Prostitute

During the sixties and seventies Tony Garnet was responsible for producing some of the most politically charged drama to appear on British Television including Cathy Come Home, The Big Flame, Hard Labour and the four part Days of Hope. He also collaborated with Ken Loach on the feature films Kes (1969), Family Life (1971) and Blackjack (1979). His debut as a director was the docu-drama Prostitute (1980) a feature film that raised social concerns about the harassment of “working girls” by the police and the courts.

The focus of this drama, which he also wrote and produced, is two women, Sandra (Eleanor Forsyth) who plies her trade on the streets of Birmingham but who wants to move to London with the forlorn hope of securing wealthier punters and Louise (Kate Crutchley) her closest friend and a women’s welfare worker who is foremost in a fight to change laws that govern prostitution which she feels are antiquated and hypocritical.

Possibly not the finest dramatized documentary your ever see but one that deals with the bias against these women in an honest and truthful way. Garnet makes his film seem unrehearsed and therefore authentic making full use of the location shooting, voice overs and the obligatory hand held camera work. Another worthwhile addition to the BFI Flipside series of British movies.