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Movies / Upcoming / Quid Pro Quo
Quid Pro Quo

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Quid Pro Quo (2008)

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63 %
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Reviews Counted: 32

Fresh: 20

Rotten:12

Average Rating: 6/10

Consensus: Despite a stunning performance by Vera Farmiga, Quid Pro Quo never develops its effective parts into a convincing whole.

Runtime: 82 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Quid Pro Quo is a dark, puzzling tale of strangers who crash into one another's lives and transform them forever. Isaac, a paraplegic, is a popular New York City public-radio reporter who is... Quid Pro Quo is a dark, puzzling tale of strangers who crash into one another's lives and transform them forever. Isaac, a paraplegic, is a popular New York City public-radio reporter who is investigating a story from an anonymous source about a man who walked into a hospital demanding that his leg be amputated.

While pursuing the story to satisfy his own probing curiosity, Isaac meets the strikingly beautiful and mysterious Fiona, a restoration artist. Isaac's investigation not only initiates a relationship with Fiona but also leads him into the strange subculture of "wannabes," those longing for wholeness—or lack thereof—in rather peculiar ways. Will Fiona lead Isaac to answers about this underworld of seekers, or will their stormy association push him toward a more painful truth?

In his sleek directorial debut, Carlos Brooks confidently navigates the delicate line of the psychological thriller genre with the help of eerie and convincing performances from Vera Farmiga and Nick Stahl. Quid Pro Quo does not celebrate or sensationalize the subculture it portrays but instead explores the human psyche and allows the audience to ask questions. Brooks takes us on a journey to explore our desires, find order in disorder, and exhume the need to restore normalcy to a society we find ourselves ostracized from. --© Sundance Film Festival
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Starring: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Aimee Mullins, Leonardo Nam

Starring: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Aimee Mullins, Leonardo Nam, Jessica Hecht, Jacob Pitts, Pablo Schreiber, Phil LaMarr, Matthew Carey, Kate Burton

Director: Carlos Brooks

Director: Carlos Brooks
Screenwriter: Carlos Brooks
Producer: Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Reviews for Quid Pro Quo

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Strikingly original and spectacularly twisted, Quid Pro Quo is a gem. Two outstanding performances from Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga provide riveting viewing

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

Its biggest mystery is how it was financed (by Texas trillionaire and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban, no less) and selected for distribution.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
Reyhan Harmanci
San Francisco Chronicle

has the best "middle" I've seen in a long time

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/13/08
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

By far the movie's strong suit is Farmiga, who gives an astonishingly layered performance,

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
07/02/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Very deftly made, with some lovely cinematography and two quirky, engaging lead performances, it's a satisfying debut.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
06/20/08
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

An outsider adventure strictly for the very open-minded, presenting the numbness of paralysis, ironically, as a potential source of paroxysms of pleasure.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
06/19/08
Kam Williams
NewsBlaze

An obscure and terrifying mental disorder leads a reporter to the strangest and then the most terrifying story of his life. A neat film noir in a very modern setting amongst people who are not all there.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
06/17/08
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics

Quid Pro Quo hovers in a noir-shaded twilight zone where repressed memories and guilt merge in an obsession with physical and emotional paralysis.

comment Comment
06/13/08
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie exerts a certain appeal without ever being convincing.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
06/13/08
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

This warped masochistic cousin to David Cronenberg's Crash - not to be confused with the Oscar winner of the same name -- is well worth seeing for Farmiga's stunning performance.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
06/13/08
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

While a good director can spin a worthy movie from any subject, first-timer Carlos Brooks does surprisingly little with the jaw-dropper of a topic he chose.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
06/13/08
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

This odd little fugue of a movie would be implausible, even laughable, if it weren't also marvelously played, visually composed and plotted with the utmost cunning.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
06/13/08
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

If you were a fan of David Cronenberg's Crash, you might just be the target audience for Quid Pro Quo, a perverse psychological drama about able-bodied people who yearn to become disabled.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
06/13/08
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

The film is lightest on its feet when it shakes off the Red Shoe Diaries foreboding for moments of sly irony

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/13/08
Amy Nicholson
Boxoffice Magazine

Brooks has no idea how to pace his irritatingly giddy script, and the film feels overlong at 82 minutes.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
06/13/08
Bruce Feld
Film Journal International

I wanted Quid Pro Quo to develop into something at every turn, but it just never gels. It's a great 20-page short story that can't sustain 82 minutes of life on the big screen.

Full Review Source: The Deadbolt | comment Comment
06/13/08
Brian Tallerico
The Deadbolt

Brooks tiptoes into territory Luis Bunuel would have frolicked in, but he does so without the master surrealist's desire to outrage and confound his viewers.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
06/13/08
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It frustratingly refuses to go bonkers, but the film is a compelling sit, brought to life by two very crafty, pointed performances.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
06/12/08
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

[Director] Brooks plunges into the thick of a largely unfamiliar subculture in Quid Pro Quo, but the journey involves a series of well-telegraphed twists and turns.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
06/12/08
Keith Phipps
AV Club

Might work if it was really about what it's really about, but its too-tricky script has too many paths that lead nowhere.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
06/12/08
Matt Pais
Metromix.com
 
 
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Latest News for Quid Pro Quo

August 11, 2008: Not exactly Bunuel's differently abled erotica classic Tristana, it raises mystifying questions about disability as a state of mind. And whether or not the final clues to this mind over matter mystery reside in sex, shoes or tulips, hypochondriacs beware. Opens in new window
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June 19, 2008: Why would anyone have an erotic compulsion to become physically handicapped? Opens in new window
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June 16, 2008: Not exactly Bunuel's differently abled erotica classic Tristana, it raises mystifying questions about disability as a state of mind. And whether or not the final clues to this mind over matter mystery reside in sex, shoes or tulips, hypochondriacs beware. Opens in new window
More...

May 18, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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