Gabriel Mick Movies
Alfonso Cuaron (The Little Princess) directed this Mitch Glazer screenplay, a modernization of the 1860-61 classic by Charles Dickens. Some situations in the film are presented as memories -- the way the central figure, Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke) recalls events many years later. At a Florida fishing village, eight-year-old orphan Finn Bell (Jeremy James Kissner), talented at art, is left in the care of his sister and her husband, Joe (Chris Cooper). One day, Finn helps a chained, escaped convict who appears in the surf. On other days, he visits Paradiso Perduto, where he plays with young Estella (Raquel Beaudene), niece of the mansion's colorful, flamboyant, and extremely wealthy owner, Ms. Dinsmoor (Anne Bancroft), who parallels the novel's tragic Miss Havisham, a woman jilted at the altar and left emotionally scarred and mentally imbalanced. As Ms. Dinsmoor watches Finn draw a portrait of Estella, she plots to mold Estella into a hard woman capable of destroying men. In a flash forward to the '90s, Finn (Hawke) and Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow), now in their late teens, re-create the water-fountain kiss of their childhood, but Estella vanishes, breaking Finn's heart to such a degree that he doesn't draw or paint for seven years, choosing to eke out a marginal existence with his uncle Joe (after Finn's sister abandons the two). Then Manhattan art representative Jerry Ragno (Josh Mostel) turns up with a startling offer -- if Finn will return to painting and relocate in New York, Ragno will give him a one-man show. With an apparent assist from Ms. Dinsmoor, Finn makes the move and begins his new life with great expectations and a deadline of 10 weeks to complete the necessary paintings. When Finn next encounters Estella, she has a wealthy boyfriend, Walter (Hank Azaria). As Finn once again becomes entranced by Estella, he also begins to question exactly how his life is being manipulated. Francesco Clemente did the paintings and drawings seen in the film. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
- 1996
- PG
At first glance, the made-for-TV Harvest of Fire would seem to be a gender-switch variation on the theatrical feature Witness (1985), but it is much more than that. Assigned to investigate the possibility of a hate crime when three barns are burned in an Amish community in Iowa, FBI agent Sally Russwell (Lolita Davidovich) is given a far-from-warm welcome by the locals when she arrives at the scene of the crime. Shunned as one of "the English" -- that is, an outsider -- Sally is able to gain the confidence only of entrepreneurial Amish widow Annie Beiler (Patty Duke), who is as curious and inquisitive about the outside world as Sally is of Annie's world. The shaky but solid bond formed between the two women enables Sally to proceed with her investigation -- and, in the process, to expose several unpleasant secrets concerning the tightly-knit community. An Emmy Award winner for Best Sound Mixing, Harvest of Fire was first telecast as a CBS "Hallmark Hall of Fame" special on April 21, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lolita Davidovich, Patty Duke, (more)
The birth of the gay rights movement gets a fictionalized treatment in this drama based loosely on the acclaimed documentary of the same name by Martin Duberman. In 1969, Matty Dean (Fred Weller) arrives in New York City's Greenwich Village hoping that life there will provide the sexual liberation forbidden to him by his small town upbringing. Matty falls in love with LaMiranda (Guillermo Diaz), a cross-dresser who introduces him to the regulars at the infamous Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. He is shocked, however, to learn that the NYPD regularly raids the Stonewall, harassing the clientele and closeted owner Vinnie (Bruce MacVitte). After one such incident, Matty ends up in jail, where he's attracted to Ethan (Brendan Corbalis), a gay activist preaching a moderate policy of conformity and peaceful protest. The latter is not possible, however, when police storm the Stonewall yet again and, led by Vinnie's lover Bustonia (Duane Boutte), enraged drag queens fight back in a riot of historical significance. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Guillermo Diaz, Frederick Weller, (more)
A young white man living in rural upstate New York tries to emulate the African-American culture he adores in this melodrama. Recent high school graduate Seth Carlson secretly dreams of being an art student in Manhattan. Because his father refuses financial aid he cannot and so ends up waiting tables in a small restaurant. In lieu of actually becoming an artist, Seth opts to affect their mannerisms, especially those of African American artists. He even dresses and speaks as they do. One night, as he is closing the restaurant, he is held up by an escaped convict, Knowledge Johnson. The convict is seriously wounded and passes out before he can escape. He is black and Seth, decides to help him by dragging him to an empty shed and nursing him to health. Knowledge is at first wary of Seth's attention. He is also appalled by Seth's obsession. But gradually the two become grudging friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
