Robin Weigert stars as Abby, a bored suburban lesbian housewife who seeks to turn her sexual fantasies into reality. When she's hit in the head by accident by her son wielding a baseball bat, this appears to be the catalyst that propels her into a new life of sensuous abandon.
The concussion itself may be the catalyst but the real reason why Abby seeks to make changes in her life is because of the lack of passion in her relationship with her wife, Kate, an attorney who no longer seems to be interested in sex.
Abby tries two separate forays with prostitutes—the first a disaster, as the woman makes her feel dirty when they have sex. The second is the opposite: Gretchen, a young, sexy woman who's putting herself through school by servicing clients. Abby meets the latter through Jake, a young contractor who she's conscripted to work on her new avocation—renovating fixer-uppers in Manhattan for profit. Things go so well with Gretchen that Abby decides to turn tricks herself for $800 a pop, with the help of Jake, who finds various clients for her.
It does take a while before we break into Act Two when Abby sets off on her own, and often it's difficult to figure out who's who and what the characters are saying. This may due in part to director Stacie Passon's cinema verité style.
Once the protagonist begins meeting the clients, I would say what happens is mildly interesting. Abby has three main clients: an obese student who's never had sex before; a well-off middle-aged woman who at first leaves without engaging and a third woman, Sam (Maggie Siff), a bisexual woman who lives in Abby's neighborhood. The sex scenes are chaste in comparison to other 'art' films such as 'Blue is the Warmest Color' and here and there, Ms. Passon does a decent enough job of fleshing most of the characters out.
The scenes involving the couples' children were obviously inserted to show that Abby's forays into self-gratification were not her sole preoccupation. In fact, she comes across as an involved Mom, along with her significant other, despite their inescapable estrangement.
Passon's strategy perhaps is to illustrate her own fantasy life which is comprised of an active sex drive as well as a need to play therapist (Abby never sends away the inexperienced women who are in need of comforting).
Some may be put off by Abby's detachment but personally that didn't bother me at all. Overall, this is a professional made film with actors that deliver an air of assured verisimilitude. The slow pacing may be off-putting and the denouement is indecisive, but for those with the taste for it, you should find the film engaging. 'Concussion' indeed is a bit off-beat, but registers well in the pantheon of current art house indies.
The concussion itself may be the catalyst but the real reason why Abby seeks to make changes in her life is because of the lack of passion in her relationship with her wife, Kate, an attorney who no longer seems to be interested in sex.
Abby tries two separate forays with prostitutes—the first a disaster, as the woman makes her feel dirty when they have sex. The second is the opposite: Gretchen, a young, sexy woman who's putting herself through school by servicing clients. Abby meets the latter through Jake, a young contractor who she's conscripted to work on her new avocation—renovating fixer-uppers in Manhattan for profit. Things go so well with Gretchen that Abby decides to turn tricks herself for $800 a pop, with the help of Jake, who finds various clients for her.
It does take a while before we break into Act Two when Abby sets off on her own, and often it's difficult to figure out who's who and what the characters are saying. This may due in part to director Stacie Passon's cinema verité style.
Once the protagonist begins meeting the clients, I would say what happens is mildly interesting. Abby has three main clients: an obese student who's never had sex before; a well-off middle-aged woman who at first leaves without engaging and a third woman, Sam (Maggie Siff), a bisexual woman who lives in Abby's neighborhood. The sex scenes are chaste in comparison to other 'art' films such as 'Blue is the Warmest Color' and here and there, Ms. Passon does a decent enough job of fleshing most of the characters out.
The scenes involving the couples' children were obviously inserted to show that Abby's forays into self-gratification were not her sole preoccupation. In fact, she comes across as an involved Mom, along with her significant other, despite their inescapable estrangement.
Passon's strategy perhaps is to illustrate her own fantasy life which is comprised of an active sex drive as well as a need to play therapist (Abby never sends away the inexperienced women who are in need of comforting).
Some may be put off by Abby's detachment but personally that didn't bother me at all. Overall, this is a professional made film with actors that deliver an air of assured verisimilitude. The slow pacing may be off-putting and the denouement is indecisive, but for those with the taste for it, you should find the film engaging. 'Concussion' indeed is a bit off-beat, but registers well in the pantheon of current art house indies.