A Certain Sacrifice is an independent film directed by Stephen Jon Lewicki. It is notable for being Madonna's film debut.
Set in New York City, the film follows David, a.k.a. "Dashiel" (Jeremy Pattnosh), a rebel who has moved to the big city in order to get away from his overbearing family. While journeying around the city, he meets Bruna (Madonna, credited as "Louise Ciccionenote /Madonna Ciccioninote "), a Self-Made Woman / Dominatrix who leads a group of "love slaves" that worship her. Dashiel and Bruna improbably meet and begin a romance, but their happiness is threatened by the presence of Raymond Hall (Charles Kurtz), an individual who runs afoul of him. Hall enacts a campaign of reprisal against Dashiel, leading him to swear revenge by enacting a certain sacrifice.
It Makes Just As Much Sense In Context.
Described by the director as "new wave, Lower East Side, post-punk", the film was shot on location in New York between 1979-1981 for a reported $20,000 budget, but wasn't released until October 1985 to capitalize on Madonna's early fame. Madonna subsequently attempted to sue Lewicki to have the film barred from distribution, only for the subsequent lawsuit to be thrown out of court. The film eventually achieved infamy, being popular enough to warrant an international home media release and selling 50,000 copies in its first week.
This film contains examples of the following tropes:
- Bisexual Love Triangle: Bruna is either in a relationship or manages a group of "love-slaves" (one male, one female, one transgender). Depending on the interpretation, they either paw at her or assault her when she tries to tell them she's no longer interested in being with them. She's also shown in a loving relationship with Dashiel, and the plot attempts to portray them as being exclusive with each other (with Bruna being apologetic and embarrassed about the "love-slaves" in question)... until the third act, when she brings them back into the fold to help kidnap Hall. It Makes Just As Much Sense In Context.
- Bondage Is Bad: Bruna explains her situation in this way for Dashiel's benefit, stating that she's caught in a cycle of "bondage and domination" with her "love slaves" that she's been unable to get out of.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The seemingly-random "love slaves" Bruna is in charge of get conscripted into her and Dashiel's plot to kidnap and murder Hall, directly helping the duo hijack a limousine in broad daylight and locate Hall.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Had Dashiel bothered to help out Hall (who's displaying Extreme Libido) instead of antagonizing him, the latter might not have raped Bruna in the diner several weeks later.
- Covers Always Lie: Most of the marketing rode on the coattails of Madonna's fame in the mid-80s, greatly misrepresenting the film in the process.
- The VHS cover
uses a promo shot of Madonna from a music video (presumably "Who's That Girl?"), which looks nothing like her appearance in this film. - The European poster (used as the page image) makes the film out to be far more seductive, befitting of something like Basic Instinct instead of the low-rent arthouse film it wound up being released as.
- The VHS cover
- Create Your Own Villain: Dashiel's dismissal and antagonizing of Hall (whose only sin, at least in his initial scene, is that he suffers from Extreme Libido and wants someone to help him get laid) leads the latter to go after Bruna.
- Darker and Edgier: The first two-thirds of the film revolve around a pair of Star-Crossed Lovers who meet/interact with other New York residents in what can charitably be described as a series of vignettes. The film then takes a sharp right turn when Bruna is raped and Dashiel pledges to get revenge against Hall.
- Did Not Think This Through: Hall (who is known to Dashiel) makes the mistake of raping Bruna in a public diner washroom, then brags about it to Dashiel on the way out. Bruna then rallies Dashiel and her fellow "slaves" to immediately kidnap Hall and perform a ritual sacrifice on him.
- Dominatrix: In one of the film's most infamous scenes, Bruna confronts her "love slaves" while dressed in a one-piece latex outfit and tells them she can't support them anymore. Later on, she tells Dashiel that she's caught in a cycle of "bondage and domination".
- Easily Forgiven: Bruna apparently forgives her three "love slaves" after they (depending on interpretation) either lightly paw at her or assault her when she tries to leave their group.
- Evil Plan: In order to conduct the "certain sacrifice", Bruna and the "love slaves" concoct a plan to kidnap Hall in broad daylight, via posing as a group of prostitutes and abducting him into a waiting limousine.
- Exploitation Film: The third act, which veers from the "slice-of-life" series of vignettes the film had itself up as, and turns into a sleazy thriller where the "hero" and his girlfriend kidnap an even-bigger sleazeball, tie him up, antagonize him, and then host a Satanic ritual where they sing about how they're going to murder him, before stabbing him to death and covering themselves in his blood.
- Excuse Plot: Why does Bruna dress up in a skintight red one-piece while antagonizing her "love slaves", causing her to get beaten up in response? Why/how does Dashiel know about Satanic rituals? Why is Raymond Hall asking a random guy in a diner where the best place to get laid is, and why does he keep the conversation going despite being told 'no'? Why does Dashiel antagonize Bruna in a tunnel underneath a bridge by singing to her (while she cowers in fear) after they'd just affirmed their trust in each other? Your guess is as good as ours.
- Extreme Libido: Hall is relentlessly horny, as his Establishing Character Moment indicates. Later on, when Bruna and the "love slaves" are tracking him down, she claims that he'll be easy to find because "he's been with every hooker on 42nd Street".
- Happily Ever After: According to the narrator in the final scene, Dashiel and Bruna spent the rest of their lives together.
