Summary
The Escort dabbles in mystery, confining both characters in the same setting for the majority of the film. It is good but lacks conviction in the story at times.
If you ignore all the technical pitfalls that you would associate with a C movie, then The Escort has a story to reflect on. It takes a few moments to engage with the scenario, as it shoves you into a scene with the escort and her client, and at first, you have no idea how to prepare yourself for the story. Maybe it’s because of the male client; he presents himself at first as suspiciously shady, or nervous – you can never tell the motive in a movie that opens up inside the house of an escort.
Once the scenario was clear, I felt more comfortable with The Escort. Without delving into major plot points, the client Eric (Kevin Leslie) wants to pay Veronica (Olivia Moyles) for her time; time to sit down, talk and persuade her to leave her line of work. At first, I thought that maybe he considers himself a maverick in converting women who choose a career in escorting but apparently, he saw her on an escort website, and based on the characteristics presented, he felt that he knew her and, quite creepily, felt like he loved her.
The rest of the movie delves into their timed conversations; Eric keeps on trying to push the boundaries, questioning her life to a considerable degree and Veronica is doing anything in her emotional threshold to resist his questions. She remains adamant that she likes what she does, and even references the unfairness of minimum wage, so much so that I am wholly convinced that there is an influence from I, Daniel Blake.
I did struggle with Eric initially; in my entire short life, I have never considered paying for sex or purchasing escort services. At the same time, I have never been against anyone who wishes to partake in these activities, especially if they are feeling lonely and they are doing it in the correct environment. The issue I had was the believability aspect of his intentions; he spends a number of minutes coming out with anecdotes and deep stories. I cannot imagine these conversations ever happening in the pattern in which they did. Especially in the environment both characters were residing in. Once you reach the twist, you understand it, but how it reached that conclusion was a little over dramatised; adults do not function in this way.
Putting that aside, the performances are strong in The Escort. Kevin Leslie and Olivia Moyles do well to take advantage of the story they are involved in, with decent chemistry sparking in between one-liners. You can tell there was work put in to make sure the emotions of the situation was right. Overall, I fairly enjoyed The Escort and I understand the message it was trying to deliver. I just wish it streamlined Eric’s motive to make it less wild, and more believable.
