|
Secret Diary of a Call Girl –
Seasons 1 & 2
Based upon the popular
blog-turned-bestseller by pseudonymous lady of the night Belle de Jour,
Secret Diary of a Call Girl garnered rave reviews in its native
UK, where it averaged 1.5 million viewers over the course of its sixteen
episodes.
Having screened locally
on Nine to generally favourable reviews, the series concerns the
exploits of a high class London call girl (Billie Piper) living
something of a double life. To her family and friends she’s Hannah, a
legal secretary who just happens to work some extremely odd hours, and
to her clientele she’s Belle, a self-assured seductress who will cater
to just about any peccadillo, providing of course that the price is
right.
Though the first season
is enjoyable and offers an intriguing glimpse into the life of an
escort, it serves mainly as a precursor to the superior second season,
which is much more action-packed and markedly more compelling. Over the
course of the first series we are mainly introduced to Piper’s
character, her clients, the rules of the game. Belle attends orgies,
services businessmen in their hotel rooms and luxury apartments, deals
with the boredom and loneliness inherent in living such a secretive and
furtive double existence. None of her family knows what she does for a
living and her only friend is Ben (Iddo Goldberg), a former boyfriend
who still harbours something of a flame for his ex.
The second season,
however, is where it all starts happening. Hannah becomes a freelancer
and meets a naive and eager young protégé (Ashley Madekwe) who joins her
in her raunchy exploits and provides a humorous and unpretentious
contrast to her markedly more experienced mentor. Her relationship with
Ben becomes more complex, and she even begins dating a handsome doctor,
though is completely at a loss as to how to inform him of what she
really does for a living.
The series doesn’t shy
from depicting the uglier side of prostitution either. Whereas the
first season was almost light-hearted in its treatment of prostitution
(Belle informs us in the first episode that she does not have an abusive
past, and sells herself for the simple reason that she loves sex and
money) things take a somewhat darker turn as the series progresses.
Tricks occasionally turn nasty, Hannah’s constant duplicity takes its
toll, Ben finds out her true profession and any semblance of a normal
romantic relationship becomes all but impossible.
The discs aren’t exactly
brimming with special features; in fact, there are none whatsoever.
They haven’t even bothered to include subtitles or scene selection.
Luckily however the material and performances are strong enough to
compensate for any deficiency in this regard, and each season is
currently priced at between $15 and $20, which won’t exactly break the
bank.
Overall this is a
well-executed and eye-opening look at the exploits of a freelance sex
worker. Though it occasionally glosses over the seamier side of the
industry, the likeable characters, intelligent casting and excellent
writing combine to make this an extremely worthwhile view. |