- Human Sacrifice: Raymond Hall, who is sacrificed by Dashiel, Bruna and the rest of the "love slaves" (and a bunch of partygoers, to boot) as part of a Satanic ritual.
- Justified Criminal: The third act is motivated by a series of circumstances that leave Dashiel much worse off than he was — he's kicked out of his apartment due to a misunderstanding with his landlord (influenced by Hall's campaign of revenge) and his love interest is raped by the villain, leading him to plan reprisal against Hall. Towards the end of the film, he delivers a Motive Rant to a mannequin dressed up in Hall's hat and clothing that the latter made him this way.
- Karma Houdini: Despite the ruckus they cause (hijacking a limousine and kidnapping a man in broad daylight, then conducting a ritual sacrifice in an abandoned theater), Dashiel, Bruna and the rest of the "party-goers" get away scot-free after murdering Hall. The ending even has the narrator explicitly state that Dashiel and Bruna lived Happily Ever After.
- Large Ham: Dashiel, who seems to be "edgy for the sake of it." He is introduced playing Russian Roulette with a water gun while staring at himself in a mirror, and most of his dialogue is delivered in an over-the-top manner that seems completely at odds with the film's tone.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In retaliation for raping Bruna, Dashiel and the rest of the "love slaves" kidnap Hall and perform a ritual sacrifice.
- Leave the Camera Running: Due to the nature of the filming style (the filmmakers only had one camera and had to make do with takes that were filmed years earlier), the film lapses into long, drawn-out takes with little of note happening.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Bruna, as exemplified in the "fountain" scene. She's an overly-positive New Yorker who Dashiel meets while she's dancing around in a public fountain (fully-clothed). Oh, and she just happens to moonlight as a Dominatrix.
- Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: Due to the somewhat-abstract subject matter, the film lapses into this:
- Dashiel singing "Screamin' Demon Lover", an Intercourse with You song he delivers to Bruna (who is left holding her head in fear by the end of it) under a bridge, is dropped in randomly after a scene where they affirm their trust in each other, and has nothing to do with the events that follow.
- Bruna's first scene in the film, a shot of her saying, "I'm a dodo girl, and I'm looking for a dodo boy," is at odds with her characterization in the rest of the film as a dominatrix who oversees a group of "love slaves", and is inconsistent with the narrator saying immediately beforehand how she's a "bad girl". (To note, an outtake exists of her saying a completely different line that fits the subject matter much better — it's unknown why this wasn't used in the finished product.)
- Mood Whiplash: Despite the subject matter, the film frequently lapses into this:
- The climactic "sacrifice" of Raymond Hall is accompanied by a musical number that has such an upbeat mood that it sounds more at home in a comedy. This was parodied by Todd in the Shadows, who quoted various lyrics from Christmas Songs, Cher, Metallica and other artists to highlight how ridiculous the whole thing sounded.
- The scene of Dashiel smearing Hall's blood on Bruna (as part of the Satanic ritual) is filmed in a manner more befitting of a romantic drama. The fact that Bruna is displaying Absolute Cleavage doesn't help matters.
- Motive Rant:
- In the first act, David dumps his girlfriend by invoking one of these, stating that he has no interest trying to fit in with the post-secondary institution he's attending.
David: I don't want to be normal, and I don't want normal people's problems!- Dashiel claims in front of a mannequin of Hall that the latter's mistreatment has caused him to turn into a villain himself, just before the sacrifice scene.
- Noodle Incident: The film cuts from David unsuccessfully trying to hitch a ride to New York to the next scene, where he's seen climbing on top of a set of stairs and staring at Bruna with bandages all over his face. Beyond the opening narration that Dashiel has "a reputation", there is no explanation for what happened to cause his injuries.
- "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: Due to the bizarre circumstances surrounding the movie's release and its filming/editing style, the movie opens with one.A Certain Sacrifice is a rare piece of music history. Originally shot on Super 8mm in 1979, this film exhibits a raw and intimate experimental film style. Due to the limitations of the original medium, some technical inconsistencies may be apparent.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Bruna and Dashiel get revenge on Hall by kidnapping him in broad daylight, tying him up and antagonizing him before stabbing him to death. This was all done in retaliation for Hall raping Bruna at the diner she and Dashiel frequented.
- Rape and Revenge: The third act revolves around this, as Bruna and Dashiel set out to kidnap Hall, and then murder him as part of a Satanic ritual. It Makes Just as Much Sense in Context.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Hall rapes Bruna for no apparent purpose other than a petty sense of revenge against Dashiel, who insulted him at the same coffee shop weeks earlier. Even worse, Hall insults Dashiel on his way out of the establishment, and only gets away initially because everyone is so shocked by Bruna's condition that it takes multiple people to clear a space to set her down.
- Really Gets Around: Bruna claims this of Hall late in the film, stating that he's been with "every hooker on 42nd Street" and warning the rest of the group not to touch him. When they do locate Hall, he's eyeing a "peep show" revue on 42nd Street.
- Self-Made Woman: Bruna states that she's an orphan who has (somehow) built herself into the pseudo-leader of a group of "love slaves" that depend on her for their well-being.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Had Dashiel's college professor not made such a big impact on him by using the Title Drop, it's possible he and Bruna never would have gone through with their plan to kidnap and murder Hall.
- Title Drop: One of Dashiel's college professors tells him that "certain sacrifices have to be made" if he wants to succeed at post-secondary education.
