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An Australian plunge into the worlds of prostitution and police corruption, X isn't nearly as erotic as you might think because co-writer/director Jon Hewitt shies away from sensationalizing the subject matter. Oh, there's a good bit of nudity, some sex scenes and violence, but most of that stuff is either de-romanticized or Hewitt deliberately tries to play down its prurient appeal. In the most straight forward sex scene in the film, the only nudity is a couple of ganders at a flaccid male member. Not the most titillating of images by anyone's standard. And the violence is of the sudden kind that actually looks like it hurts. Hewitt undeniably wanted to make the least arousing flick he could. He largely succeeded, but the lack of distraction only makes the weaknesses in his story easier to see. Still, he's got three pretty strong performances and a story that throws a few unpredictable turns at the audience. That's not nothing. Holly (Viva Blanca) is a well-practiced call girl who's decided she's leaving the business to remake herself in Paris. She's going abandon everything from her old life, especially her creepily intense client/boyfriend Michael (Peter Docker). But on her last night before departing, she takes a job for a threesome at a hotel. All of her usual partners are indisposed, so Holly turns to a young girl she literally runs into on the street. Shay (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) is a 17 year old girl fresh in the city from an unhappy family life and has just gotten a taste of the degradation of handjobbing old men in cars for money and the dangers of existence on the street. Holly needs the help. Shay needs the money. So they sex up this guy, only to then witness his murder. On the run from the killer, Holly and Shay are forced to use every resource they have to stay alive and hope doing so doesn't ruin their chances of having that life be better than it currently is. Though the plot of X depends on a few coincidences, it's fairly solid and involving. The acting of Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Peter Docker and Stephen Phillips as the killer is affecting. Lawrence creates a center of neediness in Shay that she nevertheless puts to use by trying to manipulate people through her own weakness. Docker is believably off kilter and Phillips lets the passions of his character spill over everything he does. It's harder to judge the work of Viva Blanca. She's playing a jaded, hardened woman who isn't naturally sympathetic, but I'm not sure if the emotional indifference felt toward Holly is intentional or the result of poor acting. Holly isn't unlikable. She's like a beautiful handbag that's a cheap knock off so you don't care if you lose it. The major obstacle to X being a good film is that the last half of it hangs entirely on the threat of the killer who's after Holly and Shay. The first time he catches up to Holly, however, she beats the snot out of him. I don't mean she tricks him or surprises him or takes advantage of some fluke circumstance. Holly punches the killer in the throat, kicks him while he's down and then beats him senseless with her carry on luggage. It's kind of hard to take the killer seriously as a menace after that. I know it's all feminist and "grrl power" and stuff for Holly to be able to physically defend herself. In this sort of story, though, that lessens the danger she faces. If she can kick the guy's ass, why does she need to flee from him in fear? And when, later on, the killer and Michael comes to blows, what is the viewer supposed to think when Michael puts up a worse showing than Holly? X isn't a bad motion picture. It simply isn't smartly written enough to stand being an non-exploitative as it is. It needed to be a little trashier, a little sexier, to be good. Your mileage may vary, of course.

30-ish Holly is looking to get out of prostitution: she has a menacing boyfriend. 17 year old Shay is starting out as a prostitute but isn't really suited to it. They end up in a threesome with a client who is killed by a bent cop, following which they end up on the run. There are some good things about this Australian film, Holly and Shay are played by Hanna Mangan Lawrence and the exotically named Viva Bianca(both from the Spartacus TV series) and both young ladies are a) very attractive and b) scantily clad (or less) from time to time. And the thing is directed with a sense of style: what appears on screen has clearly had some thought given to it. Unfortunately, it is very slow to get going, founded on coincidence and improbability, and the action frequently slows to a dead stop. Despite tolerable performances, I didn't believe it for an instant, and I was frequently bored.

When you sit down to watch a film which doesn't shy away from the fact that it's basically nothing more than soft core *, you'd be well credulous to expect anything approaching a decent screenplay, remotely believable dialogue or convincing acting. X doesn't provide any surprises here. What you may expect however, is an oversupply of nudity and some good old fashioned sex scenes that provided all those awkward moments watching 80s movies with your dad. If that's why you decided to watch this film, and let's be real, what other reason could there be, prep yourself for an 90 minutes of repeated disappointment. Now I may be completely wrong on this one, but I was under the impression that sex with a prostitute normally involves the lass taking her clothes off. Not so, for the working girls of this version of Sydney. Yet somehow, this film was captivatingly watchable. I'll put it down to brave casting decisions - a blonde, early 20 something model acting as a Sydney cabbie, and the surprising invincibility of the villain cop who seemingly laughs off bashings to the head and getting run over at speed by a Holden. Speaking of Holdens - Big ups to the special effects team, who managed to transform the single commodore from cop car, to cab, to second cop car and back to cab without anybody realizing it's the exact same car. Though you can't help wonder if some of the budget could have been diverted away from semi * * extras, and toward maybe renting a hire car or two. Overall, it's like watching a lesson in how not to make a movie.

X (Night of Vengeance) will get you blood pumping. All along the ride you will want the two girls to get out of it clean, but trouble will hound them mercilessly. It's gritty, it's dirty, it's sexy, it's not what you want to happen when on the job. You get to see the two very different sides of a single coin. You'll enjoy, because you'll get to understand some things, and imagine many others. It will grip you and it won't let you go until it is finished with you. A few things are off with this movie. Sometimes, you want a tighter scenario, editing, a more experienced camera work, or more fine tuning on the dialogs, but it's easily forgivable. Watch it only if you're ready for suspense and a good dose of the underground.

We all remember Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) or Michael Haneke's Funny Games (1997) for example, well Jon Hewitt is following in large footsteps ... He's made a short, sharp and edgy thriller that's as effective and engaging as his Red Ball (1999), which was set in the world of corrupt cops. He has retained some of those elements but the central characters are two women, a 30 year old call girl hoping to start a new life and a 17 year old out of towner also hoping to start a new life, they meet on the streets of Kings Cross where fate awaits them in a hotel room. Viva Bianca is vivacious as the blonde Holly Rowe, a proud and determined woman who knows how to handle herself after 15 years as a hooker. Hanna Mangan Lawrence plays the homeless and broke Shay, a vulnerable newcomer dazed and confused by what she's got herself into. Characterisations are sufficient for the genre and the technicals are all excellent. Special mention to David Franzke and Byron Joel Scullin for the terrific sound & music scape. The screenplay links the story points with an authenticity that's satisfying and the thrills are well orchestrated, including a couple of street fights, a chase or two and some dramatic confrontations - as well as a surprise or two, It all comes together terrifically in a film that while blessed with more than a couple loose ends, still offers a stunning visual and emotional roller-coaster ride. It takes a while getting started and seems to follow a particular formula until—BANG! —a gunshot changes everything. X is a mostly-satisfying genre thriller. My RaTiNg- 7/10!!!