Chris Cooper Movies
Having spent much of his youth on his father's Missouri cattle ranch, it is not surprising that supporting and leading actor of stage, screen, and television Chris Cooper has specialized in playing cowboys, ranchers, and other hardworking men. His rugged Everyman demeanor has best been put to use by filmmaker John Sayles, who cast him in a number of his films, beginning with 1987's Matewan.Cooper's interest in the theater began in his late teens, when he designed and constructed sets for a community group. Following high school, he studied agriculture and acting at the University of Missouri before moving to New York City in hopes of making it on the stage. It took awhile, but by 1980 he was starring in productions like Of the Fields Lately, The Ballad of Soapy Smith, and Cobb, in which he played the title role.
His film debut came in 1980, in Nicholas Roeg's Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession. He didn't get his big break until seven years later, when Sayles cast him as Joe Kenehan, a member of the coalminer's union who is sent to a tiny mountain town to organize the workers in Matewan (1987). He again worked with Sayles in City of Hope (1991) and then in Lone Star (1996), for which he won great acclaim playing the enigmatic Sam Deeds, the prodigal son of a tiny Texas town's sheriff who solves a mystery and comes to grips with his relationship with his late father.
Subsequently, Cooper -- who had also made his mark on the small screen as cowboy July Johnson in Lonesome Dove (1989) -- appeared as a deputy in a A Time to Kill (1996), Robert Redford's younger brother in The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Ethan Hawke's brother-in-law in Great Expectations. In 1999, the actor again demonstrated his impressive range, first playing a coalminer in October Sky and then turning in a chilling performance as Kevin Spacey's unbalanced neighbor in American Beauty. If Cooper was somewhat lost in the shuffle of 2002's Interstate 60, his Oscar winning performance in that same years' Adaptation would find Cooper receiving lavish praise for his portrayal of a lively orchid hunter. Cast opposite Meryl Streep, Cooper's toothless performance was in turns hilarious, sad and poetic, providing the perfect showcase for his impressive range and offering an enticing glimpse of what may be in store for the underappreciated Cooper. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Sunshine, a sunny Carribean island, is a little-known haven for organized crime, drug running, and murder. When a private investigator (Philip Michael Thomas) arrives to investigate the mysterious death of a British governer, he finds himself at odds with the Cuban Secret Police, the Miami Homicide Sqaud, and the mob itself. His only hope for escape lies in the hands of an eccentric island hermit played by Lauren Bacall. This British made-for-TV thriller was distributed by Nova Entertainment, Inc, and originally aired in 1994. A Little Piece of Sunshine was directed by J. Cellan-Jones, and also includes actors Chris Cooper and Larry Lamb. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Bacall, Philip Michael Thomas, (more)
A lonely man receives some not entirely welcome attention from his children in this drama written by Horton Foote. John Webb (Hume Cronyn) is an aging farmer from Texas who recently lost his wife and is coming to terms with spending the rest of his days on his own. An oil company believes that there may be oil on John's property and is willing to pay him handsomely for drilling rights. However, John isn't certain he likes the idea, and he soon comes into conflict with his family, who thinks that John could be letting a fortune slip through his fingers. Produced for the Showtime premium cable network, Alone boasts a superb supporting cast, including James Earl Jones, Shelley Duvall, Chris Cooper, and Frederic Forrest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hume Cronyn
- 2009
This in-depth documentary explores the death of Abraham Lincoln, the first American president to be assassinated. Gunned down in the second month of his triumphant and markedly peaceful second term, Lincoln's death had tremendous effects on the shocked American populace, making waves in everything from cultural identity to the economy. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Cooper
- 2008
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In this documentary exploring the life of Leaves of Grass author Walt Whitman, fans of the poet are invited to explore his life story from the days of his working-class childhood, through his time as a Brooklyn-based newspaper reporter, and his unending quest to ensure that his work gained the attention he felt it so rightly deserved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
When a poor waitress shoots her abusive husband, she is forced to battle the courts for custody of her children while waiting for a verdict on her trial for murder of her husband. Based on a true story, it does a credible job in the depiction of the abusive relationship but some of the impact is diminished when the film moralizes that the husband's latent homosexuality was the cause or as culpable as the physical abuse he inflicted upon his wife. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Dey, Chris Cooper, (more)
- 1991
Kevin Spacey plays legendary attorney/civil libertarian Clarence Darrow in this made-for-TV biopic. The story begins in 1894, when Darrow gives up his job as a railroad attorney to represent the participants of the Pullman strike. Darrow's "man of the people" reputation grows to mythic proportions over the next thirty years, a growth represented in this film by broad strokes and windy monologues. We last see Darrow in 1924, attempting to rescue young murderers Leopold (Jamie Harold) and Loeb (Barry Sherman) from the gallows. Darrow was first telecast June 7, 1991, on the PBS series American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2008
