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Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Jacob Pitts, Aimee Mullins, Jeane Fournier ... see more see more... , Kate Burton , Jessica Hecht , Dylan Bruno , Rachael Black , Phil LaMarr , Pablo Schreiber , Leonardo Nam , Michal Sinnott , Joshua Leonard , James Frain , Ellen Taylor Marlow , Ashlie Atkinson , Matthew Carey , Rachel Black

A man who can't walk meets a woman who envies his condition in this offbeat black comedy. Isaac Knott (Nick Stahl) lost the use of his legs when he was eight years old in an auto accident that also cl... read more read more...aimed the lives of his parents. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Isaac has enjoyed a successful career as the host of a talk show on a New York City public radio outlet. One day, Isaac is told an odd story about a man who arrived at a local hospital and demanded to have his legs amputated; the man was part of a secret subculture of able-bodied folks who wish to be paraplegics, using wheelchairs when they can and attempting to deaden their legs through artificial means. Isaac becomes fascinated with the idea of these wannabes, and begins studying the phenomenon for a piece on his show. Isaac's research leads him to Fiona (Vera Farmiga), a sexy but mysterious blonde who collects and restores Chinese art. Fiona is also the owner of a wheelchair she doesn't really need, and Isaac, who is increasingly attracted to her, wants to know all about her role in the fake-paraplegic underground. However, Fiona isn't about to give away any of her secrets for free, and Isaac discovers that the exchange of information and trust goes deeper the longer they know one another. The first feature film from writer and director Carlos Brooks, Quid Pro Quo received its premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

52% liked it

1,667 ratings

Critics

57% liked it

35 critics

R, 1 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Carlos Brooks

Release Date: January 20, 2008

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DVD Release Date: August 20, 2008

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Stats: 216 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (216)

  • puffchunk
    September 1, 2009
    puffchunk
    Pretty disturbing, but only someone like Vera Farmiga could be sexy pretending to be crippled. Makes you wonder if these people really exist. Decent ending, even though I usually hate suprise twists.
  • ceWEBrity
    October 22, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Quid Pro Quo is burdened with flaws, a tiny indie addressing a challenging subject with all the intelligence and moral rationality of your generic people-pleasing blockbuster. Nick Stahl's narration leaves nothing up to the imagination, filling in the ideological bubbles for the ... read moreaudience - and if they're taking the time to watch a film like this, I'm sure they don't need it. The script is far too shallow and unfair to even justify this movie getting made. Sexual deviance here is uniformly attacked as a sign of mental illness, and though there are sound arguments as to the sanity of someone who would willingly paralyze themselves to fulfill a fetish, Quid Pro Quo doesn't even let the innocent get away. Stahl meets the group of people who teach him of this lifestyle literally underground, in a dank basement under some anonymous building. The message the film is trying to send is clear - those with unconventional sexual views are somehow "dark."

    But if you're starting to think I'm one of those crazy bastards who nitpicks the hell out of a movie trying to isolate some phantom ideology, let me assure you that the movie also sucks on other terms. Another casualty of the lousy writing, the plot is absolutely awful, telegraphed painfully far in advance. The twists are so easy as to almost be insulting. Quid Pro Quo throws around a few flashy visual tricks, but to no real effect; the aesthetics don't support any sort of tone or theme at all, and the camera work is just artsy for the hell of it. The music is really, really cheesy.

