The Pornographer

Running time: N/A

There is a theory that most of us learn everything we need to know about interpersonal relationships from TV and movies. Doug Atchison, the creator of The Pornographer, one of this year's most compelling films, poses a more intriguing theory: What if everything we learned about relationships comes from pornography? Pity Paul Ryan, whose only contact with women is watching his vast pornography collection at home or by soliciting prostitutes. He is nice looking, has a great job, but cannot communicate with women on a personal level for fear of rejection. His only steady relationship is Natalie, a call girl who understands that the relationship is strictly financial. Paul falls for Kate, an innocent woman who just moved to L.A. with dreams of stardom. Paul, however, decides to do what he knows and loves best, become a pornographer, and he is soon torn between loving Kate or dragging her into the abyss with him. First time filmmaker, Doug Atchison, writes and directs an impressive view of a seldom-seen world, where people are never what they seem. Never reluctant to seize just a little more from an already wonderful cast, Atchison also provides a funny, yet fascinating look at the "average Joe" who can't quite find the norm in himself. --Christopher Lion