Jade is a 1995 erotic thriller directed by William Friedkin (director of the previously discussed Cruising (1980)), and written by Joe Ezterhaus, who also penned Flashdance (1983) Basic Instinct (1992).
Star Linda Fiorentino is no stranger to kink, as seen in After Hours (1985) and The Last Seduction (1994). She plays Trina, the old flame of the protagonist, who is blackmailed into being a high-class call girl known as “Jade”.
Jade depends on the persistent myth that, in some secret, hidden place, social elites are doing bizarre, utterly depraved things to each other. The problem is that this film can’t deliver what it promises. There’s the implication that “Jade” does anal. The kinkiest thing we actually see is a brief shot of Fiorentino’s face covered with a nylon stocking. This is supposed to be so perverse that Trina has to dissociate into the “Jade” persona.
This is hardly shocking, even by the standards of 1995. Frankly, by 2023 standards, you’ll see edgier stuff in a typical rerun of CSI.
There’s a lot to criticize in Friedkin’s Cruising, but at least it was willing to be provocative. Jade is a tepid cop drama.
