Pretty Baby Reviews

Louis Malle was one of the best French directors that ever lived. At some point, he had the opportunity to expand his career in the US and this movie was therefore his first American production. He definitely took some risks with this project as it was dealing with a very controversial subject, the story of a 12 year old girl living in a brothel at the beginning of the 20th century in the USA and yet it was very well received critically at the time. Personally, I thought it was indeed pretty good but I wasn't really completely blown away by the whole thing. I mean, visually, it was really strong and the directing by Malle was pretty much flawless. The point is that I thought that the story was interesting but I had a hard time to care about the characters and what they were going through. I don't know, I had the feeling that the makers had a rather ambiguous approach on this rather sad and sordid world. To conclude, even though it didn't really convince me, it is still a solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Louis Malle's work.

The year is 1917, during the last months of legal prostitution in New Orleans. Hattie (Susan Sarandon) is a prostitute at the home of Madame Nell. Hattie has just given birth to a boy, and already has a 12-year-old daughter Violet (Brooke Shields). Photographer Ernest Bellocq (Keith Carradine) visits them one day, takes pictures of Hattie and fascinates Violet. Nell arranges for Violet’s virginity. Hattie goes off to Missouri to marry and leaves Violet at Nell’s. Alone, Violet is uninterested by everything except Bellocq; before long, she seeks refuge at his home and they marry.

I can’t picture any other director than Louis Malle for this movie. Brilliantly directed and acted by a superb cast, this is a lovely film. I can only imagine how much more beautiful the motion picture might have been if the original choice for Director of Photography, Tonino Delli Colli, had accepted to go to America to work with Malle on this picture. Sven Nyquist did a great job though.

Brooke Shields was simply (and is still to this day) gorgeous. Her emotions are developed all through the film and appear to be genuine. Carradine is a bit weak and unemotional at times. Sarandon is perfect for the role of Hattie.

A simple masterpiece that shows the world of a mother and her daughter as prostitutes, this film does not show useless nudity and Malle rather gives a fine representation of it.

This is a work of art, recommended for mature viewers.