In the form of a dialectic exercise, with the mysterious Woman in White played by superstar Stacy Valentine interrogating pimp Anthony Crane for the entire film, James Avallon shows both his writing skills and high-style visuals in this fondly remembered feature from the VHS era.
Like another winner he shot for Metro at this time, Carnal Instincts, it clocks in at under 80 minutes long, a lost art for today's no-editing pornographers. Under Stacy's relentless grilling, Crane recalls in flashback some of the girls he callously turned out as prostitutes over the years. The film's structure suggests a sort of interview at the Pearly Gates for someone hoping to go to Heaven, but surprisingly Avalon anticipates a surprise reveal in the final reel more akin to the philosophy behind Nolan's current hit TV series "Westworld", but minus the sci-fi cybernetics.
Valentine shines as a much abused lover of Crane's named Darla, cajoled to service men to enrich Crane, while she honestly loves the mean lug. This shows an impressive range contrasted with her Woman in White character who Crane nicknames "Angel". A bit confusingly, the actual White Angel of the title is portrayed not by Valentine but by ethereal images of actress Roxanne, in a NonSex role.
Besides Stacy, the great Chloe is another of Crane's victims, and all the actresses cast in supporting roles are striking presences. The director manages to include a couple of his trademark kinky setpieces, including exotic Kimberly Jade and Leanni Lei as "The Mattress Twins" and a Frisco-set lesbian peep show. Oddly enough, Avalon's script seems to have anticipated the rise of Peter Acworth's kink.com empire with this scene set in a multi-story San Francisco sex/bondage building, 8 years before the internet pornographer bought the Armory that became his production base, recently closed down and sold.
