Hampered by Beauty: The Curse of Vivian Leigh

Author(s): Maia
Location: Los Angeles

“Hampered by Beauty: The Curse of Vivian Leigh”

Directed by Stephen Frears
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and The Weinstein Company
Written by Larry McMurtry
Cinematography by Caleb Deschanel
Costume Design by Julie Weiss
Makeup & Hairstyling by Greg Cannon
Original Score by Patrick Doyle

Principal Cast:

Rachel McAdams as Vivian Leigh
Daniel Craig as Laurence Olivier
George Clooney as Herbert Leigh Holman
Matt Damon as John Merivale
Carrie Ann Moss as Olivia de Havilland
Stanley Tucci as George Cukor

Tagline: “A woman's beauty is an actress' curse"

Synopsis: The year is 1940… “Gone with the Wind” has won a record number of ten Academy Awards and has become the highest grossing film of all time. Vivian Leigh, the film’s fiery leading lady is now an Oscar winner and has quickly become one of the most celebrated actresses in the world.

All this worldwide acclaim, however, has meant very little to Leigh. At age 27, she has just divorced from Herbert Leigh Holman and has lost custody of her young daughter Suzanne. To make things worse, she was also diagnosed with tuberculosis…

For her own sake, Leigh found some relief on her relationship with the famous actor and producer Laurence Olivier, whom she married the same year; and her friendship with “Gone with the Wind” co-star Olivia de Havilland and George Cukor, the first director involved in the project.

For the next decade, Leigh continued acting in Hollywood despite her animosity towards the American filmmaking system and she was commonly hired for roles that emphasized on her beauty but not on her acting talent. This situation was frustrating for her and as her anger slowly destroyed her work reputation, her marriage with Olivier was also in trouble.

In 1951, Leigh landed the role of Blanche DuBois in the film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. The film became a hit and she won her second Best Actress Academy Award. She thought her life was on track again but she was wrong, her tuberculosis aggravated and she developed bipolar disorder.

Her illness distanced her even more from Olivier and they finally divorced in 1960. By that time, Leigh was already involved with a less famous actor named John Merivale. In 1963, Merivale encouraged Leigh to participate in the Broadway musical Tovarich, she agreed and won a Tony Award for her performance.

Merivale also encouraged Leigh to stay in touch with Olivier, who even produced some of her last projects; and with Herbert Leigh Holman, who remained as one of Leigh’s closest friends through the last years of her life.

In 1967, Leigh’s tuberculosis turned extremely severe and she was forced to rest at home until her recovery. That summer, with Leigh’s condition improved; Merivale went out to perform in a play. When he returned at midnight, Vivian Leigh was dead.

The moment her death was announced, her detractors revised their previous opinions about Leigh’s performances and named her one of the most beautiful and talented actresses of all time. Olivier, Merivale and Leigh Holman conducted her memorial services in London…

What the press would say:

The tumultuous life story of legendary actress Vivian Leigh is intimately told by recent Oscar winner Larry McMurtry in the heartbreaking biopic “Hampered by Beauty: The Curse of Vivian Leigh.”

Director Stephen Frears delivers a transcendent and touching portrait of one of Hollywood’s most prominent icons: Vivian Leigh. Portrayed with enormous passion and energy, Rachel McAdams goes to places where few award-winning actresses have gone in the past and immerses herself devotedly into Leigh’s personality. Her "Vivian" is an incredible presence, sizzling in the outside and yet, fragile and soft in her inner self. McAdams, who is gorgeous enough to understand the affecting stigma Leigh battled through her career, communicates each of her emotions to perfection. Leigh’s close friend Olivia de Havilland said at the end of the Los Angeles premiere of the film that McAdams’s transformation was stunning and mesmerizing, she concluded: “Vivian used to say: I’m not a star, I’m an actress…Stars fade out but actresses go on for a long time. Rachel McAdams will become one of the best actresses of all time.”

McAdams is not only poised to receive a Best Actress nomination for her outstanding portrait of the “Gone with the Wind” star, she is on her way to an imminent triumph.

Daniel Craig is a perfect match for McAdams as the great Laurence Olivier. He brings to the screen the charm and intensity necessary for us to understand how this man tamed the feisty Leigh. Craig and McAdams make the perfect couple and the powerful chemistry they portray through the different stages of their characters’ marriage is one of the film’s best accomplishments.

