Sex Trafficking In Pretty Girl

James Rico Portrays the Horrors of Sex Trafficking in Pretty Girl

Monica Ring

Director James Rico takes a serious issue from the real world and turns it into a very powerful narrative.

Pretty Girl starts off with an audio track playing in the background, as the camera focuses on a woman. I thought it was a smart move to blur the background out. This technique allows the audience to focus solely on the woman, while also introducing the audience to the protagonist.

A lot of information is revealed to us in the establishing shot. Aside from being introduced to the protagonist, we see that she’s passionate about dancing, and that this is taking place in a dance studio. The visual storytelling is truly a work of art in this fine short film.

In the next scene, the protagonist’s name is revealed subtly through dialogue

When Frankie pushed past Joan to get to the door, I was rooting for her to get out. However, when Matthew stepped in front of her, I knew that it was all over. When the door opened, I was hoping for it to be a cop, but it was his friend Adrian, who introduced Matthew to the sex trafficking industry.

The fact that they called it a “business” was absolutely repulsive. When I think of a business, I think of Target or real estate. Business to me means corporations that sell useful products or assistance with buying a house. I don’t think of poor, innocent girls getting traded for sex. It makes me sick to think about that.

The acting was phenomenal and really allowed me to become more engaged in the film. I sympathized greatly with Frankie, and the personality traits of each character drew me further into the world of the protagonist. It made me believe that Matthew and Joan were psychologically deranged, and that Frankie was just an innocent child. Adrian had me believing that he was a murderer and pedophile with an unstable mental