Personal Services (1987) on Netflix
Christine Painter, a waitress and single mother, sublets London flats to call girls. Behind on rent, she turns to sex work herself and plans a brothel with Shirley.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.3/102,065 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes67%
Trailer
Plot summary
Working as a waitress in London, Christine Painter supports her teenage son David and covers his school fees by subletting flats to call girls. A landlord catches her subletting illegally and behind on the rent, and she settles the debt with a handjob. When one of the tenants, Rose, refuses to pay and leaves, Christine takes the empty flat and does sex work herself, which leads to a charge of soliciting and a guilty plea. She and fellow sex worker Shirley then plan a house offering fetish roleplay and bondage to wealthier clients, and rent a suburban house where their maid, Dolly, joins them.
Cast
Show all 15 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Personal Services (1987)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Personal Services was banned in the Republic of Ireland when it opened in cinemas, and the ban was lifted two months later by a vote of 6 to 2.
- Four films were banned in Ireland at the time, and the director, Jones, had made three of them: Personal Services, Monty Python's Life of Brian and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
- The film's story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the madam known as the "House of Cyn".
