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The 1983 classic Risky Business is getting the Criterion Collection treatment with an upcoming 4K Uhd and Blu-ray release – and the list of special features reveals that this release will feature both the theatrical cut of the film as well as writer/director Paul Brickman’s director’s cut, which has the original, darker ending. That ending was available as a bonus feature on a previous Blu-ray release of Risky Business, but these Criterion discs will be the first to actually have a full, official “director’s cut” of the film on them.
Risky Business has the following description: A sly piece of pop subversion, this irresistible satire of Reagan-era materialism features Tom Cruise in his star-is-born breakthrough as a Chicago suburban prepster whose college-bound life spirals out of control when his parents go out of town for the week and an enterprising call girl (Rebecca De Mornay) invites him...
Risky Business has the following description: A sly piece of pop subversion, this irresistible satire of Reagan-era materialism features Tom Cruise in his star-is-born breakthrough as a Chicago suburban prepster whose college-bound life spirals out of control when his parents go out of town for the week and an enterprising call girl (Rebecca De Mornay) invites him...
- 4/15/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
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Exclusive: Oscar-winner Geena Davis has been set to lead feature Cowgirl’s Last Ride from fledgling La production firm Resonate Entertainment, formed last year by Susan Cartsonis (What Women Want), Suzanne Farwell (The Intern) and Brent Emery (The Stanford Prison Experiment).
With echoes of her role in 90s classic Thelma And Louise, Glow and Eve star Davis will play Fay, an ailing but still rebellious Texas cowgirl who escapes a Dallas nursing home to live what’s left of her life on her own terms. She makes a perilous journey back to her native East Texas— first by truck, then by horse—while being pursued by her well-meaning adult son Randall (still to be cast), who can’t help but care about his mother despite the dysfunction he experienced as a child, and well into his adult life.
The project was written by eighth-generation Texan Kris Hunt, who loosely based...
With echoes of her role in 90s classic Thelma And Louise, Glow and Eve star Davis will play Fay, an ailing but still rebellious Texas cowgirl who escapes a Dallas nursing home to live what’s left of her life on her own terms. She makes a perilous journey back to her native East Texas— first by truck, then by horse—while being pursued by her well-meaning adult son Randall (still to be cast), who can’t help but care about his mother despite the dysfunction he experienced as a child, and well into his adult life.
The project was written by eighth-generation Texan Kris Hunt, who loosely based...
- 10/10/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
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If you’ve seen “Office Space,” you’re already well aware that it doesn’t star Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. This being the 20th anniversary of Mike Judge’s cult classic, the workplace comedy has gotten the oral-history treatment courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, which includes the revelation that the longtime friends and collaborators were nearly cast as the lead. Either Affleck or Damon would have played the role that eventually went to Ron Livingston.
“Fox wanted us to pursue Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. This was post-‘Good Will Hunting,’” casting director Nancy Klopper told EW. “They weren’t exactly unknown.” Livingston had momentum of his own, having recently been in “Swingers,” and Judge was impressed by his audition: “I met with Matt, who was really nice and liked the script,” he said. “But I’d found Peter.” Judge also thought it was important that Peter, the main character,...
“Fox wanted us to pursue Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. This was post-‘Good Will Hunting,’” casting director Nancy Klopper told EW. “They weren’t exactly unknown.” Livingston had momentum of his own, having recently been in “Swingers,” and Judge was impressed by his audition: “I met with Matt, who was really nice and liked the script,” he said. “But I’d found Peter.” Judge also thought it was important that Peter, the main character,...
- 1/13/2019
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Lisa Soltau was living in Seattle when her friend Bonnie Gillespie sent her a book she had written called "Casting Qs," a compilation of interviews with casting directors. "I read it and I absolutely loved all the aspects of the job," says Soltau. "I loved the entertainment industry and movies and television. The process of casting sounded wonderful."She called one of the two casting offices in Seattle and ended up working as an intern there for about six months. But the CD told her she should move to New York or Los Angeles if she really wanted to pursue a career in casting. "I picked L.A. because I had lived there once for about three years and I thought it would be easier to acclimate there," Soltau says. "Plus I wanted to work on 'Six Feet Under,' which was airing at the time.
- 10/20/2010
- backstage.com
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Film review: 'Office Space' 'Office' Comedy Works / Mike Judge's live-action debut features offbeat characters, good performances and thin plot
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Forget "Dilbert".
The true comic king of the cubicle hill has arrived in the form of "Office Space", marking Mike Judge's live-action directorial debut.