Matt Damon gives a touching performance as the less known John Merivale. A man outshined by his companion’s fame but also a man who always stood by her side till the moment of her death. Damon, under heavy make up work to appear older, provides emotional balance for McAdams’ Leigh and it’s one of the most impressive supporting turns of the year.

Additional supporting work by George Clooney as Leigh’s first husband is vibrant and the brief appearances of Carrie Ann Moss and Stanley Tucci as Olivia de Havilland and George Cukor allow the audience to discover a more fragile side of Leigh.

Despite some controversy about the production of this film and the inevitable comparisons with Milos Forman’s “An Actress Named Vivian Leigh,” “Hampered by Beauty: The Curse of Vivian Leigh” proves that great work can always be outdone.

Stephen Frears, Larry McMurtry and Rachel McAdams have given the world a far more compelling, intimate and inspiring look at the glorious life of the legendary Vivian Leigh. Consider this moving cinematic experience for the following awards:

Best Picture – AMPAS
Best Picture (Drama) – HFPA
Best Ensemble – SAG
Best Actress – Rachel McAdams
Best Actor – Daniel Craig
Best Supporting Actor – Matt Damon
Best Original Screenplay
Best Crew

The Hitman

Author(s): Ross Jensen
Location: Memphis, TN

"The Hitman"

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Original Score by James Newton Howard
Cinematography by Wally Pfister

Principal Cast:

Colin Farrell Michael Russo
Paul Giamatti Joe De Luca
Bruce Willis Paul Bruno
Terrence Howard Ricardo White
Scarlett Johannsson Lauren Jacobs
James Franco Tommy Gallardi

Tagline: “Loyalty goes out the window”

Synopsis: From Christopher Nolan, acclaimed director of "Memento" and "The Prestige". Michael Russo(Colin Farrell) is a young hitman for a New York City-based crime syndicate. When he is set up by a confidential informant for the FBI and arrested, he agrees to testify against the group that once employed him in order for him to stay out of prison, leave the mob and marry his girlfriend who has his two month old daughter.. Now, the crime syndicate will stop at nothing to make sure Russo doesn't make the court date. The FBI is doing all they can to ensure he does. Joe DeLuca (Paul Giamatti) is the head of the crime organization. He considered the most dangerous man in New York and if Russo testifies, he would see the death penalty. DeLuca sends his right hand man, a veteran hitman, Paul Bruno (Bruce Willis) to take down Russo at all costs. Adam White (Terrence Howard) is a clean-cut all around good guy working for the FBI. He has a wife and a newborn son. He is given the job of keeping an eye on Russo and keeping him out of sight until the court day. Russo is in love with his girlfriend, Lauren (Scarlett Johannsson) who is a normal civilian not involved with the mob. She is a sweet, educated girl very unlike Russo and Russo feels lucky to have her. She continuously begs Russo to get out of the criminal underworld. But after he is caught by the FBI, he returns home to get her only to finf her and his daughter murdered. Russo, who previously was a low-key young man and conflicted about violating his loyalty to the syndicate and had astrong dislike of Adam White, now was infuriated and intensewith a want for vengance. He starts to fear for Adam as he sees parallels between his life and White's as they both had families with young kids. Russo goes out to talk to his old contacts for info on the identity of his girlfriend's killer. He goes around the city and finds out it was indeed Paul Bruno. But, suddenly he realises he is being followed by Bruno and this starts one of the most exciting edge-of-your seat cat-and-mose pursuits spannng over subways, city buses, and the streets of New York. Russo escapes only to go back to the safe house and find Adam White not there and he immediately realises it was mob members that took White. All the killings Russo had done, it was finally time to do some that were morally right and for justice.

What the press would say:

Christopher Nolan paints an intense, exciting, intriguing, yet sorrowful story of payback. He presents an astounding vision of New York City and brings out the best performaces of some of the actors' careers. Namely being Colin Farrell, who steps into the spotlight and delivers big time. He becomes a dirty street thug in the beginning and by the end he is sympathetic and has us rooting for him. Farrell delivers in a way only hinted at in his work before. Anything you've seen Farrell do before, forget about it, this is his best performance. Then, there's Paul Giamatti who plays a villain. He is so good as a villain and really has fun with the role of mob bossas does Bruce Willis who could be the most menacing character we've seen since Darth Vader in the 1980s. Terrence Howard shines again and is a true good guy in this film. The climax is sure to be one of the more iconic and memorable scenes for some time, and the chase scene is as exciting as they come. "The Hitman" is an exciting masterpice from Christopher Nolan who does everything right in this one as it rivals any crime drama around.

