"Fading Gigolo" is a surprisingly gentle and restrained film compared to what one might expect from its premise. It follows two friends, played by Woody Allen and John Turturro (who also wrote and directed). Allen's character gets Turturro's to prostitute himself out as a kind of one time thing, but when they see how lucrative the situation is (and considering the middling financial states of them both), they cement a more permanent pimp/gigolo partnership.
I'm honestly not sure if the film is good or not. I think a second viewing might be needed to determine that, but while I enjoyed it well enough, I'm not exactly eager to go back for a second helping. The film certainly has a lot of faith that it knows who its characters are. It doesn't feel the need to overplay potentially dramatic moments, instead allowing the characters to react to the events in a more subtle manner. There are many instances where what would be a big argument or impassioned plea in most other movies is avoided when the characters just don't seem interested in taking things that far. This is probably more realistic than what is typically seen on film. I don't know if it was better in this case, but at least it was refreshingly different.
Much of the film deals with Jewish social politics, which I'll confess I am no expert in. I was able to grasp the generalities of what was going on, but some of the finer details eluded me. When Allen's character is hauled before some kind of Jewish court near the end of the film, I wasn't even sure of the legality involved--he is basically grabbed off the street and brought to the place. I don't think it was entirely legal, but knowing little about the related customs, I truly had no idea.
I think this is probably a film that tries a few interesting things, but falls a bit short of being truly good. Perhaps a second viewing would prove me wrong, but that probably won't happen anytime soon.
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