An extremely funny white-collar satire filled with enough delightfully askew characters to pack a boardroom and the bright talent to do them justice, the picture should strike an achingly familiar chord with 9-to-5ers the world over.
Although the Post-It Note-sized plot can't quite sustain the feature-length format, Judge's loyal fan base combined with smart marketing should nevertheless result in Fox collecting a healthy paycheck.
The man who brought us "Beavis and Butt-head" and "King of the Hill" conveys the stress factor right off the top with a too-true morning commute sequence during which even an old guy with a walker could outdistance the creep-and-crawl rush-hour traffic.
One of those commuters is Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a computer programmer at INITECH whose mind-numbing job is progressively driving him into an advanced catatonic state.
Turning to group therapy, Peter finds himself in sustained, Zen-like bliss when his therapist keels over in mid-hypnosis, leaving him with a pronounced change in his work ethic.
But while choosing to come into work when it's convenient would normally be seen as an instant ticket to pink slipdom, a team of recruited efficiency experts instead label Peter a "straight shooter with upper management written all over him," much to the bewilderment of his smarm-dripping boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole).
In his newfound position of power, Peter conspires with his soon-to-be-sacked work mates Samir (Ajay Naidu) and the unfortunately named Michael Bolton (David Herman) to hatch a little get-rich-quick scheme, which is met with disapproval by Peter's waitress girlfriend, Joanna (Jennifer Aniston).
Based on a series of Judge shorts featuring the terminally beleaguered Milton (played here to mousey perfection by Stephen Root), the guy whose desk is always being moved ever closer to the storage room, "Office Space" hits its intended comic target with perfect aim.
It's too bad Judge isn't equally productive when it comes to punching out. Given the terrific set-up, the rather lackadaisical ending is disappointingly flat.
Still, the performers have a lot of fun getting there. Relative newcomer Livingston takes a potentially self-involved slacker and makes him a likable anti-hero.
As his greasy boss, Cole proves there's more than Mike Brady in his pitch-perfect comic arsenal. Great, too, are Root as the sniveling but potentially pushed-too-far Milton; Naidu, Herman and Richard Riehle as Livingston's frustrated co-workers; Aniston; and Diedrich Bader as his eavesdropping blue-collar next-door neighbor, Lawrence.
The technical performances are appropriately officious, but the most satisfying effect is the inspired decision to juxtapose all that white-collar angst with a hard-core rap soundtrack. The result has to be experienced to be truly appreciated.
OFFICE SPACE
20th Century Fox
A Mike Judge film
Credits: Director-screenwriter: Mike Judge; Producers: Michael Rotenberg, Daniel Rappaport; Executive producer: Guy Riedel; Director of photography: Tim Suhrstedt; Production designer: Edward McAvoy; Editor: David Rennie; Costume designer: Melinda Eshelman; Music: John Frizzell; Casting: Nancy Klopper. Cast: Peter: Ron Livingston; Joanna: Jennifer Aniston; Milton: Stephen Root; Bill Lumbergh: Gary Cole; Michael Bolton: David Herman; Samir: Ajay Naidu; Tom Smykowski: Richard Riehle; Lawrence: Diedrich Bader. MPAA rating: R. Running time -- 90 minutes. Color/stereo...
The true comic king of the cubicle hill has arrived in the form of "Office Space", marking Mike Judge's live-action directorial debut.
An extremely funny white-collar satire filled with enough delightfully askew characters to pack a boardroom and the bright talent to do them justice, the picture should strike an achingly familiar chord with 9-to-5ers the world over.
Although the Post-It Note-sized plot can't quite sustain the feature-length format, Judge's loyal fan base combined with smart marketing should nevertheless result in Fox collecting a healthy paycheck.
The man who brought us "Beavis and Butt-head" and "King of the Hill" conveys the stress factor right off the top with a too-true morning commute sequence during which even an old guy with a walker could outdistance the creep-and-crawl rush-hour traffic.
One of those commuters is Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a computer programmer at INITECH whose mind-numbing job is progressively driving him into an advanced catatonic state.
Turning to group therapy, Peter finds himself in sustained, Zen-like bliss when his therapist keels over in mid-hypnosis, leaving him with a pronounced change in his work ethic.
But while choosing to come into work when it's convenient would normally be seen as an instant ticket to pink slipdom, a team of recruited efficiency experts instead label Peter a "straight shooter with upper management written all over him," much to the bewilderment of his smarm-dripping boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole).
