The Rundown: ‘Mistress Maitland’ (VOD Exclusive)
Basics
In Mistress Maitland, director Kayden Kross puts Deeper contract star Maitland Ward in the spotlight for four interconnected scenes involving the sexual adventures of the dark, twisted title character. (Markus Dupree also figures heavily in the action, playing Ward’s sexually voracious husband.) It’s broadly in the tradition of the BDSM/mind games mode made famous by 50 Shades of Grey and The Submission of Emma Marx, but it makes those franchises look meek in comparison! Spectacular squirting, ball gags, strap-on dildos, threesomes, chokers and chains, female domination — there’s no holding back in Mistress Maitland. Stylistically, there are certain callbacks to Ward’s Deeper debut, Drive, including the indelible visual of Ward prominently in the frame with a cigarette provocatively pinched between her index and middle fingers. In addition, scene four’s interracial theme seems like Kross’s own gloss on the sorts of themes that made Blacked (Deeper’s sibling label) so famous.
Scene highlight(s)
In the prior Ward/Kross effort Drive, it was hard to resist the moments when Ward and Angela White shared the screen. Similarly, in Mistress Maitland, we can scarcely look away from the segment that pairs Ward with porn luminary Riley Reid. Reid portrays a potential hire being interviewed for a secretarial position by a none-too-impressed Ward. (Ward is somehow able to turn a mini-monologue about the history and gender politics of secretaries into a series of threatening insinuations. The acting and dialogue here is of a level you won’t often find in a porn movie!) Eventually, Ward shows just how powerful she is by coaxing Reid into a lesbian encounter that involves prominent use of a strap-on dildo. Though it’s by far the briefest of the dalliances featured in Mistress Maitland, it makes a definite impression, and leads into even steamier moments afterward.
Cast
Dupree appears regularly across the movie’s scenes (and his presence is felt even during the moments he’s absent). He’s joined by Naomi Swann and Izzy Lush in scene one (Ward also appears but in a non-sex role), while he shares the screen with Gabbie Carter in scene two.
Quotable
“Defiance will not be tolerated. Alternatively, obedience will be rewarded. There are no safe words. This is your last chance to pull out.” (Ward sets out some of the rules to Swann and Lush in scene one)
Why we love it
At one point during the third scene of Mistress Maitland, Maitland Ward stares across her desk at Riley Reid and says, “You’re hired.” Not long after Maitland decided to begin shooting porn, Kayden Kross in essence said the same words to Ward when she signed her as a contract star for Deeper. Thus far, it’s been one of the most striking porn collaborations in recent memory, with Mistress Maitland serving as another sterling example of their performer/director chemistry. Ward’s experience as a mainstream actor gives her a credence and credibility in character roles that not all pornstars are able to project. Kross also wisely casts her in roles that take advantage of Ward’s physical attributes. For instance, Maitland’s imposing height (further enhanced by heels) fits in perfectly with the intimidating nature of her sexually empowered “mistress” character. And when you add the powder keg that is Markus Dupree to sustain the scenes that don’t feature Ward as prominently, you’ve got an explosive movie that seems destined to become a bestseller.
