Doing Money

Based on a true story, this story is shocking in modern day UK/Eire. A brilliant performance by all the cast, telling the story of a young Romanian woman (Ana) kidnapped from the streets of London in broad daylight and forced into the sex trade.

We all hear stories about human sex trafficking - but it doesn't always feel real. This film brings the reality to home. And it's necessarily grim viewing. Ana is a happy Romanian immigrant working in a low wage job in London. She is kidnapped and taken to Ireland and had to pay off her 'purchase price' by 'doing money' - a eumpamism for having sex with willing paying customers. It's horrible - but it demonstrates that slavery is alive and well and man (or in this case woman) can go to extreme and inhuman lengths for personal profit. Doesn't make you feel good about the world, nor should it. But it needs to be watched.

You would have hoped it was not possible for a young woman to be kidnapped on the streets of London and forced into slavery under threat to her family; but sadly this does happen, and 'Doing Money' dramatises one such real life story. It's an utterly horrific tale; the film is direct and un-fancy, but the sense that what we see is something close to pure evil is never far away, and the psychological hold that the perpetrators have over their victims is convincingly portrayed. In this case, the the pimps went to jail; but even to someone like me who normally favours a liberal approach to sentencing, their three-year sentences seem wholly inadequate. In telling this story, 'Doing Money' is truly shocking, but and essential viewing.