This is a 2009 indie film directed by Jake Scott (son of Ridley and nephew of Tony). It's been a long while coming, as is the case with many indie films but, in the words of Kristen Stewart herself 'I guess people will want to check out the Twilight girl dressed up as a stripper'.
This is arguably true to an extent, but this movie offers a lot more. KStew gives a very impressive side in her performance here, as a foul-mouthed young woman who has seen it all in a lousy hand dealt to her by life.
Ever since the death of their daughter Emily, Doug (James Gandolfini) and Lois Riley (Melissa Leo) have been drifting apart. As Lois wrestles with guilt over her daughter's death, Doug copes by entering into an affair with Vivian, a local waitress. Lately, Lois hasn't even been able to muster the courage to venture outside. When Vivian dies and Doug finds himself in a New Orleans strip club during a business trip, he realises he's come to a crossroads in life.
Turning down an offer for a private dance by 16-year-old stripper/prostitute Mallory (Kristen Stewart), Doug instead accompanies the girl home and makes a most unusual proposition: If Mallory will allow him to stay in her run down apartment long enough to straighten himself out, he will pay her $100 a day for her trouble, and make no attempt to sleep with her at all (a deal many men would perhaps have negotiated somewhat differently).
For Mallory, who isn't used to getting money for nothing, it seems like a great deal. She accepts, and Doug phones Lois to tell her he won't be coming home.
As time passes, Doug and Mallory settle into an unconventional kind of domesticity.
However, things veer off this cosy new path when Lois decides to break out and head down to New Orleans herself....
I really liked this film, which has a quiet but absorbing pace as it delivers its message of hope, redemption and learning to accept one's losses and move on.
Highly recommended.