This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Not a movie i'd watch again to be honest.It jumps around too much, flashback memory scenes etc, and subjects of prostitution and Incest..Not to everyone's taste.It stars, Kelly McDonald as Stella, Peter Bolam as her pimp, and Ewan Stewart as her creepy father.. All really good actors to be fair.The movie is just too slow, with a couple of exciting scenes thrown in, but a bit sporadic.Filmed in and around Glasgow and London i believe, for those of you that like to know locations..I'd give it 4 stars, as it does have some really gritty parts, but overall, it's just too slow.

"Stella Does Tricks" tells of a Scottish teen female's struggle to escape a life of prostitution. Sans the glitzy appointments of the usual tinsel town fare and exploitive sex and nudity usually accompanying the subject matter, this austere film focuses on the real problems of the principle; addictiveness of easy money, low self esteem from childhood abuse, etc. With excellent performances all around, especially by Mcdonald (Stella), this film's only flaw is annoying dreamlike flashbacking which is too often ambiguous in an attempt to be poetic. Good stuff for those into sincere, earnest, hardworking reality pix about the socially disenfranchised.

I thought this was one of those films you simply have to see with someone else - to go over it afterwards.Although rambling in places, I found the lead characters were mesmerising, in that you simply had to watch to find out what happened. James Bolam, in particular, was disturbingly nasty as the pimp, showing an incredible characterisation. As I have only seen him in light comedy before, I wondered whether he was suitable for such a gritty drama - and he proved eminently so!Overall, a disturbing film due to the subject matter, but a very well acted and presented drama which leaves an enduring impression in the mind after the film ends - one of the marks of a good film, to me.

The output from British studios has been mixed to say the least, over the past 3/4 years. This is worth a viewing. It is sluggish over the first 30 minutes, and lacks a narrative direction. However you become drawn into Stella's life and frequent mistakes. A tender movie that doesn't go for the cliche.