A devoted Irish-American mother (Patricia Clarkson) wages a tenacious battle to get her two disabled twin daughters (Dakota and Elle Fanning) into the public school system in director Arvin Brown's heartfelt docudrama. William H. Macy, Chris Cooper, and Laura San Giacomo co-star in a film produced by Andrea Simon and written by Marianne Leone. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, (more)
- 1991
In this drama, based on a true story, desperate townsfolk take up arms to defeat the sociopathic town bully who has been terrorizing them for years. They then swear themselves to silence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Cloris Leachman, (more)
- 1996
In an echo of a racist incident in Connecticut in 1995, an anti-Semitic "code message" in a high school yearbook may be the key to the murder of an art teacher. Comparatively speaking, tracking down the likely killers is the easy part. The problems for the D.A.'s office begin when McCoy (Sam Waterston) goes head to head with bigoted attorney Roy Paine (Chris Cooper), infamous in legal circles as "the Klan Lawyer." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This six-hour miniseries, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Larry McMurtry, revitalized both the miniseries and Western genres, both of which had been considered dead for several years. Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones star as fun-loving Gus MacRae and taciturn Woodrow Call, respectively, a pair of longtime friends and former Texas Rangers who crave one last adventure before they bow to their advancing years. Convinced that animals will thrive on the lush grasslands of Montana, Woodrow persuades Gus to undertake the arduous, 3,000-mile cattle drive there. Rounding up over a thousand head from Mexican rustlers south of the border, the men recruit a diverse crew of hands to help them. Among the party are Woodrow's illegitimate son Newt Dobbs (Rick Schroeder), local prostitute Lorena Wood (Diane Lane), and old compatriots Joshua Deets (Danny Glover), Jake Spoon (Robert Urich), and Pea Eye Parker (Tim Scott). Storms, hostile natives, poisonous snakes, and rustlers take their toll on the company before Montana is reached in an adventure that is equal parts Greek tragedy and classic, John Ford-style oater. Originally developed in the 1970s as a script by McMurtry for director Peter Bogdanovich and stars Henry Fonda, John Wayne, and James Stewart, Lonesome Dove earned 18 Emmy nominations and inspired a pair of miniseries sequel as well as two attempts at an ongoing television series. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
Adapted from William Trevor's novella of the same name, the made-for-cable My House in Umbria stars Dame Maggie Smith as Mrs. Emily Delahunty, a British romance novelist living in Italy. While on a shopping excursion to Milan, Emily barely survives a terrorist train bombing. Though she recovers fairly rapidly from her ordeal, three others -- a German journalist a British general and a traumatized orphan girl -- still bear profound physical and emotional wounds. In the spirit of democracy and compassion, the pluck Mrs. Delahunty invites her fellow survivors to recuperate at her lavish Italian estate. This ersatz family gets along famously -- at least until the arrival of the orphan's priggish uncle, American entomologist Tom Riversmith (Chris Cooper), who strongly disapproves of Mrs. Delahunty's carefree lifestyle. Filmed on location in Tuscany and Rome, My House in Umbria debuted May 25, 2003, on the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Barker, Chris Cooper, (more)
Set in the 19th century on the eve of his execution, the title swashbuckler decides to tell the truth about his life and his professions as both upholder of the law and criminal. As he speaks, his adventures unfurl upon the screen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Chris Cooper, (more)
- 2006
Primo Levi's harrowing memoir If This Is a Man appeared in the U.S. in 1959 as Survival in Auschwitz; historians now regard it as the most critically important written conveyance of the horrors within the Nazi concentration camps. But the account in that text only represents half of Levi's story. The other half began after his release from Auschwitz. Instead of simply returning to his native Turin, Levi and 600 others were forcibly shipped east -- thousands of miles away from their homes. Thus began a grueling, trans-national journey that Levi undertook, across war-ravaged Europe and back to Turin -- a journey that took all of 12 months to complete, and that filled him, alternately, with incredulity, anger, wonder, and astonishment -- as he reflected on the meaning of his own survival in the camps. Levi died in 1987; as a tribute to the belletrist and historian, acclaimed nonfiction filmmaker Davide Ferrario (Far from Rome, Borderline) retraces Levi's route with his cameras in his documentary Primo Levi's Journey. Ferrario travels through Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia, Romania, Hungary, Germany, and south to his native country, evaluating, at each stop, the sociological climate and the various ways in which Eastern Europe has alternately evolved and remained static over the prior 60 years. Ferrario touches on numerous issues relevant to the contemporary sociopolitical landscape of Eastern Europe, as the Russian satellite countries struggle to develop national identities, and concurrently reflects on the experiences of Levi's original trip. Celebrated Polish filmmaker Andrezj Wajda appears early on and serves as a "tour guide" for one of the first legs of the voyage. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Cooper, Umberto Orsini, (more)
The first of a number of sequels to the highly successful western mini-series Lonesome Dove featured few of the same actors as the original, nor was it based on a novel by Larry McMurtry. In this outing, onetime Texas Ranger Call (Jon Voight, replacing Tommy Lee Jones) heads a group of cowboys leading horses from Texas north to Montana. Along the way, Call again meets Clara Allen (Barbara Hershey, taking over for Anjelica Huston), the love of his late partner McCrae's life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight
