A Gun for Jennifer

A film by Todd Morris (USA, 1993),

with Deborah Twiss, Benja Kay, Rene Alberta, Veronica Cruz, Tracy Dillon and Freida Hoops.

New York City. Nowadays. A group of female vigilantes tracks down and "punishes" all kinds of rapers and sexual maniacs. Among those amazons, Jennifer, "enrolled" in spite of herself, is torn between the group's conception of justice and the city sad realities...

Released in France in 1998 in two theatres only, A Gun for Jennifer has raised a lot of controversies, from festivals to theatrical releases, because of its very explicit violence and its extremistic vision of women's conditions. It actually reflects writer-producer-actress Deborah Twiss' anger toward a male-centered society: as a drama student in NYC, she used to pay her classes by dancing in a strip-tease bar. At some point, she got so sick and tired of all those guys who kept yelling and insulting her that she wrote A Gun for Jennifer to show how violent women could be too. The movie is definitely not about compassion. Provocation is here Twiss' weapon and she definitely hits the target: she succeeds in arousing in turn grins, anger and disgust all along the film. At the same time, it is not that clear however that she wants the viewer to side with the vigilantes. The movie gains more to be understood the following way: violence only calls for more violence, whatever your sex, race or whatever is. Morris and Twiss' adaptation of "more violence" in a female world is both technical and personal: on the one hand, the treatment is technically bold and avant-gardist, and on the other hand, it is justified by Twiss' experience. Let's also mention an especially atmospheric photography (film grain, saturated colors), most efficient dialogs and an amazingly convincing cast. With Twiss' creative energy and Morris' visual sense, we can only look forward to the couple's next project, The Dream Killers, and hope for a courageous studio to join in!

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