In his newfound position of power, Peter conspires with his soon-to-be-sacked work mates Samir (Ajay Naidu) and the unfortunately named Michael Bolton (David Herman) to hatch a little get-rich-quick scheme, which is met with disapproval by Peter's waitress girlfriend, Joanna (Jennifer Aniston).
Based on a series of Judge shorts featuring the terminally beleaguered Milton (played here to mousey perfection by Stephen Root), the guy whose desk is always being moved ever closer to the storage room, "Office Space" hits its intended comic target with perfect aim.
It's too bad Judge isn't equally productive when it comes to punching out. Given the terrific set-up, the rather lackadaisical ending is disappointingly flat.
Still, the performers have a lot of fun getting there. Relative newcomer Livingston takes a potentially self-involved slacker and makes him a likable anti-hero.
As his greasy boss, Cole proves there's more than Mike Brady in his pitch-perfect comic arsenal. Great, too, are Root as the sniveling but potentially pushed-too-far Milton; Naidu, Herman and Richard Riehle as Livingston's frustrated co-workers; Aniston; and Diedrich Bader as his eavesdropping blue-collar next-door neighbor, Lawrence.
The technical performances are appropriately officious, but the most satisfying effect is the inspired decision to juxtapose all that white-collar angst with a hard-core rap soundtrack. The result has to be experienced to be truly appreciated.
OFFICE SPACE
20th Century Fox
A Mike Judge film
Credits: Director-screenwriter: Mike Judge; Producers: Michael Rotenberg, Daniel Rappaport; Executive producer: Guy Riedel; Director of photography: Tim Suhrstedt; Production designer: Edward McAvoy; Editor: David Rennie; Costume designer: Melinda Eshelman; Music: John Frizzell; Casting: Nancy Klopper. Cast: Peter: Ron Livingston; Joanna: Jennifer Aniston; Milton: Stephen Root; Bill Lumbergh: Gary Cole; Michael Bolton: David Herman; Samir: Ajay Naidu; Tom Smykowski: Richard Riehle; Lawrence: Diedrich Bader. MPAA rating: R. Running time -- 90 minutes. Color/stereo...
- 2/16/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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Film review: 'The Devil's Advocate'
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Always negotiating to keep one's interest but too often getting bogged down in hit-or-miss subplots, director Taylor Hackford's supernatural drama starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves is a classy scare, but it takes too long to get to the devilish core of the matter.
The Warner Bros. release produced by Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson and Anne Kopelson ought to open well and travel far. "The Devil's Advocate" has sex, blood and Pacino, whose gleefully bombastic performance is the film's one major success story.
Reeves, playing a Florida legal superstar lured to the big city to work for the firm of mighty John Milton (Pacino), is another matter. Smart but vain, Reeves' character is fairly bland, and the actor, apart from looking like a million bucks, is not involving for long stretches.
Based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman and written for the screen by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy, "Devil's Advocate" is an old tale set in the luxurious world of the rich, with young rookie Kevin Reeves) and playful young wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) settling into a new life with relative ease.
We learn in early scenes that Kevin is not above terrorizing a sexually abused teenage girl to win acquittal for a guilty client or defending a scary denizen of the lower depths accused of animal cruelty. Living in Milton's swank building, Kevin wins points with his subway-riding boss, but the wife at home starts to go batty.
With Pacino in creepy makeup that makes him look just a bit like Bela Lugosi, one is clued in early on that Kevin is working for a unique boss. The lad's seriously religious mother (Judith Ivey) gets bad vibes and warns that Theron's depressed and lonely character needs his attention. In an important scene, Kevin makes love to Mary Ann and goes into a lustful craze when she turns into the flirtatious co-worker (Connie Nielsen) he's made eye contact with several times.
Meanwhile, always probing, always joking, Milton orders Kevin to take the case of a well-known businessman (Craig T. Nelson) accused of murdering his family. Kevin works hard and bonds with Milton's cheerful lieutenant (Jeffrey Jones), but events soon spiral into a round of revelations and dire consequences.
While Reeves and Theron's characters go through the tortures of the damned and hold up well enough, Pacino is firmly in command, brushing aside all who get in his way of making Satan the Super Lawyer one of his most crowd-pleasing characters. Sometimes he's too funny, and one is distracted. Similarly, Hackford has to conjure up one too many minor frights to keep the audience on edge.
Befitting the head of a firm that represents countries and the world's richest scumbags, Milton's sinister private abode is the sight of the thunderous finale, in which Pacino lets loose in a tirade that's worthy of an ovation. Alas, the movie's pyrotechnics are also cranked up at this point, but the payoff is worth it.
