Hardcore

Directed By: Paul Schrader

Starring: George C. Scott & Peter Boyle

Hardcore tells the story of Jake, a conservative and Christian from Iowa. When his daughter heads to California on a church field trip and doesn’t return, Jake hires a private investigator to find her. The P.I. finds out she is doing hardcore porn films, so Jake sets out to California, with the help of a prostitute named Niki, to find his daughter.

I thought Hardcore had a tremendous premise, but ultimately it just kind of fell flat. Hardcore was not able to capture that dark, gritty, and sleazy side of the porn industry that films like 8MM and Boogie Nights were so able to wonderfully capture.

I also like the idea of a good person that is just trying to do something right, but is pushed to far to some type of extreme, like excessive violence. But we never see Jake reach that point, even though his daughter has been missing for months and he has had to see terrible things to get information about his daughter’s whereabouts.

I felt there was only two highpoints in Hardcore and one came in a scene when Jake is watching his daughter in one of the porn films she has done. I was cringing right along with Jake. The other highpoint came when Jake and Niki are talking about the value of sex. It was interesting to hear their points of view since one is a conservative and the other is a prostitute.

4 Out Of 10:
Trailer For Hardcore: