American gigolo

Julian Kay is a suave, confident gigolo working for upper class older women in the LA area. Materialistic and refined Julian likes to think that he is above the seedy milieu of johns and blackmailers that inhabit his world. One night he is hired to service a woman whilst her husband watches - when she turns up dead shortly afterwards, Julian is suspected of murder. Meanwhile, Julian has become involved with Michelle Stratton, a beautiful woman unhappily married to a local senator. Michelle, who doesn’t pay for his services, is drawn to Julian, despite his occupation and seeks to assist him with his dilemma. This film in part addresses the sexual frustrations of middle-aged housewives whose husbands bore them and neglect their needs. But mostly it is an erotic thriller and a paean to the early 1980s - the clothes, music, cars and pre-AIDS hedonism. Directed by Paul Schrader (Cat people, Light sleeper, Affliction), “American gigolo” made a star of Richard Gere and was an early hit for Jerry Bruckheimer who went on to produce “Flashdance,” “Beverly Hills cop,” “Top gun” and “Pearl Harbour,” among others. Cast also includes Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina Van Pallandt.