From Bruno Rubeo's production design and Andrzej Bartkowiak's wide-screen imagery to Rick Baker's scary demons and Judianna Makovsky's costumes, "Devil's Advocate" is handsomely mounted.
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
Warner Bros.
In association with Regency Enterprises
A Kopelson Entertainment production
A Taylor Hackford film
Director Taylor Hackford
Producers Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson,
Anne Kopelson
Screenwriters Jonathan Lemkin, Tony Gilroy
Based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman
Executive producers Taylor Hackford,
Michael Tadross, Erwin Stoff, Barry Bernardi, Steve White
Director of photography Andrzej Bartkowiak
Production designer Bruno Rubeo
Editor Mark Warner
Music James Newton Howard
Demons designed and created by Rick Baker
Visual effects designer Richard Greenberg
Costume designer Judianna Makovsky
Casting Nancy Klopper, Mary Colquhoun
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kevin Lomax Keanu Reeves
John Milton Al Pacino
Mary Ann Lomax Charlize Theron
Eddie Barzoon Jeffrey Jones
Mrs. Lomax Judith Ivey
Christabella Connie Nielsen
Alexander Cullen Craig T. Nelson
Running time -- 149 mintues
MPAA rating: R...
The Warner Bros. release produced by Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson and Anne Kopelson ought to open well and travel far. "The Devil's Advocate" has sex, blood and Pacino, whose gleefully bombastic performance is the film's one major success story.
Reeves, playing a Florida legal superstar lured to the big city to work for the firm of mighty John Milton (Pacino), is another matter. Smart but vain, Reeves' character is fairly bland, and the actor, apart from looking like a million bucks, is not involving for long stretches.
Based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman and written for the screen by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy, "Devil's Advocate" is an old tale set in the luxurious world of the rich, with young rookie Kevin Reeves) and playful young wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) settling into a new life with relative ease.
We learn in early scenes that Kevin is not above terrorizing a sexually abused teenage girl to win acquittal for a guilty client or defending a scary denizen of the lower depths accused of animal cruelty. Living in Milton's swank building, Kevin wins points with his subway-riding boss, but the wife at home starts to go batty.
With Pacino in creepy makeup that makes him look just a bit like Bela Lugosi, one is clued in early on that Kevin is working for a unique boss. The lad's seriously religious mother (Judith Ivey) gets bad vibes and warns that Theron's depressed and lonely character needs his attention. In an important scene, Kevin makes love to Mary Ann and goes into a lustful craze when she turns into the flirtatious co-worker (Connie Nielsen) he's made eye contact with several times.
Meanwhile, always probing, always joking, Milton orders Kevin to take the case of a well-known businessman (Craig T. Nelson) accused of murdering his family. Kevin works hard and bonds with Milton's cheerful lieutenant (Jeffrey Jones), but events soon spiral into a round of revelations and dire consequences.
While Reeves and Theron's characters go through the tortures of the damned and hold up well enough, Pacino is firmly in command, brushing aside all who get in his way of making Satan the Super Lawyer one of his most crowd-pleasing characters. Sometimes he's too funny, and one is distracted. Similarly, Hackford has to conjure up one too many minor frights to keep the audience on edge.
Befitting the head of a firm that represents countries and the world's richest scumbags, Milton's sinister private abode is the sight of the thunderous finale, in which Pacino lets loose in a tirade that's worthy of an ovation. Alas, the movie's pyrotechnics are also cranked up at this point, but the payoff is worth it.
From Bruno Rubeo's production design and Andrzej Bartkowiak's wide-screen imagery to Rick Baker's scary demons and Judianna Makovsky's costumes, "Devil's Advocate" is handsomely mounted.
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
Warner Bros.
In association with Regency Enterprises
A Kopelson Entertainment production
A Taylor Hackford film
Director Taylor Hackford
Producers Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson,
Anne Kopelson
Screenwriters Jonathan Lemkin, Tony Gilroy
Based on the novel by Andrew Neiderman
Executive producers Taylor Hackford,
Michael Tadross, Erwin Stoff, Barry Bernardi, Steve White
Director of photography Andrzej Bartkowiak
Production designer Bruno Rubeo
Editor Mark Warner
Music James Newton Howard
Demons designed and created by Rick Baker
Visual effects designer Richard Greenberg
Costume designer Judianna Makovsky
Casting Nancy Klopper, Mary Colquhoun
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kevin Lomax Keanu Reeves
John Milton Al Pacino
Mary Ann Lomax Charlize Theron
Eddie Barzoon Jeffrey Jones
Mrs. Lomax Judith Ivey
Christabella Connie Nielsen
Alexander Cullen Craig T. Nelson
Running time -- 149 mintues
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/10/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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Film review: 'A Thousand Acres'
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"King Lear" sprouts in Iowa on "A Thousand Acres", a swirling tale of a prosperous farmer who divides his bounteous farmland among his three daughters. Enriched by splendid performances from Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the daughters and Jason Robards as the cantankerous father, this Buena Vista release should reap a plentiful harvest at the boxoffice.
