Hardcore (AKA The Hardcore Life)

Dir: Paul Schrader

1979

****

Paul Schrader’s allusive 1979 thriller/drama went where many a 70s thriller/drama daren’t tread. Hardcore (or The Hardcore Life as it was known in certain countries – due to its title conflicting with another film), explores the murky world of ‘Hardcore’ pornography, via a neo-conservative revenge narrative. The story sees George C. Scott play Jake, a member of the Calvinist Church, searching for his daughter after she disappears from a youth Church trip to California. Before long, and thanks to the help of a straight-talking and brutally honest private detective Andy (Peter Boyle), he discovers that she is somehow involved in the secret world of 8mm porn films. The more suspicious the underground become, the more Jake plays a role that grants him access, leading him further and further down the rabbit hole. The movie was based on a real true life story. As a high school student, writer-director Paul Schrader had heard about a local teenage girl in Grand Rapids, Michigan who went missing and who eventually was found to have appeared in an adult movie. This local mini scandal organically evolved into the screenplay for this picture. Because of the very religious and conservative city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the production operated under the name "The Pilgrim" during filming. When it was revealed that the title would be "Hardcore," many businesses and citizens were upset saying they would likely not have allowed production to film at their locations had they known the title. While there is nudity within the film, it isn’t what you would describe as ‘Hardcore’ but there is enough to shock a contemporary audience, never mind a 1979 audience. Pornography is out in the open these days, not necessarily a good thing but back in the late 70s it was still very underground in most cities. However, the dark and murky world of porn is still prevalent, today ‘Hardcore’ doesn’t mean quite what it did then, but underage films and ones involving snuff elements do sadly exist. So when Jake finds his daughter is involved with a man famous in the snuff world, he takes matters into his own hands, leading to a brutal climax. It’s classic Paul Schrader, both in the way it is written and how it is beautifully directed. Warren Beatty originally wanted to play the lead, but, according to Schrader, "he wouldn't take me as a director. And in his version, it would have been his wife, not his daughter, who split for the Coast. No good. I held out. I turned down a very large sum of money. I went after [George C.] Scott and I got him. One of the greatest actors in the world.” However, Scott and Schrader did not get along, so much so that at one point Scott refused to come out of his trailer and threatened to quit the film. Scott only agreed to come out after forcing Schrader to promise that he would never direct again (thankfully, Schrader went back on his promise). Peter Boyle and Dick Sargent are both good in their supporting roles but it is Season Hubley who really impresses in her somewhat broken role. Schrader was always very good an exploring sub-cultures and real lives that were secret and unfamiliar to many. Hardcore isn’t regarded in the same way as Blue Collar is, or seen as iconic as some of the other films Schrader has written in his career but for me it is up there as one of his best, and most overlooked. It’s worth watching for George C. Scott’s amazing performance alone.