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Stella Does Tricks
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Wikipedia article
'Stella Does Tricks' is a 1996 film about a young Glaswegian girl, played by Kelly Macdonald, working as a prostitute in London.
The film was the first feature film directed by Coky Giedroyc, inspired by her previous work making documentaries about homeless people in Glasgow, Manchester, and London, and provided Macdonald with her first film role after 'Trainspotting'.Allon, Yoram; Patterson, Hannah & Hodges, Mike (2001) 'Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide', Wallflower Press, , p. 111 The film has been described as "an uncompromisingly feminist text, in which the Baby Doll turns Avenger",Campbell, Russell (2005) 'Marked Women: Prostitutes and Prostitution in the Cinema', University of Wisconsin Press, , p. 302-304 and by Lawrence van Gelder of 'The New York Times' as a "bleak, perceptive portrait of the prostitute as a young girl torn between the need for genuine love and a career of sexual exploitation".van Gelder, Lawrence (2001) 'Stella Does Tricks' in 'The New York Times Film Reviews 1999-2000', Routledge, , p. 230-231
Despite the film centering on the lives of female prostitutes, the only nudity in the film is male nudity.Leach, Jim (2004) 'British Film', Cambridge University Press, , p. 142
The screenplay was written by the novelist A. L. Kennedy, and draws in part on one of her earlier stories, 'Friday Payday'.Petrie, Duncan J. (2004) 'Contemporary Scottish Fiction: Film, Television and the Novel', Edinburgh University Press', , p. 73 Cinematography was by frequent Ken Loach collaborator Barry Ackroyd.McFarlane, Brian & Slide, Anthony (2003) 'The Encyclopedia of British Film', Methuen, , p. 2, 251
Plot
Stella is one of a number of young prostitutes working for the pimp Mr. Peters in London, having run away from her Glasgow home where she was sexually abused by her father, a stand-up comedian. She tries to get away from Peters and becomes involved with Eddie, a heroin addict, before taking her revenge on Peters and her father.
Cast
*Kelly Macdonald as Stella
*James Bolam as Mr. Peters
*Hans Matheson as Eddie
*Ewan Stewart as Francis
*Andy Serkis as Fitz
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