Come spring, the fallow times will be regenerated with likely Oscar nominations for Lange, Pfeiffer and a spate of others, including director Jocelyn Moorhouse for her radiant tilling of this deep and grainy story.
For those industry-ites who have actually driven through the Midwest, it may look like a lot of nothing off the roadside, just miles and miles of yellow-husked corn. Behind those stalks, however, reside some of the most prosperous businessmen in the country, folk such as Larry Cook (Robards), a flinty and efficient old coot who has tilled his land to reap great abundance.
Like his neighbors way down the road, Larry is not one to throw it away, but he's not exactly beneficent when it comes to making out his will. Who gets what is, well, up to his owly discretion and parsimonious nature. And his bequest is poisoned by some terrible secrets involving this family's life. Indeed, while the big-porched, white farmhouse may look like a warm Norman Rockwell portrait of Americana, beneath its dignified roof have occurred some horrible psychological atrocities.
Adapted from Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Thousand Acres" is a surface-simple but innardly complex look not only at a seemingly idealized family life but at the very fabric of this country as well. The farmer, or homesteader, has always been eulogized in our culture as the steadfast grower, the provider and the very backbone of our moral and industrial character.
Like fellow Midwestern writer Sinclair Lewis, Smiley has unearthed the unsettlingly grim roots of these pristine illusions and uncovered the rancid foundation of what appears to be healthy civility. In turn, screenwriter Laura Jones has distilled these sorry seedlings into an internecine rivalry as nasty as any Roman blood bath. When the surface is scratched, as the grim-reaping father does in dividing his wealth, we find this family has functioned on surface affability and personal distancing to survive together.
Richly layered and coarse with ambiguities, "A Thousand Acres" boasts as fine an ensemble cast as you'll find. Once again, the Minnesota-bred Lange furrows deeply into her character, unfleshing the roilings of a woman/daughter/sister who represses her desires and thoughts. With a wondrous mix of bashfulness, propriety and insecurity, Lange clues us to the essence of her character, Ginny -- still waters run deep, truly. No less affecting is Pfeiffer as Rose, whose outspoken ways and volatile eruptions, in turn, show the tight coils of her being. As the baby Caroline, Leigh exudes a vulnerability, an indecisiveness that clues us to a far greater suffering than anyone would expect.
As the obstreperous father, Robards is a towering blend of decency and rancor. No king in full armor exudes more imperious strength than this country coot: His fearsome looks and withdrawn manners are indeed frightening. Other cast members are a perfectly selected lot, all looking at home in any small Midwestern town off the interstate. If we didn't recognize the names, that's where we would have thought casting director Nancy Klopper dragged them in from. Among them, Keith Carradine is particularly convincing as the not-so-average type you'll find in those parts. And Pat Hingle, Kevin Anderson and Colin Firth are as solid and fitting as a John Deere tractor.
No fancy stuff, just good hardware material, that's Dan Davis' production design. Similarly, cinematographer Tak Fujimoto's framings convey the wide scope of the setting as well as the constricted dimensions of these good folks' lives, while composer Richard Hartley's sinewy sounds show us the fury of what may be mistaken for silence.
A THOUSAND ACRES
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures
in association with Beacon Pictures
and Propaganda Films
A Via Rosa/Prairie Films production
Producers Marc Abraham, Steve Golin,
Lynn Arost, Kate Guinzburg, Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Director Jocelyn Moorhouse
Screenplay Laura Jones
From the novel by Jane Smiley
Executive producers Armyan Bernstein,
Thomas A. Bliss
Co-producer Diana Pokorny
Director of photography Tak Fujimoto
Production designer Dan Davis
Editor: Maryann Brandon
Costume designer Ruth Myers
Music Richard Hartley
Casting Nancy Klopper
Sound mixer Richard Lightstone
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rose Cook Lewis Michelle Pfeiffer
Ginny Cook Smith Jessica Lange
Larry Cook Jason Robards
Caroline Cook Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jess Clark Colin Firth
Ty Smith Keith Carradine
Peter Lewis Kevin Anderson
Harold Clark Pat Hingle
Ken La Salle John Carroll Lynch
Mary Livingstone Anne Pitoniak
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Come spring, the fallow times will be regenerated with likely Oscar nominations for Lange, Pfeiffer and a spate of others, including director Jocelyn Moorhouse for her radiant tilling of this deep and grainy story.
