Hussy 1980

Beaty Simons, Helen Mirren, works as a prostitute at a London cabaret, and Emory Cole, John Shea, is the sound and lighting technician who becomes entangled in her world. Their affair blooms under the glitz of the cabaret, even as Beaty’s line of work casts a long shadow over their chances of a normal life. Emory carries a heavy unease about Beaty’s past and the life she leads, while Beaty herself wrestles with the responsibility of her young son and the fear of what leaving everything behind might do to him.

Two figures from their histories arrive, pulling the pair into a dangerous convergence. Max, Murray Salem, is Emory’s urbane, outspoken friend who pushes him toward a drug deal, bringing a taste of danger and excess into their fragile arrangement. Beaty’s former lover and perhaps her pimp, Alex Denham, Paul Angelis, is a brute whose presence unsettles Beaty and threatens the fragile trust she’s built with Emory. Alex is quiet and raging, a stark contrast to Max’s sharpness and style, and Beaty’s resistance to rekindling anything with Alex only fuels his volatile temper. Yet Alex agrees to join the caper, thinking it’s gun smuggling, as the trio contends with loyalty, fear, and the tangled motives that bind them.

On the day of the caper, the uneasy alliance fractures in a tense car ride. Max taunts Alex until the tension breaks and Alex shoots Max dead, leaving Emory and Alex to dispose of the body. The aftermath reveals a chilling truth: Alex is aware of Emory’s plan to take Beaty and her son away and he seems prepared to do whatever it takes to secure his hold. He hands Emory a stash of cash found on Max’s body and urges him to use it to keep everyone safe, even as the grim reality settles in that the future may depend on violence and separation rather than escape.

When Emory and Beaty finally reunite, Beaty’s resolve wavers. She refuses to flee the country immediately, torn by the fear of uprooting her child and the stubborn pull of a past she isn’t sure she can sever. Yet the promise of a fresh start glimmers in the proceeds from the night’s grim work, offering a route to a life free from the men who stalk them. The final scenes pull the trio toward a last-ditch bid for freedom: Emory, Beaty, and her child race to catch a plane, eyes fixed on a future liberated from the weight of their entwined histories.