Plot

Bella Cherry arrives in Los Angeles with dreams of becoming an adult film star, but she soon learns that fame won't come easy as she harnesses her ambition and cunning to rise to the top of this mesmerizing and singular world.

Ninja Thyberg's debut feature PLEASURE is a journey into the American porn industry and follows 19-year-old Bella from Sweden, who arrives in Los Angeles with the dream of becoming the next big porn star. The film is raw but offers both a human and humorous portrayal of a male-dominated world seen from a female perspective.—European Film Awards

Armed with a clear vision and a brazen plan to take the adult film industry by storm, determined and self-confident 19-year-old Linnéa leaves behind her small Swedish town for a career in Los Angeles. However, in a world where friendships are rare and pleasure is ephemeral, Linnéa is about to witness first-hand the high cost of fame and success. How low is Linnéa willing to go?—Nick Riganas

19-year-old Linnéa (Sofia Kappel), working under the stage name "Bella Cherry", is a naive, confident girl from a small town in Sweden who emigrates to Los Angeles to become the next big porn star. Under the guidance of her manager Mike (Jason Toler), she begins to navigate the challenging world of the porn industry and is determined to land more significant roles and video views by pushing herself to ignore personal boundaries and limits. She gets paid USD 900 per shoot.

Before every shoot, the explicit verbal and written consent of the actors and actresses is taken, and the is also recorded on video as proof. Every shoot has a director, who explains the scene and tells the actors how to act at various stages of the video. As a prerequisite, she is required to wash her vagina with a hand Sanitizer before the shoot. Bella gets stage fright before the first shoot, but the director makes her feel comfortable and the shoot proceeds. As soon as the camera turns on, Bella is at her seductive best.

Bella tells Mike that she is in the industry as she likes to have sex. Mike tells Bella to stay away from the other girls as in this business girls are always stealing gigs from each other. Initially, Bella wants more regular "sex" stuff and shies away from anal work. Mike takes Bella around town to meet a bunch of producers to audition for upcoming work.

Bella shares a house with a group of other young actresses (Including Ashley (Dana DeArmond)) attempting to become famous, and though she is standoffish and private at first, she eventually bonds with one of her housemates, Joy (Revika Anne Reustle), who supports her. At a party, the girls spot Mark Spiegler, one of the most successful and demanding managers in the porn industry; he is joined by Ava (Evelyn Claire), one of the biggest names in the local porn scene. Ava is new to LA and has been in town for 2 weeks.

Joy stops Ava from taking Bella's pictures at one of Mark's photo-shoots and teaches her how to model. Joy also records some home videos of Bella and posts them on social media to develop her brand. Joy tells Bella that Mark represents the best agency in town, and gives work every day, but accepts no limits on what the girls are willing to do.

Bella attempts to start a conversation with Ava, who ignores her. Joy tries to flirt with a famous male actor, Caesar (Lance Hart), but when he cruelly rejects her, she retaliates by pushing him into the pool. Bella calls Mark and asks him to sign her up. But Mark tells her that she has a really small social media profile, and Bella is just getting started. He tells her to build her profile a lot further. He says that Bella has done only regular porn movies, and most his girls have done hardcore sex stuff. He adds that Bella doesn't sound perverted, which is the type of person he is looking for.

Bella works on several shoots, including a BDSM scene with a female director who encourages Bella in positive, healthy ways, enforcing safety and consent on the set. This makes Bella feel really supported and heard on set, as nothing takes place without her permission. However, Bella is determined to push herself further, and she requests hardcore scenes from her manager. While filming a sexual assault scene with two male actors, she becomes overwhelmed and breaks down, repeatedly interrupting filming. This is not something Bella is used to at all. Initially, her co-stars and the director seem encouraging, but they quickly grow hostile and dismissive when she struggles to finish the scene. Bella reluctantly agrees to complete the shoot and later confronts her manager, who reminds her that she requested harder material. Upset, Bella fires him as her manager.

Now working independently, Bella attempts to acquire Spiegler as her new manager, but he turns her down, saying she has a weak social media following and insisting he only accepts actresses willing to do extreme scenes. In order to prove herself, Bella participates in an interracial threesome, which includes a first-ever "interracial, double anal penetration", boosting her following considerably. Spiegler is impressed and agrees to hire Bella.

As a way to repay her friend, Bella requests that Joy be part of her next scene. Joy is initially thrilled but hesitates when the lead actor withdraws at the last minute and is replaced by Caesar. Bella implores Joy to go through with the shoot, but soon observes Caesar harassing Joy off-camera. During the scene, which involves degradation and humiliation, Caesar begins to legitimately abuse Joy (by making her lick his shoes and digging his claws into her back), who stops the scene in anger. Joy insists to the director that Caesar is harming her, but when she asks Bella to confirm Caesar's earlier harassment, Bella, worried about her reputation, balks. Furious, Joy upbraids Bella for her betrayal and storms off the set.

Bella is given a chance to film a scene with Ava, but Ava humiliates her when she refuses to perform oral sex on Bella, claiming she has a yeast infection. The scene is changed so that Bella will penetrate Ava with a strap-on, but Bella quickly lets her anger and frustration take over, acting violently and aggressively towards Ava without warning or consent, just as many of her male co-stars and directors did to her since her arrival.

When Bella tries to apologize to Ava later on route to a party, Ava nonchalantly dismisses her as if nothing had bothered her, which disturbs Bella. Bella is further disillusioned when she spots her old housemates at the party, all of whom are enjoying their time at the party opposite of Bella who is essentially now locked in the VIP area. On the ride back from the party, Bella abruptly asks the car to stop so that she can get out.