For those industry-ites who have actually driven through the Midwest, it may look like a lot of nothing off the roadside, just miles and miles of yellow-husked corn. Behind those stalks, however, reside some of the most prosperous businessmen in the country, folk such as Larry Cook (Robards), a flinty and efficient old coot who has tilled his land to reap great abundance.
Like his neighbors way down the road, Larry is not one to throw it away, but he's not exactly beneficent when it comes to making out his will. Who gets what is, well, up to his owly discretion and parsimonious nature. And his bequest is poisoned by some terrible secrets involving this family's life. Indeed, while the big-porched, white farmhouse may look like a warm Norman Rockwell portrait of Americana, beneath its dignified roof have occurred some horrible psychological atrocities.
Adapted from Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Thousand Acres" is a surface-simple but innardly complex look not only at a seemingly idealized family life but at the very fabric of this country as well. The farmer, or homesteader, has always been eulogized in our culture as the steadfast grower, the provider and the very backbone of our moral and industrial character.
Like fellow Midwestern writer Sinclair Lewis, Smiley has unearthed the unsettlingly grim roots of these pristine illusions and uncovered the rancid foundation of what appears to be healthy civility. In turn, screenwriter Laura Jones has distilled these sorry seedlings into an internecine rivalry as nasty as any Roman blood bath. When the surface is scratched, as the grim-reaping father does in dividing his wealth, we find this family has functioned on surface affability and personal distancing to survive together.
Richly layered and coarse with ambiguities, "A Thousand Acres" boasts as fine an ensemble cast as you'll find. Once again, the Minnesota-bred Lange furrows deeply into her character, unfleshing the roilings of a woman/daughter/sister who represses her desires and thoughts. With a wondrous mix of bashfulness, propriety and insecurity, Lange clues us to the essence of her character, Ginny -- still waters run deep, truly. No less affecting is Pfeiffer as Rose, whose outspoken ways and volatile eruptions, in turn, show the tight coils of her being. As the baby Caroline, Leigh exudes a vulnerability, an indecisiveness that clues us to a far greater suffering than anyone would expect.
As the obstreperous father, Robards is a towering blend of decency and rancor. No king in full armor exudes more imperious strength than this country coot: His fearsome looks and withdrawn manners are indeed frightening. Other cast members are a perfectly selected lot, all looking at home in any small Midwestern town off the interstate. If we didn't recognize the names, that's where we would have thought casting director Nancy Klopper dragged them in from. Among them, Keith Carradine is particularly convincing as the not-so-average type you'll find in those parts. And Pat Hingle, Kevin Anderson and Colin Firth are as solid and fitting as a John Deere tractor.
No fancy stuff, just good hardware material, that's Dan Davis' production design. Similarly, cinematographer Tak Fujimoto's framings convey the wide scope of the setting as well as the constricted dimensions of these good folks' lives, while composer Richard Hartley's sinewy sounds show us the fury of what may be mistaken for silence.
A THOUSAND ACRES
Buena Vista
Touchstone Pictures
in association with Beacon Pictures
and Propaganda Films
A Via Rosa/Prairie Films production
Producers Marc Abraham, Steve Golin,
Lynn Arost, Kate Guinzburg, Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Director Jocelyn Moorhouse
Screenplay Laura Jones
From the novel by Jane Smiley
Executive producers Armyan Bernstein,
Thomas A. Bliss
Co-producer Diana Pokorny
Director of photography Tak Fujimoto
Production designer Dan Davis
Editor: Maryann Brandon
Costume designer Ruth Myers
Music Richard Hartley
Casting Nancy Klopper
Sound mixer Richard Lightstone
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rose Cook Lewis Michelle Pfeiffer
Ginny Cook Smith Jessica Lange
Larry Cook Jason Robards
Caroline Cook Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jess Clark Colin Firth
Ty Smith Keith Carradine
Peter Lewis Kevin Anderson
Harold Clark Pat Hingle
Ken La Salle John Carroll Lynch
Mary Livingstone Anne Pitoniak
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/9/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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