The story of Cynthia Payne (London's notorious 'Luncheon Voucher Madam') could have easily been made into a tawdry little sex farce, but underneath all the kinky detail is a film aspiring toward something more than just another naughty biography. Julie Walters' vivid performance, bristling with barely suppressed nervous energy, creates a memorable portrait of a working class girl who, to make ends meet, opens a cheerfully uninhibited suburban brothel catering to the milder perversions of errant older gentlemen: costume fantasies; flagellation; transvestitism, and so forth. There's plenty of wit (much of it with a sharp edge) in David Leland's screenplay, which despite its forthright lack of inhibition is remarkably tolerant of (and even sympathetic to) the shortcomings of its characters. Names have been changed to protect the innocent (and hide the guilty), but the facts are essentially true (despite a pair of disclaimers) and Terry Jones' direction shows more tact than otherwise might be expected from a former member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a troupe never known for their subtlety or discretion.
Review of Personal Services
