Podtalk, Review: Elisa Levine's Documentary ‘Sweetheart Deal’

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CHICAGO – The United States is a nation of judgement without justice. That is what the new release documentary “Sweetheart Deal” is expressing in a story of sex workers and those who profess to help. It is co-directed by Gabriel Miller and Elise Levine, and Levine talked to HollywoodChicago.com in 2023. The doc is in theaters on September 13th.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Four sex workers in Seattle are caught in the spiral of addiction, and turn to a self-proclaimed healer who offers friendship, refuge and a path to salvation from the streets inside the headquarters of his roadside RV. But just as they begin to rebuild their lives, a shocking betrayal comes to light that will change them all. Shot in vérité style over several years, “Sweetheart Deal” offers an intimate portrait of hope, heartbreak and resilience on the fringes of modern America.


These are the type of films that make us question our society and why we will not face certain truths … make sex work legal and regulate. The way the system is now is that the persons who get punished the most are the desperate nowhere-else-to-turn women and men who have run out of all options. It’s the evil antithesis of “making love.” Regardless of all that this documentary shines truth and light to the darkest corners, to illuminate some sort of reckoning, the thinnest sliver in the road to hope.

’Sweetheart Deal,’ Directed by Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller
Photo credit: Abramorama

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com from 2023, co-director Elisa Levine talks about the journey of “Sweetheart Deal” …

Trailer, “Sweetheart Deal” …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Critic/Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com