If you've noticed how my star-ratings above differ from all the other reviewers', you may well think there's been some mistake. There hasn't.
In fact, I've been putting off writing this review for some time, as part of me feels there must be something I'm missing to come to such a vastly different conclusion.
But in the end I guess it's just a matter of preference.
The other reviews already describe the contents of the DVD very well, so I'll move straight on to the verdict.
- The sex is gentle and 'real' and quite a nice change of pace from the usually posed porn-sex that's required to get good camera angles.
- Marie and Jack are both good looking.
- Audio was generally good.
- The basic concept of mixing the interview and the sex scene together, instead of leaving them separate.
- Jerky camera movements.
- The cameras were too often shaking or on the move, and sometimes went out of focus.
- Infuriatingly frantic and erratic editing, with very frequent cuts between the two cameras.
- Really bad camera angles. Not caused by lack of room, just the camera pointing the wrong way.
- A very visible ghost-image whenever there's any movement on screen. Whether it's caused by a frame-rate conversion or a bad motion filter I don't know, but it's extremely annoying to watch. It looks like bad flickering while running, but freezing the picture reveals the ghosting.
- Too much focus on claustrophobic close-ups, often leaving little opportunity to even figure out what area of skin is being shown. Some full body shots would have been nice.
- The light from the windows gets a bit harsh in some angles and seems to be outside the camera's range.
- Orange tinted colours during some of the sex. Possibly due to the lighting.
While I wouldn't want the sex in all porn scenes to be like here, the slow and gentle pace offered a nice bit of variety.
That said, the mixing of the interview and the sex scene killed any heat for me. Even more so now that I'm watching it again for this review than during the first viewing.
I hardly ever watch straight interviews with Hollywood actors, as I've always found them extremely dull. This interview was no different, and utterly failed to spark any interest in me.
More than once, we cut to the interview at the precisely wrong time. And when the sex footage was allowed to continue for any length of time, the quick cuts between the cameras gave the otherwise slow scene an uncomfortably rushed and disorientating feel.
As an extra, the DVD also contains nearly uncut footage from the two cameras in the sex scene.
As this footage is free from the interview and contains only one or two quick cuts, it's a lot less frustrating to watch than the main feature.
Even so, the ever moving and/or shaking and too often out of focus camera, and strong emphasis on close-ups, left me cold and wishing for the end of the movie.
I'm at a loss for what target audience might enjoy this.
My first reaction was "people who don't like porn", but as other reviewers have liked both this and other porn movies, that's obviously an unfair and just plain wrong conclusion.
Still, I wouldn't categorise this as porn. More like an intimate interview with a couple of porn actors talking about how they met, their love for each other, and how they handle their profession and their private sex life, mixed in with some XXX footage showing an example of their private sex life.
If that description sounds interesting to you, and you find close-ups intimate rather than claustrophobic, and you're more forgiving than I am with regards to steady camera handling, Marie & Jack: A Hardcore Love Story could well be worth a look.
If, however, you like the general concept of regular porn movies, but are looking for something softer and "couple friendly" (whatever that really means), there's a risk you'll be very disappointed. Especially if technical production values are important to you.
