SCENE REVIEW: Stranded

Title:  Stranded Studio:  Offworld
Director:  Magdalene St. Michaels
Released:  July 2014
Performers:  Magdalene St. Michaels, Ela Darling

Magdalene St. Michaels is branching out into directing her own content and if Stranded is any indication of what we can expect from her in the future we’re in for a treat.  For her first scene, she’s chosen the comely Ela Darling as her partner thereby accomplishing one of the most important things a director can do:  make good casting/pairing decisions.

I’m not sure how much of the dialog, if any, was scripted.  The improv, however, is inspired.  Magdalene and Ela give us interaction that is much more realistic than most adult video – they respond to each other naturally and believably.  Ela Darling displays a ready wit and a gift for humor that Magdalene responds to with her throaty chuckle – the one that always goes straight through my brain and almost directly to my groin.

Watching this scene requires more patience than most men are likely to have, but I think women will appreciate the deliberate pace.  There’s no rush to get down to business, as it were.  The tempo is languid and the bath sequence is extremely sensual.  Darling teases Magdalene and eventually seduces her.  But, once seduced, Magdalene takes over and she drives the rest of the scene.

The premise is simple and believable by porn standards.  The two women are, as the title suggests, stranded, thanks to some weather related flight cancellations and are subsequently forced to share a large hotel room with a huge tub clearly meant for two people.  This lack of complication is a key element in the success of the scene.

Neither woman breaks character even in the throes of passion (and there’s plenty of that).  I found it a thoroughly enjoyable one hour and thirteen minutes.  The long, slow, build up made the intensity of the last third of the scene all the more rewarding.

I think there are more scenes planned in this vein and I am looking forward to seeing them.  Stranded clearly demonstrates that Magdalene St Michaels is as talented a director as she is a performer.

This is a VOD that you will want to at least rent, and at $4.95 for 7 days it’s a bargain.  It has my stamp of approval, for whatever that’s worth.  Bravo!