    The only real reason to watch this is Vera Farmiga's interesting, technically-able performance as a woman irrevocably chained to her sexuality. She is two parts sad, three parts insane and five parts compulsively watchable. The character is not very well done, but her performance props it up just enough to sell it. Nick Stahl is serviceable but the character is even less interesting.
  • fb1144932598
    May 29, 2009
    fb1144932598
    Highly charged film about a very dark subject and a not often discussed subculture. A year ago this viewer had never heard of Vera Farmiga. But, the more I see of her work, the more impressed I become. Fiona (Farmiga) is a very disturbed young woman with a secret. Isaac (Nick Sta... read morehl) is a paraplegic public radio story teller who gets drawn into Fiona's world and uncovers a truth about himself that he ultimately does not want to face. Powerful performances propel the story that is at once sexy, disturbing, and revealing. Sexy, without being crude, disturbing without being gloomy, and revealing without being voyeuristic. This viewer was fascinated by the story, the acting, and the characters. Atmospheric lighting, and tight cinematography, along with good pacing kept this viewer glued to the screen. At under 90 minutes, this film said a lot in a short amount of time. Four stars.
  • gator681
    April 23, 2009
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Quid Pro Quo," Isaac Knott(Nick Stahl) has been confined to a wheelchair since the age of 8 when he was injured in a car accident in Upstate New York that claimed the lives of his parents. In the present day, he is an on air personality for public radio i... read moren New York City where he is set up on blind dates since his girlfriend Raine(Aimee Mullins), also in a wheelchair, turned down his proposal of marriage. Sadly, the dates rarely turn out well. While investigating a lead on a man allegedly bribing doctors to amputate his limbs, Isaac is contacted by Fiona(Vera Farmiga) who has some insight into the wannabe community but is reticent about being interviewed on the air. What she is not shy about is sharing that she feels paralyzed in a walking body.[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]As strangely offbeat as "Quid Pro Quo" is, it also contains a touching story and engaging lead performances. What really makes the movie is an eleventh hour revelation that puts everything in context, including the magic shoes. Oddly enough, the movie is kindly respectful towards the wannabes as inexplicable as their behavior may seem. My best guess would be a certain unappiness and unease in the their own skin but the hint of martyrdom is more than a little distressing. Also surprising is Isaac's willingness to answer the wannabes' questions(that level of reality of creeps them out) even as he encounters the daily difficulties of navigiating daily life in Manhattan from a wheelchair.[/font]
  • wbgoose13
    July 14, 2008
    wbgoose13
    A curious noir romance carried almost entirely by the performances of its leads, particularly Farmiga.
  • GabrielKnight
    May 7, 2011
    GabrielKnight
    I didn't know what to expect of this movie, but was pleasantly surprised. It's a very original noir drama/mystery. The story is engaging and the acting is excellent.
  • marklar7
    March 1, 2011
    marklar7
    a very strange yet beautiful movie. so artistic and amazingly done. it has its powerful scenes and its perfected dialogue. the movie is very real, i feel like everything is true; and maybe it is. the concept is truly unique and original, i have seen nothing like it. i hope to see... read more more from this director. recommend.
  • iamthethinman
    May 11, 2010
    iamthethinman
    Sometimes, a movie doesn?t need to aspire to big things to be good. It can be a good idea, with a good story and good acting. Add production levels that don?t embarrass and you?ve got a decent movie. If the plot is original, then it can be better. This is one of those better movi... read morees. Not really great, just really good.

    First off, it was marketed all wrong. Second, there is a very nice visual touch shown by the director. Last, they didn?t dwell on much, which made the movie lean and mean. So many movies are no longer considered for their theater box office, so why not forget about the 90-120 minute idea and just make movies as long as they should be. If you like tense dramas about interesting subjects, this will be your movie. The ending is predictable, but doesn?t hurt too much.
  • edmeyer83
    July 26, 2009
    edmeyer83
    Once again, Nick Stahl is a terrific actor in an otherwise weird movie. Vera Farmiga looks better in this than in "The Departed", but she is one sick woman. This movie is about people who want to be in wheelchairs...a new type of sexual fetish...that was news to me...
  • baberman123
    July 13, 2009
    baberman123
    A look at a bizzare world of wanna be parapalegic/handicapped people and people who convince themselves they are. Strange twist with Stahl and Farmiga's character that you don't pick up on until it is being realized and revealed (or least I didn't)

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Critic Reviews

Reyhan Harmanci
October 18, 2008
Reyhan Harmanci, San Francisco Chronicle

Its biggest mystery is how it was financed (by Texas trillionaire and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban, no less) and selected for distribution. Full Review

Stephen Holden
June 13, 2008
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Quid Pro Quo hovers in a noir-shaded twilight zone where repressed memories and guilt merge in an obsession with physical and emotional paralysis.

Andrew O'Hehir
June 13, 2008
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

The movie exerts a certain appeal without ever being convincing. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
June 13, 2008
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

This warped masochistic cousin to David Cronenberg's Crash - not to be confused with the Oscar winner of the same name -- is well worth seeing for Farmiga's stunning performance. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
June 13, 2008
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

While a good director can spin a worthy movie from any subject, first-timer Carlos Brooks does surprisingly little with the jaw-dropper of a topic he chose. Full Review

Peter Rainer
June 13, 2008
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

If you were a fan of David Cronenberg's Crash, you might just be the target audience for Quid Pro Quo, a perverse psychological drama about able-bodied people who yearn to become disabled. Full Review

Kirk Honeycutt
June 13, 2008
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

Brooks tiptoes into territory Luis Bunuel would have frolicked in, but he does so without the master surrealist's desire to outrage and confound his viewers.

Rafer Guzman
June 12, 2008
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

A finely observed, compelling drama with the creepy tinge of a thriller. Full Review

Rex Reed
June 11, 2008
Rex Reed, New York Observer

It certainly won't be everyone's cup of breakfast bitters, but you can't dismiss it nonchalantly. Full Review

Jean Opppenheimer
June 11, 2008
Jean Opppenheimer, Village Voice

Farmiga is captivating, Stahl less so -- although a bigger problem is writer/director Carlos Brooks's script, which sets up one story, then shifts gears into something more personal and psychologicall... Full Review

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