Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Brooke Shields | ... | Violet | |
Keith Carradine | ... | Bellocq | |
Susan Sarandon | ... | Hattie | |
Frances Faye | ... | Nell | |
Antonio Fargas | ... | Professor | |
![]() |
Matthew Anton | ... | Red Top |
Diana Scarwid | ... | Frieda | |
Barbara Steele | ... | Josephine | |
![]() |
Seret Scott | ... | Flora |
![]() |
Cheryl Markowitz | ... | Gussie |
![]() |
Susan Manskey | ... | Fanny |
![]() |
Laura Zimmerman | ... | Agnes |
![]() |
Miz Mary | ... | Odette |
Gerrit Graham | ... | Highpockets | |
![]() |
Mae Mercer | ... | Mama Mosebery |
In 1917, in the red light district Storyville, New Orleans, the prostitute Hattie lives with her twelve year-old daughter Violet in the fancy brothel of Madame Nell, where she works. Photographer Ernest J. Bellocq has an attraction to Hallie and Violet and he is an habitué of the whorehouse. One day, Madame Nell auctions Violet's virginity and the winner pays the fortune of US$ 400 to spend the night with the girl. Then Hattie marries a wealthy client and moves to Saint Louis, leaving Violet in the brothel alone. Violet decides to marry Bellocq and she moves to his house. Until the day that Hattie, who has overcome her past, comes to Bellocq's house with the intention to take Violet with her. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Louis Malle did an amazing job of portraying the Storyville life (red light district), and the lives of the women caught up in it. He gets the finest work out of his cast, and demonstrates what it makes him a master filmmaker: not someone who just makes movies to impress other directors, but someone who touches an audience.
He begins and ends the film with the camera slowly closing in on the wide eyes of its child-lead, making you wonder how her life will proceed, having seen what she's seen. It makes you wonder whether marriage, in those times, was any different for a woman than prostitution. Mostly, you have to wonder how Violet could adapt to normal life, with the strange perspective she's had on it so far.
The petulance and "spoiled"ness described in the review below, are merely her childishness, to illustrate that she is an ordinary child in bizarre circumstances. For those not carried away by Shields' appearance, this made the film very poignant -- this child doesn't even know that there is any other way to live.
And the viewer can put away concerns for Shields herself: the nude scenes were done by a body-double, despite what is listed in the "trivia" section of this listing. (I know someone who later worked with the body double.)