Best Picture
Best Director- Christopher Nolan
Best Actor- Colin Farrell
Best Supporting Actor- Paul Giamatti
Best Supporting Actor- Bruce Willis
Best Original Screenplay- Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Best Score- James Newton Howard
Best Cinematography- Wally Pfister

The Home

Author(s): Pat
Location: NY

“The Home"

Directed By James L. Brooks
Written By James L. Brooks
Music By James Horner

Principal Cast:

Al Pacino (Vito Spacalone)
Bill Murray (Dr. Dick Van Schock)
Amanda Peet (Nurse Geena West)
Hal Holbrook (Gerry Matrizini)
Alan Arkin (Lawrence Netzmin)
Fionnula Flanagan (Deidre McDonall)
Greg Kinnear (Christopher Matrizini)
Elizabeth Perkins (Melinda Matrizini)
Dakota Fanning (Cassandra Matrizini)
Mark Wahlberg (Calvin McDonall)
Nora Dunn (Bea Burrows)

Tagline: “Would you want to be on their bad side?"

Synopsis: From Oscar-winning writer/director James L. Brooks comes a new dramedy centered on four elderly tenants in a suburban Long Island retirement home and their gripes about life. The story begins when former New York crime boss Vito (Al Pacino) checks himself into The Burrows after he believes that a hit has been placed on him. There he encounters the suspicious Dr. Van Schock (Bill Murray) and falls for the charms of his forceful nurse (Amanda Peet) while observing the lives of three of his co-tenants. First, there is Gerry (Hal Holbrook), a former police officer who is dealing with a recent stroke and his family (Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Perkins, Dakota Fanning) who have a hard time accepting that he likes the home. Then there is Lawrence (Alan Arkin), a bitter widower who moved into The Burrows when he realized that he had nobody else in the world. And finally he meets Deidre (Fionnula Flanagan), an Irish immigrant with Alzheimer’s who claims her son (Mark Wahlberg) is a man who raped her over fifty years ago. Vito tries to makes friends with his new acquaintances and begins to seek forgiveness for the crimes he has committed in the past. Nora Dunn also stars as the owner of the home who believes that Vito’s continued presence is hindering the happiness of others.

What the press would say:

James L. Brooks’ new film “The Home” makes you laugh hard while crying like a baby at some parts. It tells the story of an old mafia man who takes shelter in a nursing home and starts a war between the head doctor and the rest of the residents. Al Pacino is amazing as the tragic Vito, who slowly comes to terms with the fact that he too will die just like the people in the home. His performance strikes a chord in the heart in the film’s final act and will surely aid Pacino’s next race for top awards. Mark Wahlberg gives a powerful performance as a young man who tries to convince his senile mother that he is not a man who raped her, and as his mother grows worse he comes under the tutelage of Vito and eventually discovers Vito’s secret. Hal Holbrook, the stand-out of the film, gives the best performance of his long career as a stroke-ridden man who is sick of his family’s intervention in the last years of his life. “The Home” is a heartbreaking comedy that will make you wish you were younger.

Awards
Best Picture
Best Director-James L. Brooks
Best Original Screenplay
Best Actor-Al Pacino
Best Supporting Actor-Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actor-Hal Holbrook
Best Supporting Actor-Mark Wahlberg
Best Supporting Actress-Amanda Peet
Best Supporting Actress-Elizabeth Perkins
Best Original Score

The Home

Author(s): Pat
Location: NY

“The Home"

Directed By James L. Brooks
Written By James L. Brooks
Music By James Horner

Principal Cast:

Al Pacino (Vito Spacalone)
Bill Murray (Dr. Dick Van Schock)
Amanda Peet (Nurse Geena West)
Hal Holbrook (Gerry Matrizini)
Alan Arkin (Lawrence Netzmin)
Fionnula Flanagan (Deidre McDonall)
Greg Kinnear (Christopher Matrizini)
Elizabeth Perkins (Melinda Matrizini)
Dakota Fanning (Cassandra Matrizini)
Mark Wahlberg (Calvin McDonall)
Nora Dunn (Bea Burrows)

Tagline: “Would you want to be on their bad side?"

Synopsis: From Oscar-winning writer/director James L. Brooks comes a new dramedy centered on four elderly tenants in a suburban Long Island retirement home and their gripes about life. The story begins when former New York crime boss Vito (Al Pacino) checks himself into The Burrows after he believes that a hit has been placed on him. There he encounters the suspicious Dr. Van Schock (Bill Murray) and falls for the charms of his forceful nurse (Amanda Peet) while observing the lives of three of his co-tenants. First, there is Gerry (Hal Holbrook), a former police officer who is dealing with a recent stroke and his family (Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Perkins, Dakota Fanning) who have a hard time accepting that he likes the home. Then there is Lawrence (Alan Arkin), a bitter widower who moved into The Burrows when he realized that he had nobody else in the world. And finally he meets Deidre (Fionnula Flanagan), an Irish immigrant with Alzheimer’s who claims her son (Mark Wahlberg) is a man who raped her over fifty years ago. Vito tries to makes friends with his new acquaintances and begins to seek forgiveness for the crimes he has committed in the past. Nora Dunn also stars as the owner of the home who believes that Vito’s continued presence is hindering the happiness of others.

What the press would say:

James L. Brooks’ new film “The Home” makes you laugh hard while crying like a baby at some parts. It tells the story of an old mafia man who takes shelter in a nursing home and starts a war between the head doctor and the rest of the residents. Al Pacino is amazing as the tragic Vito, who slowly comes to terms with the fact that he too will die just like the people in the home. His performance strikes a chord in the heart in the film’s final act and will surely aid Pacino’s next race for top awards. Mark Wahlberg gives a powerful performance as a young man who tries to convince his senile mother that he is not a man who raped her, and as his mother grows worse he comes under the tutelage of Vito and eventually discovers Vito’s secret. Hal Holbrook, the stand-out of the film, gives the best performance of his long career as a stroke-ridden man who is sick of his family’s intervention in the last years of his life. “The Home” is a heartbreaking comedy that will make you wish you were younger.

Awards
Best Picture
Best Director-James L. Brooks
Best Original Screenplay
Best Actor-Al Pacino
Best Supporting Actor-Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actor-Hal Holbrook
Best Supporting Actor-Mark Wahlberg
Best Supporting Actress-Amanda Peet
Best Supporting Actress-Elizabeth Perkins
Best Original Score

Inside You Out

Author(s): James Somerton
Location: NS, Canada

“Inside You Out"

Directed By: Oliver Stone
Written By: James Somerton
Edited By: Hank Corwin

Principal Cast:

Al Pacino as President Richard Strom
Christopher Walken as Robert Strong
Kevin Bacon as Thomas Long
Laurie Metcalf as First Lady Virginia Strom
Kristen Alderson as Sarah Washington
Kate Winslet as Clarrissa Washington

Tagline: “A Murderer, A Rapist, The President…Three Sick and Twisted Bastards”

Synopsis: President Richard Strom has just begun his fifth year in office after barely scraping by in the last election. He is also beginning the third year of a war that nobody wants to fight. America is waging a war against a murderous regime in Egypt where hundreds of American soldiers are being slaughtered every month. The majority of the country wants their troops taken home but Strom refuses to even entertain the notion, at least not in public. But in private, his wife Virginia can see that what’s really tearing him up inside isn’t the countless dead Americans but the ever-plummeting poll numbers.

Thomas Long has just gotten word that his son has died in Egypt but he can’t go to the funeral because he’s hiding away from the FBI. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been hunting Thomas for three weeks now; ever since he killed three Republican senators who voted “yes” on the bill that sent his son off the get killed in the desert. He has only one more person to take out before he turns himself in.

Robert Strong is sitting in his 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo listening to the radio when he hears about an assassination attempt on his boss, Richard Strom. He has something far more important to tend to though. Sarah Washington has just gotten out of school on this freezing January day. Her mom won’t be picking her up today so she’ll have to walk home. He follows her quite discretely until she walks in her front door. There he waits for twenty-three minutes and then knocks at her door.

President Richard Strom is in critical condition in Georgetown University Medical Center. His campaign manager, Clarrissa Washington, is in the lobby doing damage control; talking to the press and assuring them that the president “will be just fine”. After about an hour of doing this she goes outside for a break and to check in on her daughter, Sarah. There’s no answer at home.

When Sarah is found she is tied up on her mothers bed, bleeding from between her legs. A man in a suit and ski mask had raped her. Thomas Long is sentenced to life in prison for the attempted assassination of President Richard Strom, who recovered in a little over two months. In that time, the vice president, Robert Strong, had taken over for him. Sarah’s rapist was never found, the men who killed Thomas Long’s son were never brought to justice, and by the end of the year another two thousand American men and women had died in Egypt.

