than telling everything to her father (Dale Savage) who advice her to contact the cam website to explain everything to them. They fix the situation and lock Kevin from the account (in fact if I remember the interview Jane did with Holly Randall that scumbag was cut completely from the website in real life since he did this to many other young girls).

Dale Savage

Obviously Kevin takes the situation very badly and immediately starts threatening her, so much so that Julia decides to go at Los Angeles to start the career that she is now. Before leaving she tells an agent that she needs two weeks to take care of a couple of things... I sure hope that it was reporting that scumbag to the authority or to send someone to break his legs.

Bree Mills and Robby Echo

The film was everything I hoped it would be... I knew already what happened to Jane before but knowing and watching it on the screen is different. She wrote a script for something very personal and very sad without making it a sob sorry as we see so often in the mainstream media... yes this year of abuse by a pimp (I mean this is what he was) was sad but it ends well for her. The acting is solid, Jane is great, which is important since she plays more than the main character she is Julia, Seth Gamble performance is so good that he should win the best actor award for his role in January, Dale Savage was also good as Julia's father in a non sexual part and Tommy Pistol's character took me by surprise since I expected that something bad would happen during that trip to Los Angeles. Sexually talking I have really appreciated the scene between Jane and Oliver Flynn and the final one between her and Robby Echo where she acts so naive about the industry (also Julia looked so happy to be free). 

Tommy Pistol

I don't think it will be a big surprise if I tell you that I highly recommend this film who will certainly be nominated for the film of the year award (at this time I hesitate between this movie and Dark is the Night for my film of the year choice). I certainly hope that it is just the beginning for Jane career as a writer and that she will direct more film by herself.

For now the movie is exclusive on the Adult Time streaming service but it will certainly get a quick VOD release and when it will be, if you like good cinema like I do, it will be a must buy.