In this quirky European co-production, the once-willowy 1960s icon and singer Marianne Faithfull plays Maggie, an 'ordinary" woman who decides to secretly raise the money to save her grandson’s life when he becomes terminally ill. This involves working in a Soho sex parlour where the male punters anonymously use a 'glory hole" to avail themselves of Maggie’s, er, silky hand skills. In the end, things are tied up a bit too neatly, and it seems as if Maggie may have achieved a quiet miracle. She may also have picked up a new life partner in Mikky (Miki Manojlovic), the parlour owner with whom she has developed a more than professional relationship.
Irina Palm really is an odd film. Perhaps too many, um, hands have been involved in it. Films using the sex industry as a milieu always have to negotiate the warping expectations that the ever-taboo topic brings. Here, for example, there isn’t a single shot of what Maggie ministers to (it all happens below screen) and the dingy club, perhaps intentionally, becomes just another boring workplace. Outside of this, the remaining storylines are not quite plausible or compelling enough to maintain true interest.
The other factor is Ms. Faithfull’s performance. As she has shown in a number of films, she can be an effective actress. Here however, Faithfull seems like she’s sleepwalking. Most annoying though is Maggie’s habit of saying little or nothing even when asked a direct question, as if she can’t quite believe what film she’s in, let alone her role. Parts of the story, such as the relationship with Mikky, are quite warm, but they feel underdeveloped. Though more-than-watchable, there’s an undeniable hollowness at Irina Palm’s centre.
Marianne Faithfull offers a strong performance in the lead role, but her character is so diffident and passive that it’s difficult to buy into her predicament, and the film ends up feeling slightly cold and uninvolving.
Filmink 3/5
