Ryan's Rear & the Curious Case of Catch Hell

'A fading Hollywood pretty-boy gets taken and brutalized in Louisiana by two local men with his total ruination at heart.'

With a focus on men in the media, I often come across scenes in which the nudity stems from depictions of violence, sexual abuse and rape.  I usually try to avoid those scenes as I'm especially comfortable with sexualizing acts of violence and cruelty.  That was the case when I first saw the nude scene from the film Catch Hell. (aka Chained)

In the 2014 thriller, Ryan Phillippe plays actor Reagan Pierce, a actor's who's career is on down slide, and who heads to Louisiana to film a new film.  Things take a turn quickly, with Reagan soon kidnapped, chained and tortured by his kidnappers Mike and Junior.  Turns out, the kidnapping, as well as Reagan's torture and humiliation is payback for an affair Mike believes the actor had with his wife.

As the film goes on, we see that Junior (Stephen Louis Grush) has a wee crush on the hot blonde Adonis chained in front of him.  Reagan senses it as well, as uses it to try get on Junior's good side which doesn't exactly end well.  Near the end of the film, Junior, thinking Reagan's out cold from a pain pill, attempts to rape him.  Reagan, awakened by a phone, fights off his attacker, and Junior ends up being dragged away by one of his pet gators.

I chose to not initially write about the film, due to the attempted rape, but given it was another butt baring from Ryan Phillippe, it was difficult to ignore.  I found it fascinating that Phillippe would take this role, given his Hollywood history.  Phillippe is a good actor, but it can't really be argued that his incredible looks were a huge part of rise in films, especially during the nineties.  It also not a secret, Phillippe has a large gay following.  In part, this was due to his ground breaking role as a gay teen on One Life To Live, but a another big part were his butt baring scenes in Little Boy Blue, Cruel Intentions and 54.

It was fascinating to me, that the actors would be so vulnerably exposed in Catch Hell, especially after learning the film was written, produced and directed by Phillippe himself.   Although I don't find violence the least bit sexual, Catch Hell went out of it's way to ensure Reagan's hot body was frequently in focus.  The kidnappers found nude shots of the actor and his female sex partners on his phone, (which they released to the press) and being chained up, Reagan was humiliated even further needing Juniors help to pee.

Phillippe directed the attempted rape scene in a way to ensure his butt got exposed not just to Junior, but to the audience, even having Reagan's butt visible through Junior's legs as he took off his pants. These choices, although gratuitous (which isn't always a bad thing) would have felt much more  exploitative if I hadn't known Phillippe not only wrote, but directed the nude scene itself.

The film has been both impressed, and curious at about the actor, and in this case, the writer and directors creative thought process.  I've tried to find an interview where Phillippe discusses his motivation, but only found a few where he talked more generally about getting his first feature off the ground.

In many ways, it feels like Phillippe is purposely using, and even mocking his reputation, and taking on how the industry, and social media can drive and often, ruin a career. I wouldn't go so far as saying 'Mike' and 'Junior' represent Hollywood and the industry, but it's an interesting parallel. In Catch Fire though, many try to fuck him over but ultimately, the actor fights back.