Whore

Liz is introduced on a busy downtown street near a tunnel, where she lives and works. She directly addresses the audience, talking about her life and problems. Her attempt to attract a customer sets the film's tone.

A man stops and demands anal sex; she bluntly declines him. The moment emphasizes the crude and dehumanizing requests she faces. Her sharp response contrasts with the vulnerability she hides.

She recalls the last time she serviced a man in a van, where several other men gang-raped her, beat her, and left her for dead. The memory underscores the danger and trauma of her life on the streets. It lingers as she moves through the present.

An elderly man passes by, gives her his handkerchief, and offers to take her to a hospital. She refuses the hospital and instead asks the alderman for money. This moment shows both pity she encounters and her stubborn independence.

Later, Liz sends back the alderman's money with a thank-you note and a new handkerchief. Her gesture is polite but guarded, signaling a complicated relationship with aid. The scene reinforces her focus on maintaining control over her life.

Weary of life as a prostitute, Liz stops at a strip club for a drink and to think about escaping Blake, her pimp. She uses this moment to reflect on how she ended up here. The detour foreshadows the looming control Blake still holds.

Liz recounts her past as a small-town girl who married violent drunk Bill and had a son. Unable to cope with abuse, she leaves with the infant and lives in poverty, working a diner night shift. One night, a customer pays for sex, and she begins prostituting herself; eventually she meets Blake and moves to Los Angeles.

Blake takes Liz to Los Angeles and does things for her, including getting her tattooed. He remains cruel and controlling despite some benefits he provides. This relationship defines much of Liz's struggle in the city.

Liz finds a fellow prostitute stabbed in the stomach by a john and rushes her to a movie theater bathroom to stop the bleeding. A patron, Katie, helps, and Liz and Katie become friends for a time, with Katie lending Liz the novel Animal Farm. The bond sharpens the contrast with Blake's control.

Liz and Katie’s friendship deepens, but Blake later intimidates Liz and accuses Katie of lesbianism, driving a wedge between them. The power dynamic in Liz's life becomes more evident here. The incident foreshadows later conflict.

A homeless street performer named Rasta treats Liz to a film, and his act of walking on broken glass unsettles her. The screening is intercut with Blake explaining his life to the audience, giving the impression that Liz and Rasta are watching his soliloquy.

During the film, Liz recounts more prostitution stories, including a male client with a shoe fetish who demands she insult him while he masturbates with a stiletto. The intercut framing reinforces the film's meta storytelling. The moment highlights the degradation she has endured.

After the film, Liz speaks directly to the audience about her son, who is in foster care and whom she clearly loves. The moment anchors her desire for a better life beyond her current situation. It deepens the audience's empathy for her.

Later that night, Liz takes an elderly, dapper client to a parking garage, where the man suffers a heart attack and dies. Liz frantically tries mouth-to-mouth, but Blake arrives, steals the dead man's money, and destroys Liz's finger in a fight.

Blake strangles Liz and threatens to force her son into gay prostitution, but Liz fights back, saying she would kill Blake first. Rasta arrives, kills Blake by slitting his throat, and Liz expresses gratitude for the film before walking away with a renewed sense of resolve.