Quid Pro Quo
Quid Pro Quo Image
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Metascore
55 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

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  • Starring: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga
  • Summary: Isaac Knott is a Public Radio reporter in New York City. When he was eight, his mother and father died in an automobile accident that left him in a wheelchair. On air, Isaac recounts how he recently received an anonymous tip from someone identified only as "Ancient Chinese Girl." She tells him a perfectly able-bodied man walked into an emergency ward downtown, and attempted to bribe a doctor into amputating his leg. As Isaac investigates the eerie tip, he encounters Fiona who, through her own quandary, leads Isaac to a netherworld of people afflicted with a perverse desire to be disabled. Like a contemporary noir detective film, Quid Pro Quo follows Isaac as he embarks on a dream-like journey to pull back the layers of what makes people feel whole. (Magnolia Pictures)
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    80
    A strikingly original and provocative first feature from scribe-helmer Carlos Brooks.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    This warped masochistic cousin to David Cronenberg's "Crash" - not to be confused with the Oscar winner of the same name - is well worth seeing for Farmiga's stunning performance.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jean Oppenheimer
    50
    Farmiga is captivating, Stahl less so--although a bigger problem is writer/director Carlos Brooks's script, which sets up one story, then shifts gears into something more personal and psychologically specific. That's normally a plus, deepening the viewer's sense of involvement, but the transition here is bumpy and, ultimately, unconvincing.
  4. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Reyhan Harmanci
    25
    Quid Pro Quo, billed as a "neo-noir" about a paraplegic journalist drawn into a shadowy world of disability fetishists, is choked by allegory and pretension. It's an O. Henry tale gone wrong.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Abasios
    9
    An excellent independent movie dealing with a difficult subject area - BIID, abasiophilia, disability wannabes and devotees - that few understand. The movie treats the subject matter in a non-sensational way and the acting and drama are superb. This deserves a much wider showing than the artsy cinema circuits in which such movies are usually confined. This movie beats Hollywood fodder hands down and comes over more in the style of the better European movies.… Expand
  2. JayH.
    6
    Nick Stahl is an amazing actor, I think he will be a well know actor one day. The story is good, well directed and interesting. Beautifully photographed, stylishly done, and very well acted.… Expand
  3. HomeReviewer
    6
    Isaac Knott, played by Isaac Knott is a public radio reporter in New York; he's been in a wheelchair since he was 8, result of an accident that killed his parents. He sets out to investigate a case of extreme Body Integrity Identity Disorder(BIID) not knowing what it is or even that it existed; he discovers there's a subculture of this which he's most curious to try to understand. His character is broken hearted because his ex-girlfriend, also paraplegic, dumped him when he suggested they marry. On his quest to understand BIID, he meets Fiona, played by Vera Farmiga, who he finds interesting and not all that repulsive, considering she appears to be afflicted by BIID and in a progressive stage; she is gorgeous after all, and seduces him. He comes across a pair of shoes he's compelled to own, and when he does put them on they magically gains use of his legs, a freak occurrence that only works he wears them. Up to this point you may feel, as I did, this movie is not going to be one you'll be interested in seeing to the end; I wouldn't blame you, as the subject lends itself to that. However because I really like Vera Farmiga, I stuck it out; can't think another reason one would. The meeting of the two lead characters is not a chance thing; a deep purpose is at play and unfortunately isn't revealed till late in the movie. The connection of the two leads and that purpose I mentioned was well conceived, I have to admit. You'll also learn about another disorder, hysterical paralysis, thanks to the very good writing by writer/director Carlos Brooks in his debut work. If you have the stomach for that sort of thing watch it, you may learn something. There are unavoidable comparisons one can make to the 1996 David Cronenberg's film Crash, but I won't. I also won't be mentioning or recommending this film to my friends; they may think I'm even more twisted than I sound at times, but I'm not. What I am is a movie buff with a broad interest and if you are as well, you may find it interesting.… Expand

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