What the press would say:

Oliver Stone has directed one of the best thrillers I have seen in recent years. “Inside You Out” blurs the lines of good and evil in a way that left me confounded in the end. Stone has assembled an all-star cast that go so deep into their rolls that you sometimes forget that you’re watching the likes of Al Pacino, Kate Winslet, and Kevin Bacon. Pacino plays President Richard Strom, a man so overwhelmed by the events of his presidency that the only person he can really talk to about them with is his wife. In one scene, Pacino, along with his on screen wife Laurie Metcalf, talk about the events in Egypt (an obvious parable to the war in Iraq). In this scene we see a president drop his façade as a strong leader and break down. Metcalf’s eruption into angry at the fact that her husband could care less about the men and women dying and is more worried about his poll numbers sent chills up my spine. Her performance is staggering, such a departure from her work on TV in “Desperate Housewives” and “Roseanne”. Christopher Walken’s turn as a rapist vice-president nearly made me sick. He is so clean and sadistic in his scenes with young actress Kristen Alderson that, even with a black mask over his face, he makes you hate him. When it is revealed that he is, in fact, the vice president I heard a gaspe rise up in the theater. Kevin Bacon plays a man who just lost his son to the war in Egypt and got his revenge by killing three of the senators who voted to send more troops to the war. The scene in which he attempts to assassinate President Strom is pure tension for eleven minutes and thirty-one seconds. The scene is dragged out so much that it should have gotten boring but Bacon’s fantastic performance kept it interesting the entire time as we listen to President Strom’s speech on why we must “Stay the Course in Egypt”. And Kate Winslet is magnificent as President Strom’s campaign manager who’s daughter is Robert Strong’s victim. She is one of the only mature females in the cast and loses a lot of screentime to her male counterparts but she makes the most of her limited screen time. She is so perfectly composed when working with the president but you get to see her utterly fall apart at the discovery of her violated daughter. And Kristen Alderson pulls off a great performance as Winslet’s daughter. She’s so sympathetic but strong in her battle with her attacker. There’s one hell of an actress in her. The screenplay, written by Oscar Nominee James Somerton, Weeves together all these plots flawlessly and compliments Stone’s directorial style perfectly. And Oliver Stone’s direction completely draws us into the world of corrupt and terrible people and those who are affected by them.

POSSIBLE NOMINATIONS:
Best Picture
Best Director – Oliver Stone
Best Original Screenplay – James Somerton
Best Actor - Al Pacino
Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Walken
Best Supporting Actress – Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actress – Laurie Metcalf

The Last Art Work

Author(s): Sergio Requejo
Location: Spain

“The Last Art Work”

Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Written by Isabel Coixet
Music by Alberto Iglesias
Produced by Scott Rudin

Principal Cast:

Cate Blanchett (Sylvia White / Hanna)
Ralph Fiennes (Michael White )
Javier Bardem (Salvador Blanco )
Juliette Binoche (Irène )

Tagline: “When we find our own place it’s easier to find our truth"

Synopsis: London 1992. After the disappearance of the Spanish painter Salvador Blanco, an art gallery is interested in his latest work and decides to dedicate him an exhibition about the war in the Balkans. Michael White, a critic of art from an important newspaper, will discover in this exhibition a picture that will affect him specially. The last picture that he painted is the portrait of a naked woman with a child, woman who is identical to his own wife. Distrustful and perplex he asks for an explanation to his wife Sylvia, plunged in a depression after knowing they are unable to have children. After a big discussion, she promises him that she doesn’t know the painter and that she doesn’t know anything about that painting. They both go to the exhibition and Sylvia can’t believe her own eyes when she sees the painting and she recognized herself on it. She gets obsessed with the picture and tries to know everything about the painter, the picture and where it was painted. Sylvia convinces her husband to go to Spain, because she is living the disappearance as something personal. Michael accepts it in order to help his wife and his marriage. They will meet Salvador’s ex-wife, Irène, in Barcelona, a French gallery owner who devotes herself to compile and manage the work of her missing ex-husband. Irène recognizes the face of Sylvia immediately and tells them that the painting was the last one that she received from the Salvador, almost one year ago. Sylvia decides to go to Bosnia to find Salvador. Her husband tries to convince her to stay, but she needs to know the truth and both embark direct to Sarajevo.

