Hardcore (1979) Columbia/Drama-Thriller RT: 109 minutes Rated R (strong sexual content/references, graphic nudity, language, violence, drug references) Director: Paul Schrader Screenplay: Paul Schrader Music: Jack Nitzsche Cinematography: Michael Chapman Release date: February 9, 1979 (US) Cast: George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent, Leonard Gaines, Dave Nichols, Gary Graham, Larry Block, Marc Alaimo, Leslie Ackerman, Charlotte McGinnes, Ilah Davis, Paul Marin, Will Walker, Hal Williams, Bibi Besch, Tracey Walter, Reb Brown, Janet Simpson, Karen Kruer, Ed Begley Jr. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ****
“Oh my God, that’s my daughter.”
That tagline, for Paul Schrader’s 1979 drama Hardcore, has stayed with me for 40 years ever since I first saw it in the newspaper ad for the movie. I was 11 when it came out so of course I wasn’t allowed to see it. I saw it about six years later on cable (February ’85) and loved it. This story of a devoutly religious father’s search for his missing teenage daughter in the seedy porn underworld of late 70’s California really grabbed me in a way I had never experienced before. I couldn’t put it into words at the time, but I was especially intrigued by the juxtaposition of the conservative Midwest and the sleaze of L.A. and San Francisco. Also, not only is Hardcore about a man’s search for his daughter, it’s also about his faith being tested by a journey into hell.
The opening scenes of Hardcore do not prepare you for what’s about to happen to Jake Van Dorn (Scott, Patton), a businessman and strict Calvinist from Grand Rapids, MI. “Precious Memories” (sung by Susan Raye) plays on the soundtrack over scenes of a town decorated for Christmas and children sledding on a snowy hill. We then enter Van Dorn’s home where he and his family are celebrating Christmas. A deep theological discussion is taking place around a table while an old man in the living room grouses about TV being the domain of the wicked before shutting it off in disgust. Jake carves the turkey before leading his clan in prayer. All at once, we’re given a picture of religious fundamentalism, family togetherness and happiness. A few days later, Jake’s daughter Kristen (the late Davis) leaves with other kids on a church-sponsored trip to a Calvinist convention in California. She disappears shortly after that.
Jake hops a plane to L.A. where he hires private investigator Andy Mast (Boyle, Young Frankenstein) to track down Kristen. He does so on the advice on the LAPD who have more than their fair share of missing kid cases. He returns to Grand Rapids where he tries to resume his life as normally as possible. After a few months, Mast contacts Jake with the news that he found her. He shows him an explicit 8mm hardcore porno movie starring Kristen. It’s assumed she was kidnapped and forced into it. Mast has no other information as the movie cannot be traced. As he explains it, “Nobody made it. Nobody sold it. Nobody sees it. It doesn’t exist.” Jake decides to go to L.A. and look for his daughter himself. Disguised as a porn filmmaker, he eventually comes into contact with Niki (Hubley, Vice Squad), a hooker and sometimes porn actress who agrees to help him.
Much like Taxi Driver (written by Schrader), Hardcore takes us into a lurid, sleazy underworld rarely seen by outsiders. Sure, we pass by the adult book stores, peep shows, sex shops and theaters showing XXX movies in seedy parts of town, but how many of us actually go into those places? More than that, how many of us know anybody involved in the dirty goings-on of the porno industry? Schrader goes there and shows us the evils that would tempt all but the strongest in faith.
From the start, it’s fairly clear Jake will not yield to temptation since he apparently has zero interest in sex. He’s clearly repelled by what he sees in the whorehouses and massage parlors. Yet he has to navigate this world if he wants to find his daughter. When it becomes apparent that nobody will talk to him or answer his questions looking and acting like he does (he might be a cop), he dons a disguise and persona in order to elicit information. He runs into some interesting folks like “Jism Jim” (Walker, Deathsport), a porn actor who worked with Kristen on the film.
Scott gives one of his best all-time performances in Hardcore as a father pushed to the point of sin in order to locate his kid and bring her home. Religion is a subject often explored in Schrader’s films; it most likely stems from his own upbringing in Grand Rapids. In one of the movie’s most interesting scenes, Jake attempts to explain Calvinism to Niki, a practitioner of…. well, something else. Unlike most movie hookers, she’s unusually insightful about her profession and why she does what she does. She’s an intelligent woman in search of a father figure who she thinks she’s found in Jake, the only man she knows not interested in screwing her. Hubley’s performance in Hardcore equals Scott’s. Both of them are fascinating characters. Boyle has some great scenes as the slightly sleazy, street smart PI who understands Jake doesn’t belong here. In a way, he is Jake’s guardian angel, appearing just when Jake needs him most.
Late in the movie, an element of danger is introduced in the form of a snuff filmmaker named Ratan (Avenging Force) who might know something of Kristen’s whereabouts. Some have said that the climax of Hardcore is a cheat, a shortcut to a resolution in which nothing really gets resolved. I beg to differ. Okay, the action-oriented finale may be something of a cop-out, but that doesn’t mean the ending is without impact. Take Jake and Niki’s story arc. Listen to their final conversation. It’s not what’s said but what’s left unsaid, that’s the key to understanding where they’re at.
In my opinion, Hardcore is an outstanding film in every way. It’s an exploration of religion and faith against a backdrop of sin. One could argue that the sex underworld is Schrader’s version of Sodom and Gomorrah. It could also be argued Jake is a stand-in for Job, a Biblical figure referenced early in the movie, a prefiguring for what’s to come. The locations used by Schrader are sufficiently dark and dirty; nightmarish, neon-lit landscapes inhabited by prostitutes, pimps, creeps and psychos. They’re an excellent contrast to the clean air and wholesomeness of Grand Rapids and its church-going population. This movie will rock and shock you to the core.
