X MARKS THE LEGEND.
After depicting Allen Ginsberg in Howl (2010), documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman took on another real-life person in fictionalized form, porn star Linda Lovelace, and tell the story of how she broke away from her conservative parents, found a career after making the most famous porn flick in history, but also fell victim to her sadistic, controlling husband. Never turns into a truly compelling drama, but interestingly made as it first shows what events must have looked like on the surface to outsiders and then rewinds to reveal the actual horrors. The leads are both excellent.
2013-U.S. 92 min. Color. Directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman. Cast: Amanda Seyfried (Lida Lovelace), Peter Sarsgaard (Chuck Traynor), Sharon Stone (Dorothy Boreman), Robert Patrick, Juno Temple, Chris Noth… Bobby Cannavale, Hank Azaria, Chloë Sevigny, James Franco, Eric Roberts.
Trivia: Co-executive produced by Seyfried and Sarsgaard. Olivia Wilde and Kate Hudson were allegedly considered for the lead.