some of my friends who went to live in usa complain about one thing – that country is very different from the one depicted in hollywood movies .
that is especially true for those who end up somewhere in that unexplored land between los angeles and new york where they find , to their big surprise , that the majority of people vote republican , go to church every sunday and usually don’t tolerate liberal attitudes that are taken for granted in an average american film .
such rude awakening , however , can happen in another direction – conservative people are sometimes forced to discover unpleasant truths about world they live in .
something like that happens to jake van dorn ( george c . scott ) , successful grand rapids businessman who shares strong calvinist convictions with the rest of his community .
one day his daughter kristen ( ilah davis ) disappears from calvinist youth convention in california .
van dorn is worried because he doesn’t believe that his daughter would run from home .
however , the truth delivered by private investigator andy mast ( peter boyle ) is even harder – kristen is spotted in cheap pornographic film .
infuriated van dorn is unsatisfied with the way mast’s investigation is going , so he goes to los angeles to search for kristen himself .
unfortunately , he lacks experience and the quest , that brought him to the utter depths of sex underworld , is fruitless .
things change when he devises cunning plan and , while doing it , stumbles on sympathetic prostitute and part time porno actress nicky ( season hubley ) .
almost two decades after its release , hardcore is mostly forgotten by critics and film scholars .
it is a real shame , because very few movies in today’s hollywood would dare tackle controversial issues that writer and director paul schrader explored in his second directorial attempt .
in late 1970s , it was totally different situation – films were expected to have mature , serious themes for the mature audience .
for schrader this film was nice opportunity to expand the subplot of his previous work , taxi driver – one that deals with the great generational divide that tormented the american society in 1970s .
on one side we have an old america that sticks to the puritan ideals of hard work and strict morals that made that country great .
but that america is obviously unable to cope with the new challenges brought by the social turmoil in 1960s and , instead of facing them , prefers to live in rural , conservative cocoons .
the new america , on the other hand , fares no better – ideals of the so-called ” sexual revolution ” , same as all other ” revolutions ” of the swinging sixties , degraded into exploitation and depravity .
instead of being ” liberated ” , baby boomers are stuck with their own inability to cope with the newly discovered freedoms .
schrader very cleverly brings the idea that those two americas , actually , aren’t so far away – nice example is a brilliant scene in which van dorn , already described as an authoritarian and paternalistic capitalist , meets sleazy porno producer ; the latter one also turns out to be authoritarian , paternalistic and very dedicated to this job .
the difference between the two is simply in the line of work .
many contemporary critics actually accused schrader of promoting conservative agenda .
on the surface , it may look that way – audience is forced to sympathise with van dorn and his quest .
in the first scenes , he is portrayed as nice family man who actually doesn’t deserve to experience parent’s worst nightmare .
the scene in the porno cinema that reveals kristen’s fate is extremely cruel ; pain and humiliation , brought by oscar-winning actor george c . scott , is of such intensity , that the audience feels sorry for him and simply must support his agenda .
van dorn is perhaps flawed , and the subtle hints lead to the unflattering truth at the end ; but the viewers simply know that his cause is just , and that prodigal daughter must be better off with her loving father than with the sleazy pornographers that only want to exploit her body .
on the other hand , schrader , who grew up in an environment very much like van dorn’s ( his own parents wouldn’t allow him to watch movies until he was 18 ) , knows better and tries to bring another side of coin .
even the people connected with sex underworld can show redeeming qualities – like nicky , who actually tries to improve her life , and sleazy detective who develops something like a conscience at the end .
unfortunately , schrader fails to erase the impact of the shocking scene at the beginning , and his attempt to reconcile the opposing sides of america seems lost in somewhat clich ? d finale .
the script is slightly flawed , and schrader as director doesn’t show too much originality – his style seems too influenced by techniques that scorsese used in taxi driver .
apart from the scenes in grand rapids , those two films even look alike .
but the content might be more than interesting for today’s viewer , especially those inspired by the current 70s revival .
until boogie nights , no hollywood mainstream movie ever dared to explore the phenomenon of pornography in 1970s .
hardcore , on the other hand , might serve as precious document , because it depicts sex film industry in the period often regarded as the golden age by connoisseurs – before the advent of video , when many of the porno filmmakers could afford to think of themselves as artists .
the view of such age and the industry is very unflattering , though , but for the film whose main character takes time to explain calvinist doctrines to the audience , that shouldn’t be too surprising .
anyway , despite some flaws , hardcore remains very interesting and powerful piece of cinema .