I did not get
this movie. I understood the premise as described by the back cover and the
implications made by the title, but in the larger scheme of the film’s
narrative it seems entirely insignificant. We are led to believe that a
suburban wife and mother’s accidental concussion ends in a new career as a
high-end prostitute, but there are never any attempts to make a connection
between the two events. It would almost seem entirely unrelated if it weren’t
for that title and plot description.
Robin Wiegert
(HBO’s “Deadwood”) stars as Abby, a lesbian housewife and mother of two. The
film begins with the concussion, allowing the audience no comparison to Abby’s
behavior before the hit on her head. Shortly after we see that her relationship
with her overachieving partner, Kate (Julie Fain Lawrence), though it is never
clear that these problems didn’t exist before Abby is hit on the head. It is
also unclear how much of Abby’s increased sexual appetite is a result of the
concussion and how much of it is merely her frustration with her marriage.
Intention and motivation are far from understandable in this screenplay, which
allows us to see Abby’s action but never to understand her motivation.
The option to
resort to prostitution is often seen to be a monetary choice, but Abby has no
need for money with a workaholic wife, leaving pleasure as the only excuse for
her abhorrent adulterous actions. There is no room for sympathy, because
filmmaker Stacie Passon doesn’t develop her story beyond surface-level LGBT
fantasy. Concussion can’t even work
as a character study, because we are never allowed enough insight into Abby to
feel we understand the motivation behind her actions.
The DVD is void
of extras.
Entertainment Value:
5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Disc Features: 0/10
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