Irina Palm is not the first or last movie about a middle-aged woman who would face the situation that requires to completely turn her life around and to make the choices and sacrifices she would never even imagine. What makes Irina Palm special is Marianne Faithful in the titular role.
The pop-culture legend and the muse of the legendary rock-musicians, the singer, the actor, the rare beauty, the symbol of swinging 60s, the center of media frenzy in her young days, the recovering drug addict, the 60+ years old cancer survivor and the grandmother of two, gives a brilliant Oscar worthy performance as Maggie/Irina, a 50 years old widow who desperately needs to find a job to help to pay for her beloved grandson medical bills. She throws herself into the movie, brings genuine emotions and humor to the rather grim and perverse story, and she owns the movie. Without her, it could have been just another small mildly interesting independent film with a quirky twist but she elevates it to the higher level. She is a fine actress and her performance as a loving grandma/reluctant sex worker with a magic touch is affecting, moving, funny, dignified, and memorable. Marianne Faithful and Yugoslavian actor Miki Manojlovic as Maggie/Irina's boss have the real chemistry together and make us believe that the mutual interest, understanding and attraction could exists in some very unlikely places, lead to love and (who knows) even happiness.
The pop-culture legend and the muse of the legendary rock-musicians, the singer, the actor, the rare beauty, the symbol of swinging 60s, the center of media frenzy in her young days, the recovering drug addict, the 60+ years old cancer survivor and the grandmother of two, gives a brilliant Oscar worthy performance as Maggie/Irina, a 50 years old widow who desperately needs to find a job to help to pay for her beloved grandson medical bills. She throws herself into the movie, brings genuine emotions and humor to the rather grim and perverse story, and she owns the movie. Without her, it could have been just another small mildly interesting independent film with a quirky twist but she elevates it to the higher level. She is a fine actress and her performance as a loving grandma/reluctant sex worker with a magic touch is affecting, moving, funny, dignified, and memorable. Marianne Faithful and Yugoslavian actor Miki Manojlovic as Maggie/Irina's boss have the real chemistry together and make us believe that the mutual interest, understanding and attraction could exists in some very unlikely places, lead to love and (who knows) even happiness.