For starters, she hates that nickname.
So naturally her gay best friend always salutes her with it in text messages.
He is a realtor and she has invested half a million dollars in his development scheme. But she borrowed much of it from her Russian boyfriend, whom she insists is not a gangster, and is not gay. But now he has dumped her, and he wants the money back.
Oh, and by the way, she is an art historian turned professional Dominatrix.
Domination doesn’t feature too much in this romantic thriller. Mostly we see it at the start and one or two points later in the plot. But don’t worry, as she looks as attractive in cut-off jeans as in a leather onesie. Meanwhile, we learn that Ava Moriarty is based in Illinois and her back story unveils slowly.
We first see her sitting in the corner of a room observing her client, an old guy suspended and hog-tied begging for her attention. But this is the kind of client she always ends up with – he has forgotten his safe word (the way Jeff Goldblum forgot his mantra in Annie Hall). When she finally digs it out of his contract, she relents and does what he asks for – burning her initial on his flesh. He’s also what she calls a “fire bug.”
The film charmingly shows some of the usually-not-mentioned side issues in professional Domination. Her next visit is to a hotel where the young frat boy and his dense girlfriend didn’t pay much attention to her ad. They think she is just another hooker. When she pulls out her whip, the chick flees, and the frat boy ends up hog-tied, gagged, and with a do-not-disturb sign on the door knob.
The first thing she does when she gets out the door is pull off her boots and rub her feet, and and then hobbles down the hallway to the elevator. Sometimes she has to have an alone moment to pull the seat of her leather cat-suit out of the crack of her ass. The reactions of others to her presence range from snooty attitudes from cleaning ladies, and screams of terror from little boys on their way to the hotel swimming pool. She is also looked down upon by her fellow members in a Mensa-style club. There was a scandal at her college, and she only took to Domination to finance her land development scheme and so now others also demean her because of her profession. But we are on her side because she just happens to be the smartest and most talented of the lot. Whip smart.
This tale turns out to be one of those plots where someone is hired to get the goods on someone else, in this case a Russian orthodox minister, and instead she ends up falling for him, leading to the inevitable exposure scene. And the minister has a secret of his own.
As played by the feline Lorrisa Julianis, she is an admirable character, and the only one with a moral compass of the lot. Ms Julianis is herself an interesting figure. Singer, playwright and action-capture performer, she has won international acclaim for her historical plays. I guess we are supposed to say she is brave to take on such a part as Ava Moriarty. But she is incredibly funny and the part fits her like a leather corset.
On the other hand, in the past such a part would take some courage – of being typecast, or of being called a goofball sex type. In the late ‘60s and into the ‘70s, for example, when Dominatrices began to appear in movies, they were usually included for comedy relief. In 1975, a Dominatrix on the Happy Hooker’s staff comes downstairs to fetch her client, known only in the credits as Meek Man. Nor are we shown what happens to him. The psychology seems off, though. Such a guy in real life would probably be a sadist or serial killer, while the masochist would be a powerful person with a secret life in which he craves humiliation at the boots of a Domme.
Now, a mere (!) 45 years later, a Dominatrix is the main character and her choice is presented as a viable career option – though as with all careers, it has its little problems. One hates to use the term “empowering” but being a professional Dominatrix does allow Ava the opportunity to take her destiny into her own hands and get what she wants.
– Jimmy Doyle
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