Modern Whore

TIFF REVIEW: BY DARREN ZAKUS

September 5, 2025

4.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

Modern Whore is a beautiful, empowering and insightful look at the sex worker industry all framed through the life of Andrea Werhun whose infectious personality lights up the screen, resulting in one of the most enjoyable and best documentaries of the year.

Many careers have stigmas about them, but none as shunned upon than that of sex workers. It’s something that society does not like to talk about or acknowledge, treated as a dirty little secret, but this Canadian documentary is giving a voice to the sex worker community and letting one of their own tell their story. Toronto based writer, producer and subject Andrea Werhun details her life as a sex worker with collaborator Nicole Bazuin, differentiating their documentary from the usual dark and seedy portrayal of sex workers audiences are accustomed to seeing on screen, instead delivering a heartfelt, colourful and nuanced approach to the topic through Werhun’s life experience. And the results are nothing short of spectacular. Delivering a hybrid documentary that is bursting with life, laughter, compassion, friendship and love while highlighting the dangers of the industry and the need for legal reform, Modern Whore is an incredible documentary that is essential viewing.

Following the traditional filmmaking techniques of the documentary genre, Bauzin and Werhun tell their narrative through a collection of interviews in the talking head format, conversations with Werhun and other subjects, and a dramatization of Werhun’s life as a sex worker with a cast of actors. This allows Werhun’s life story to play out for viewers while her personal reflections on it are conveyed in a natural and engaging manner for viewers, turning this eighty minute documentary into a riveting experience that should not be missed.

Though, the element that makes Modern Whore a can’t miss is Werhun and her personality, which is incandescent on camera. Never for a second does Werhun shy away from the work she did as a sex worker, detailing encounters with past clients and traumatic moments, giving viewers insight into her mindset, lifestyle and own struggles. Werhun is bubbly, honest, deep in her examination and discussion of her past, giving the audience an unflinching exploration of her time as a sex worker. By sharing vulnerable moments of reflection on some of her most dangerous encounters through heartfelt conversations with fellow sex workers, one of her favourite clients, her longtime boyfriend, and even her own mother, the discussions in the documentary emphasize that despite their line of work, sex workers are no different than anyone else. This allows the documentary to possess great comedic moments as the subjects of the documentary share experiences in the sex industry, as well as tender moments of personal connection that evoke a moving human response to this beautiful documentary. It also helps the documentary stay clear from the typical and misinformed victim and villain tropes that often circulate around sex workers, as this documentary shows them as real individuals that are relatable to audiences in so many ways.

One of the most important elements that helps dispel the stigma around sex workers in this documentary is its visual style. Instead of the dark, seedy look that audiences may expect in exploring a taboo industry, Modern Whore is in fact bursting with colour. The documentary has a unique visual style that creates a vibrant atmosphere of bright colours, fantastical mini-dramatizations of moments from Werhun’s life as a sex worker that are equally as funny and entertaining as they are deeply personal and vulnerable when required. This hybrid structuring of acted segments and the traditional interview segments of the documentary genre blend together to tell this important story, allowing Bauzin to capture the heart and spirit of Werhun in every frame of the film while presenting sex workers in a positive light. By doing so, Bauzin allows the individual personalities, struggles and lives of the documentary’s to be told with the respect and dignity they deserve. While almost fantastical at moments in its over stylized dramatization, such as the switching back and forth between the Handsome and Real Don Juan, this allows the documentary’s main ideas to be communicated to viewers in an effective and entertaining way, ensuring that the public discussion around sex workers moves in the right direction.

With a name like Modern Whore, there is no question that this will turn some viewers away, but this documentary is provocatively named to gain attention, and attention it deserves. Delivering a rich narrative as it explores the life of subject and co-writer Andrea Werhun’s life as a sex worker, this documentary breaks down preconceived notions and provides an entertaining, beautiful and, most importantly, informative exploration of the lives and careers of sex workers in what can only be described as the dictionary definition of an absolute crowd pleaser of a film. Through its colourful, engaging and honest storytelling and depiction of sex workers, not only do Nicole Bazuin and Andrea Werhun craft a timely and important documentary about sex workers with honest and heartfelt representation of its subjects, they have made Modern Whore one of the best documentaries of the entire year!