I am speechless. My expectations were extremely high, but what I watched here was incredible. Pleasure is an artwork. A highly complex, reflected and mature artwork. Let's not
talk about the moral side of the story – if it wants to portray the dangers of the industry, if it wants to show the beautiful sides of it (yes, the beautiful – i didn't know myself before this
film that it could also be fun for some of the people involved), if we should identify with the protagonist or not. Let's not talk about consent on set, about if the porn industry should be
regulated or not, etc etc etc.
Let's talk about how perfect this film is, how astonishing the mise-en-scène is. First of all, this film is a film about porn, 80% of it is about the protagonist making porn, and it obviously
shows how those porn clips are made. Nonetheless, not one single scene of the film is porn. I was actually a bit anxious seeing this in a full cinema with other people, as I knew this would show
some scenes which come very close to a a porn clip. You can imagine why I was anxious, haha. But I was surprised that all explicit scenes are filmed in a way that it simply can't turn you on at
all. It's small details, like showing the foot, hearing the director shout 'cut', showing the sky, etc.
It's also often replacing the male gaze by a female gaze – not always, but it's often switching, perhaps to remind us that we're not watching porn.
Sofia Kappel is absolutely incredible in this film. If this is not the best female performance of the year, I don't know. She acts almost every single emotion which was already seen on this
planet – from shy and insecure, from devastated, to angry, mean, sexy or just nice and loyal. Director Ninja Thyberg delivers a character study which is so personal, which gives us such a nuanced
look into the character's soul that you constantly forget that you're watching a film.
The greatest accomplishment of Pleasure is though not to show only one side. It doesn't portray the porn business as only a horrible thing – it shows that behind the scenes,
there are also girls who love what they do. That some simply enjoy being looked at, being famous. That sex work is also work.
Thankfully [it] delineates between the legitimate work of adult film performers and the toxicity, misogyny and abuse the male-dominated industry allows to fester and lacerate. - Adrian Horton, The Guardian
Thyberg isn't afraid of showing Sofia Kappel's incredible sex appeal – in scenes that you wouldn't expect at first. Like the first one, in the airport, when she thinks for a second and
answers 'Pleasure'. On the other hand, she isn't afraid of showing her in a completely non-sexual way in situations which we would normally associate with sexual attractiveness. Like when she
prepares for a porn scene, but just stands around a bit lost, not knowing what to do with herself.
This film never judges its protagonist, and lets you think for yourself. Pleasure is definitely not what many critics will now say it is according to them. This is not an
anti-porn documentary. This is so much more. This is an artwork I could keep writing about for hours. This is a reflected, multi-layered, complex character and industry study, a film which will
make me think for a long time.
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