Chicago International Film Festival

by Anna Pulley

Irina Palm (Sam Garbarski 2007)

It's your typical story: a sick child in need of expensive medical treatment. His parents can't afford it so grandma earns the money by jacking off men through a hole in the wall of a sex club. Heartwarming, yes? Marianne Faithfull plays Maggie, the grandma with "the best right arm in all of London" who would do anything to help her grandson get better. After being denied a loan from the bank and suffering ageist slander at the hands of an employment center, Maggie stumbles upon the creatively titled "Sexy World" night club, where a sign says "hostesses" are needed. Inside the club, she meets Miki (Miki Manojlovic) the sallow, slightly incredulous club owner who sees her potential and offers her a job as a professional masturbator. Desperate and flustered, Maggie accepts, thus starting her illustrious career as Irina Palm aka the Wanking Widow.

Shot in muted, washed-out tones, the film's bleak tone is immediately discernible and there are many many scenes of Maggie walking places slowly while the same four notes are played on guitar over and over again. The running time of 103 minutes would have been drastically reduced without her aimless slow walking, but aside from that, Faithfull's performance is both humbling and hilarious. Her transformation from middle aged frump to confident pleasure goddess is uplifting, and Faithfull is quite good at making things as tentative and awkward as possible.

Despite the film's mildly outlandish approach to a conventional story, there are many laugh-out-loud moments that make it seem less repetitive and contrived. Like the apathetic hand job lesson administered by fellow sex worker Louisa (Dorka Gryllus) who rolls her eyes as grunts and "oh gods" are heard from the other side of the wall. Also quite endearing are terms like "penis elbow" which is a sprain Maggie accrues due to all her fervent wanking. And the use of Santa hats - worn by everyone from strippers to bank tellers - are evidence of the low-key humor that peppers Maggie's predicaments. For all the obvious sex-related themes, Irina Palm manages to avoid seeming vulgar or porny, unlike the sex tape Grandpa always shows us at Christmas time. Irina is much more subdued than other films of its ilk, like The Full Monty but tugs at the heartstrings just the same. There's even an unlikely romance and the mending of a hostile in-law relationship, if the masturbation doesn't lift your spirits enough. I guess you could say Irina Palm wanked its way into my heart. But in order to stay there, it definitely needs a better sound track.