- 1996
Throughout her life, small-town schoolteacher Elaine Hodges (Mare Winningham) has been fiercely devoted to her infirm, alcoholic father Addison (Lloyd Bridges). Even her affection for a local cop (Ron Lea)--who happens to already have a wife--will not permit Elaine to even consider leaving her dad. But circumstances are altered in a radical and ultimately lethal fashion when an ex-convict named Charlie (Chris Cooper) arrives in town, carrying with him a dark and well-guarded secret concerning the past of the Hodges family. Made for the CBS TV network, The Deliverance of Elaine debuted April 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Jonathan Hock, who co-directed Through the Fire, which dealt with the auspicious beginning of Sebastian Telfair's NBA career, returns to the sports documentary with The Lost Son of Havana. The movie showsdefector and former major league pitcher Luis Tiant as he returns to Cuba after over 46 years in exile, and flashes back to show highlights from his remarkable pro baseball career. It also deals with Tiant's relationship with his father, who was a star pitcher in Cuba and in the Negro Leagues before the revolution. Luis Tiant was playing in the States during the Bay of Pigs invasion, after which the Cuban government essentially told its baseball players, come home and play as amateurs, or stay out forever. At the age of twenty, urged on by a letter from his father, Tiant made the painful decision to pursue his professional baseball career and abandon his parents, his friends, and his home in Cuba. Aided by the filmmakers, Tiant gets permission to return to Cuba at age 67. There, he finds vast changes, but also many familiar sights and a surprising number of people who still remember him. The filmmakers intercut this voyage home with clips and interviews highlighting Tiant's career. Tiant was a fireballer for the Cleveland Indians in the 1960s, then he broke his shoulder in 1970 playing for the Twins. He reinvented himself as a wily junkballer with a uniquely distracting delivery, and achieved great success with the Boston Red Sox. The film also describes Tiant's efforts to get his parents out of Cuba so they could see him pitch. The Lost Son of Havana had its World Premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown in the Encounters section. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Across the Universe's Julie Taymor shakes up Shakespeare with her adaptation of The Tempest, retrofitting the fantastical tale with a female lead, casting Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren in what is usually the male role of Prospero. The storyline follows the newly coined Prospera (Mirren), an exiled magician who uses her powers to call upon a tempest to bring her enemies to the island she's been forced to call home, not knowing that it will bring a suitor to her daughter, Miranda (Felicity Jones). The Miramax production also stars Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Ben Wishaw, and Felicity Jones. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, (more)
Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) takes the law into his own hands after the legal system fails to adequately punish the men who brutally raped and beat his daughter, leaving her for dead. Normally, a distraught father could count on some judicial sympathy in those circumstances. Unfortunately, Carl and his daughter are black, and the assailants are white, and all the events take place in the South. Indeed, so inflammatory is the situation, that the local KKK (led by Kiefer Sutherland) becomes popular again. When Hailey chooses novice lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) to handle his defense, it begins to look like a certainty that Carl will hang, and Jake's career (and perhaps his life) will come to a premature end. Despite the efforts of the NAACP and local black leaders to persuade Carl to choose some of their high-powered legal help, he remains loyal to Jake, who had helped his brother with a legal problem before the story begins. Jake eventually takes this case seriously enough to seek help from his old law-school professor (Donald Sutherland). When death threats force his family to leave town, Jake even accepts the help of pushy young know-it-all lawyer Ellen Roark (Sandra Bullock). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, (more)
The creative team behind Being John Malkovich -- director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman -- return with this equally offbeat comedy, in which Kaufman himself becomes the leading character. Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is a gifted but profoundly neurotic screenwriter who, after the success of Being John Malkovich, has been hired to write a script adapted from the nonfiction book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. But while Charlie is obsessive about his work, he's also intensely paranoid, given to deep depression, socially inept, and terrified of talking to women, qualities which are making it difficult to get on with his work or hold on to his tenuous relationship with girlfriend Amelia (Cara Seymour). Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin brother, Donald Kaufman (also played by Cage), has shown up to move in with his brother. Emotionally, Donald is Charlie's polar opposite -- a loudmouthed, over-confident, superficial party animal who has an easy way with the ladies. Donald has decided to follow his brother's footsteps and take up screenwriting as well, but embracing the dictates of screenwriting tutor Robert McKee (Brian Cox), he's cranking out a cliché-ridden serial-killer thriller when not busy making time with new girlfriend Caroline (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As Donald blazes through his screenplay, Charlie slowly picks away at his story, in which author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) chronicles John Laroche (Chris Cooper), a scruffy but devoted plant enthusiast who tries to save rare species of orchids by stealing them from their natural home in the swamps of Florida. As John and Susan become better acquainted, they find themselves attracted to one another; similarly, Charlie finds himself increasingly fascinated with Susan, and finds himself falling in love with her, even though he's only seen her photo on the dust jacket of her book. Charlie arranges to meet Susan, but is too nervous to confront her face to face, so he sends Donald (who has just scored a seven-figure deal for his script) in his place, while he attends a screenwriting seminar held by McKee. Adaptation also features Tilda Swinton, Judy Greer, and Stephen Tobolowsky. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, (more)
Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with outward appearances. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, (more)
Psychiatrist Alex (Art Garfunkel) becomes sexually obsessed with Milena (Theresa Russell), a woman whom he meets at a party. The pair become involved in an intense and mutually destructive love affair. The drama unfolds in a series of flashbacks, as Alex tells his story to police Inspector Netusil (Harvey Keitel) who is investigating Milena's apparent suicide attempt. Alex's obsession grows, but Milena stays slightly out of reach. Originally rated X, but somewhat toned down to accommodate an R rating, Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession is an interesting exploration of the nature of sexual passion and jealousy. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, (more)
This docudrama recaps the history of silicone breast implants, beginning in 1962 when idealistic Houston medical resident Kevin Saunders (David Schwimmer) gets an idea after seeing how women pad their bras. After he shares his notion with cosmetic pro Dr. William Larson (Chris Cooper), the two create a prosthetic breast from Dow-Corning's silicone gel. Approaching women on the street fails to bring volunteers, but a classified newspaper ad does the trick. As breast sizes increase, so do the doctors' bank accounts. However, physical problems emerge, followed by lawsuits, and the high life soon turns sour and grim. Filmed in LA, and Texas (Galveston, Houston), this TV movie premiered December 13, 1997 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Schwimmer, Chris Cooper, (more)
The creation of one of the most memorable books of the 1960s -- and the impact the writing and research would have on its author -- is explored in this drama based on a true story. In 1959, Truman Capote (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) was a critically acclaimed novelist who had earned a small degree of celebrity for his work when he read a short newspaper item about a multiple murder in a small Kansas town. For some reason, the story fascinated Capote, and he asked William Shawn (Bob Balaban), his editor at The New Yorker, to let him write a piece about the case. Capote had long believed that in the right hands, a true story could be molded into a tale as compelling as any fiction, and he believed this event, in which the brutal and unimaginable was visited upon a community where it was least expected, could be just the right material. Capote traveled to Kansas with his close friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), herself becoming a major literary figure with the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, and while Capote's effete and mannered personal style stuck out like a sore thumb in Kansas, in time he gained the trust of Alvin Dewey (Chris Cooper), the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent investigating the murder of the Clutter family, and with his help Capote's magazine piece grew into a full-length book. Capote also became familiar with the petty criminals who killed the Clutter family, Dick Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) and Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.), and in Smith he found a troubling kindred spirit more like himself than he wanted to admit. After attaining a sort of friendship with Smith under the assumption that the man would be executed before the book was ever published, Capote finds himself forced to directly confront the moral implications of his actions with regards to both his role in the man's death, and the way that he would be remembered. Capote also co-stars Bruce Greenwood as Capote's longtime companion Jack Dunphy, and Amy Ryan as Mary Dewey, Alvin's wife who became a confidante of Capote's. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, (more)
- 1991
- R
A city pulses with racial problems, political corruption, and small-time crime in this ambitious microcosm of urban life, written and directed by John Sayles. Nick Rinaldi (Vincent Spano), a lost soul usually high on drink and drugs, has spent his life in one New Jersey city, getting free rides from his connected father (Tony LoBianco) and hearing the locals talk of his brother's death in Vietnam. Searching for more control, Nick quits the cushy contractor's job provided by his Dad, feeling that major events are about to happen to him. That feeling proves accurate -- by film's end his life will change, as will the lives of many others. Nick is only the center of the movie's sprawling collection of people and plotlines; Sayles takes full advantage of this expansive landscape, as he often begins shooting one conversation, only to pull back and eavesdrop on another, in one smooth, intriguing shot. By listening in, we slowly learn about the citizens and their dilemmas, as the city's woes bubble to a narrative climax. Many of Sayles' regular players are on-screen (the movie features 52 roles), including Joe Morton as a frustrated councilman and David Strathairn as a disturbed street person. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Spano, Joe Morton, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
