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What You Can Do For Your Woman
What You Can Do For Your Woman
"It works because we feel for the characters."
Created by Vancouver Film School students through the following VFS production programs: VFS Film Production: Director - Chad Fitz. Director of Photography - Aiden Pancer. Writer - Chad Fitz. Producer - Robert Hunkele. Editor - Nathalie Nicolas. VFS Sound Design for Visual Media: ... (More Info).

Review added: 11 months ago

Review by: MiamiMovieCritic

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VancouverFilmSchool :: What You Can Do For Your Woman - Vancouver Film School (VFS)VancouverFilmSchool :: What You Can Do For Your Woman - Vancouver Film School (VFS)VancouverFilmSchool :: What You Can Do For Your Woman - Vancouver Film School (VFS)
VancouverFilmSchool :: What You Can Do For Your Woman - Vancouver Film School (VFS)VancouverFilmSchool :: What You Can Do For Your Woman - Vancouver Film School (VFS)

Here's what you can do for your woman: kill! That seems to be what this movie is suggesting. I didn't get the twist ending the first time I watched this, but it implies that not only is the hero a first-degree murderer, but he may be involved in the plot to assassinate President Kennedy. This is one seriously messed-up dude.

Which is, of course, the point. The hero of What You Can Do For Your Woman, Howard (played by William Valenzuela with a crazy glint in his eye), is in the tradition of mad-dog romantic warriors like Travis Bickle (from Taxi Driver) and Clarence Worley (from True Romance). All three want to save a woman from a malevolent pimp. Travis and Clarence paid a heavy price for that, but Howard's fate is left more ambiguous.

The woman in question is Pearl (Alana Gosling), who is perplexed by how nice Howard treats her and naturally assumes he must be "make-believe." He makes her dress up like his dream girl, Marilyn Monroe. Later, when Pearl brings him the saddest cake in the world with a message that says, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," he says that he blames Mr. President for Marilyn's death (a nice foreshadowing of the ending). The scenes between Pearl and Howard have a touching intimacy, but they also have an edge - we're not sure if he wants to save her or cut her up into little pieces.

The movie is set in 1963, and I don't quite buy all of the period detail. The design of Howard's apartment is especially shaky. Still, the bar where the pimp works feels just right - both the look of it and the bluesy music. The pimp, Joey, is played by Primo Allen, who creates a scary persona in just a few key scenes. The confrontation between Joey and Howard is magnificently directed. It shows how off-screen violence can be much more powerful than excessive displays of carnage.

At the end of the day, this movie is a love story. It works because we feel for the characters. Never for a moment do we feel this situation will work out, and the disquieting newscast that plays over the end credits only reaffirms our suspicions.

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