Hussy (1980)

Hussy: Directed by Matthew Chapman. With Helen Mirren, John Shea, Paul Angelis, Murray Salem. Beaty (Dame Helen Mirren) is a prostitute working out of a high-class London cabaret where Emory (John Shea) is a technician. They begin an affair encumbered by her job, his lack of money, and their pasts: She has an abusive former lover, the father of her ten-year-old son and possibly her pimp, Alex (Paul Angelis), a strong-arm gorilla type fresh out of prison also arrives, needing a place to stay. Alex is clearly a brutish psychopath who threatens Beaty and Emory’s future. Emory’s wife died in questionable circumstances and he has a shady friend, Max (Murray Salem), who shows up with a scheme for making lots of money. Beaty and Emory want to sort things out, but the odds are against them. Life is no cabaret.

“Much underrated and sadly, little seen seedy gem. Low budget so lots of location shooting, always good, especially in London and if a little rough around the edges, all the better. Helen Mirren gives a gutsy and convincing performance in what is a surprisingly convincing glimpse of the sleazier side of late 70s London. She would play a rather more glossy version of the fancied girl on the edge of the underworld in the following yearu0026#39;s Long Good Friday but even in that fine film we do not see a finer performance than here. Matthew Chapman does well with his limited funds and gets decent performances from everyone including the child and surely one of the most menacing bad guys in cinema. Paul Angelis, who worked mainly in TV but famously voiced parts for Yellow Submarine, switches deftly between friendly and fearsome as a psychotic criminal strong man and coming between the two main protagonists. Solid script, competent direction, great performances and wonderful settings make this an essential view.”