They will follow the local tracks from where Salvador sends his last works and they will be impressed by an environment of hatred and latent war. Sylvia feels the need to help in everything that she can, and she feels good with herself like she never does before. Michael does not bear the pressure and decides to return to London but Sylvia decides to stay there increasing the emotional distance between them.

Parallel Plot:

Salvador Blanco decides to go to Sarajevo for a while just to make some art works and to hide from his own life. Salvador will be hurt in a gunfire while he’s painting in a small village. An old woman, called Hannah, will keep him in her house to heal him the wounds. Salvador remains in the house several weeks and he satisfies his artistic desires drawing a painting of a woman and a baby from a picture that he has in his room, just in front of his bed. Salvador gets obsessed with this photography and he discover that she is Hannah, the woman who is taking care of him, and the baby is a girl she gave in adoption to an English couple from the embassy many years ago.

What the press would say:

Fernando Meirelles presents a hard and touching story about the research of our own origins. It’s about the searching of our identity, who we are and where we come from. The characters are always wondering if his place in the world is the one they are living now. The director tells us all this trough the eyes of a couple, happy in appearance, with no necessities, but that can not find the place they dream once.

We get involved in the story trough the great interpretations of Cate Blanchett (amazing in a double role Sylvia/Hannah) and Ralf Fiennes, in a journey with the dramatic background of the war. Cate Blanchett’s strength carry us with her motivations, to know the truth about her family, her life, her history. The main characters are supported by two great actors like Bardem and Binoche, with two very complex roles, full of shapes and an intense love background too. They will explain us the story in a parallel way with some explanatory flash-backs.

One of those movies the whole world needs to see.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director: Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God)
Best Original Screenplay: Isabel Coixet (My life without me, Secret life of words)
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett
Best Actor: Ralph Fiennes
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem
Best Supporting Actress: Juliette Binoche

A Long Way Down

Author(s): Jamie Madden
Location: Melbourne, Australia

“A Long Way Down”

Directed by Richard Curtis
Produced by Mike Newell and Stephen Frears
Written by Richard Curtis and Nick Hornby, based on the book by Nick Hornby
Original Score by Craig Armstrong

Principal Cast:

Hugh Grant as Martin; a publicly disgraced TV personality
Emma Thompson as Maureen; a middle-aged woman with no life beyond caring for her severely disabled adult son
Bill Nighy as JJ; an American rocker whose music career has just ended with a whimper
Keira Knightley as Jess; the unstable, punked-out daughter of a junior government minister

Tagline: “Misery loves company"

Synopsis: One lonely New Year’s Eve changes the course of destiny for four desperate people who meet on the top of a London rooftop. Miserable and hopeless, they each came to jump off the roof to their deaths. Martin, a television personality has been humiliated publicly, Maureen has hit menopause and a mid life crisis while taking care of a disabled adult son, Jess has broken up with her boyfriend, which has left her emotionally unstable, despite having a privileged upbringing and J.J. is an American rock star whose career has ended on the double release of an album of classic jazz standards and a Christmas album.

Bonded by a shared misery, they spend the night together. As they share their stories, and get on each other’s nerves, they actually save each other’s lives, and realize that while all share suicidal tendencies, they have completely different lives. Through one rough night, the four share a strong bond that provides an outlet for frustration, angst, anxiety and humiliation.

What the press would say: Richard Curtis (“Four Weddings and a Funeral” “Love Actually”) reunites with Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and Bill Nighy, in this winning adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel. The morose, depressing topic of suicide and desperation are brought to life with humorous and yet moving stories from each of the four characters. Emma Thompson is in her element as a desperate middle-aged housewife of a disabled adult son, and brings both humor and pathos to her character, weaving a clever tapestry that is the heart of the film. Keira Knightley proves she can really act in this role of a privileged girl who is left heartbroken and suicidal. Hugh Grant marvelous plays a disgraced television presenter, and shows no inhibitions as an actor in the role. But the standing ovation goes to Bill Nighy, who seems to play a character similar to his character in “Love Actually”, but whose character falls flat on its face. With great comic timing, ability and depth, Nighy, is the glue that holds the film together. Thanks to a endearing script written both by Curtis (who obviously has great chemistry with his team) and Hornby, “A Long Way Down” is a heartwarming tale of greed, desperation, loneliness and friendship.

For Your Consideration (comedy categories for Golden Globes)
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Score
Best Actor (Hugh Grant)
Best Actress (Emma Thompson)
Best Supporting Actor (Bill Nighy)
Best Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley)