warning:
some spoilers
It’s
easy to get the wrong impression when we meet Kimberly
Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood of Thirteen and Once and
Again), the 15 year-old protagonist in Pretty Persuasion.
As she writhes seductively before a video camera, she looks young,
vulnerable, and desperate to please the two men who are filming
her.
What
is this, kiddie porn?
No,
it’s just the standard humiliating Hollywood audition. The
men casting the part for their witless television show Dysfunction
leer at, taunt, and ultimately dismiss the young actress back
into the sea of other nubile hopefuls who wait for their turn
to impress. Her disappointment and disgust are palpable, and our
sympathies for the ambitious teen are easily elicited.
But
Kimberly is no victim. In fact, as we are drawn into her world
we see that everything she does is a part of a much bigger plan,
and that she is casting all of the unwitting players in her life
in expendable supporting roles.
A
treacherous teenaged leading lady is nothing without her clique,
and Kimberly is flanked by her best friend Brittany (Elisabeth
Harnois--looking like a younger and less menacing Shannen Doherty)
and her latest charity project, sheltered Palestinian exchange
student, Randa (Adi Schnall). We learn early on that Brittany
is dating Kimberly’s ex-boyfriend and Kimberly is over it,
and values their friendship more than “some stupid boy.”
Kimberly
is the unspoken but undeniable leader of the three, and
she calmly doles out sage, and underhandedly brutal, advice to
the girls. She demeans her friends while reassuring them of their
good fortune to be associated with her. And they believe her,
made susceptible by their own insecurities. Intelligent and convincing,
Kimberly easily enlists them as her hapless allies when she concocts
a plan to accuse her drama teacher, Percy Anderson (Ron Livingston)
of sexual harassment.
The
accusation does seem plausible. Percy strokes the face of Randa
in the privacy of detention hall, and sends Brittany fleeing from
play practice crying, half-undressed, and swearing murderous revenge
against him. At home for his wife’s birthday, he presents
her with a mini-skirt that looks a lot like the tartan uniform
worn by the girls at his school. His obvious arousal at her in
schoolgirl attire is one more piece of evidence against him.
Kimberly’s
family seethes with unrelentingly narcissism. Her father (James
Woods, chewing the scenery) stomps half-naked through their mansion,
snorting coke in the family room and unleashing racist tirades
that drown out his young, blonde trophy wife’s pleas for
his attention. When he learns of Kimberly’s allegations,
he is more worried about how a scandalous trial might ruin his
business than her alleged sexual assault.
When
the case goes to trial, Kimberly’s acting skills are in
overdrive. She plays the role of the innocent schoolgirl, upon
whom creepy adult sexuality is being thrust by Percy and his lawyer.
The middle-aged jurors are sympathetic, perhaps seeing in the
young accuser the innocence they want to see in their own teenagers.
Originally
assigned to do a story on violence in upper-crust private
schools, television journalist Emily Klein (Jane Krakowski of
Ally McBeal)
covers the sexual abuse trial instead. Her small production crew
includes a starry-eyed camera woman, Nadine (Tina Holmes of Six
Feet Under), who passionately kisses Klein after each segment
is taped.
Even
before we see Klein making out with Nadine, we know she is a lesbian.
When she brushes off a male teacher to whom she’s just been
introduced, he simply states, “She’s a dyke.”
And Kimberly is quick to note that the “dyke reporter”
might give her and her fellow accusers just the sort of publicity
they need to win the case.
Kimberly
guarantees her good press by seducing Klein.
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