Claire Forlani Movies
An actress whose fragile, fine-boned beauty has often gotten her cast as emotionally vulnerable, put-upon girlfriends, Claire Forlani has done strong work in this capacity in such films as Basquiat and Meet Joe Black. The daughter of an Italian father and a British mother, she was born in London on July 1, 1972. At the age of 11, she began studying dance and drama at London's Arts Educational School, where she trained for the next six years. She began her professional acting career in 1991, when she appeared in a number of productions for British television.After relocating with her family to San Francisco in 1993, Forlani made her American acting debut with a small but memorable role in the TV miniseries JFK: Reckless Youth (1993) as a young woman who dances her way into the heart and hormones of the young president. She subsequently had a minor part in Police Academy - Mission to Moscow (1994), and then landed more substantial work in Mallrats (1995) after impressing director Kevin Smith with her flawless impression of an immature young American. Forlani's work in Mallrats gave her enough exposure to garner the attention of various casting agents, as evidenced by her central role as the all-too accommodating waitress girlfriend of Basquiat's (1996) eponymous artist (Jeffrey Wright).
The actress remained in troubled girlfriend mode for The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997), in which she played Beat icon Neal Cassady's suicidal paramour, and then literally flirted with death in Meet Joe Black (1998). The film cast Forlani in her biggest role to date, that of a young doctor who falls in love with Death, as personified with blond highlights by Brad Pitt; although the film itself was the object of much critical ire, Forlani escaped relatively unscathed. After playing yet another imperiled girlfriend in Mystery Men (1999), Forlani switched gears to play a neurotic college student who ends up in bed with her best friend (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) in the romantic comedy Boys and Girls (2000). ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Author Nora Roberts' tense tale of second sight comes to the screen in this drama directed by Stephen Tolkin. Lately, Tory Bodeen (Claire Forlani) has been experiencing a series of frightening visions that seem to be beckoning her back to her small hometown. As the visions become increasingly intense, the brutal murder of Tory's childhood friend Hope is subsequently revealed to have been but the first in a brutal series of slayings that rocked the tightly knit community to its very core. Every year the killer claims another life, and now it seems that he has anticipated Tory's return. Now, as Tory attempts to catch the killer before becoming his next victim, her blossoming romance with Hope's handsome older brother Cade (Oliver Hudson) proves that the only thing more powerful than passion is the fear of death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Forlani, Oliver Hudson, (more)
CSI: NY, the third incarnation of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation franchise and the spin-off of CSI: Miami, is a crime drama about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in The Big Apple.
- Starring:
- Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes, (more)
CSI: NY, the third incarnation of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation franchise and the spin-off of CSI: Miami, is a crime drama about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in The Big Apple.
- Starring:
- Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes, (more)
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative feature at the 2004 Slamdance, director Nancy Hower's off-the-wall mockumentary Memron serves up a thinly-veiled parody of the Enron corporate scandals and bankruptcy of 2001. Hower's film concerns the (apocryphal) corporation of the title, whose crooked suits "fixed" its ledgers and stole millions from lower-level employees and shareholders, including a copious number of little old ladies. Now, the deposed Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth Clay (Michael McShane) dominates the golf course at the local prison yard and a team of terminated middle managers scramble to rebuild the company from the ground floor up. Tim Bagley, Claire Forlani, Mary Pat Gleason, Jeffrey Hayenga, John Lehr, Christopher Liam Moore and Evie Peck co-star. Hower and Robert Hickey are credited as co-scenarists, though the film relies heavily on improvisational dialogue.
~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Bagley, Claire Forlani, (more)
Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson stars as Jeremy, a British book editor and aspiring writer seeking a new lease on life, in Shadows in the Sun, an uplifting drama from ABC Family. Sent by his employer to Tuscany to elicit a new book from dried-up (and cantankerous) exiled author Weldon Parrish Harvey Keitel, Jeremy soon finds himself smitten with Weldon's daughter Isabella (Claire Forlani) and gradually connects with Weldon despite the man's initial resistance. Soon, the two men begin encouraging each other to write as romance flowers between Jeremy and Isabella. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joshua Jackson, Harvey Keitel, (more)
A cop takes desperate measures to protect her identity in this urban thriller. Monica (Claire Forlani) is a police detective who has been sent undercover to crack open a drug-dealing operation run by Gale (Pete Postlethwaite). However, maintaining her cover has taken a heavy toll on Monica -- she's become romantically involved with Gale, and is now addicted to heroin. To make matters all the more dangerous for her, Monica has also been having a relationship with Denny (Henry Czerny), Gale's second in command. Denny lives in the same apartment building as an elderly woman named May (Lauren Bacall); Denny and May often get each other's mail, and as a result occasionally pass misdirected letters back and forth. When Denny is found dead, Monica begins to suspect that May might have a package from Denny that could blow her cover and reveal her true identity to Gale; desperate to find out how much May knows and what she could prove, Monica takes her hostage, but neither is sure what Monica will do when her need for heroin takes hold. Produced under the title The Limit, Gone Dark was the first directorial effort from producer and assistant director Lewin Webb. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Forlani
It was certainly no coincidence that the made-for-cable historical film The Pentagon Papers was timed for released just when America was poised to wrestle with the question as to whether or not the President had the right to declare war on Iraq without full congressional and/or United Nations approval. The film covers several decades in the life of Harvard graduate Daniel Ellsberg (James Spader), who as a Pentagon official during two presidential administrations regards himself as patriotic as the next fellow. According to the unabashedly slanted teleplay by Jason Horwitch, it is this sense of patriotism that compels Ellsberg to release a 7,000-page classified report to The New York Times and The Washington Post, revealing that the official story of America's "success" in Vietnam was both exaggerated and distorted, and that the public has been egregiously misled for years. As a result of this act, Ellsberg, whose family life has already been destroyed by his devotion to his work, faces charges of treason from the Nixon administration. Ironically, it is Nixon's reaction to Ellsberg's security breach which leads him to create his team of gap-stopping "plumbers" -- who would of course bring about the President's downfall with the Watergate scandal. Surprisingly, The Pentagon Papers premiered March 9, 2003, over the FX network, a cable service owned by the markedly conservative Rupert Murdoch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Bradshaw's crime comedy Triggermen begins when a pair of professional killers (Michael Rapaport and Donnie Wahlberg) are hired to execute one of the major figures in organized crime (Pete Postlethwaite). Soon the pair are mistaken with a pair of British conmen (Neil Morrissey and Adrian Dunbar). When the money they were promised for completing the task turns up missing, the duo has a remarkably difficult time tracking it down. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neil Morrissey, Donnie Wahlberg, (more)
- 2000
A would-be illusionist tries to create some magic for himself and his friends in this comic road movie. Max (Til Schweiger) is a struggling professional magician who has a great act, once you get past the fact that most of his tricks don't work very well. One day, Max meets Hugo (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), a thief who boasts all the skill and expertise in his line of work that Max lacks in prestidigitation. Max is convinced he and Hugo would be an unbeatable combination in Las Vegas, so Hugo steals a van and they hit the road for Nevada, after convincing pretty waitress Lydia (Claire Forlani) to tag along as Max's assistant and Hugo's potential significant other. When the trio hits Las Vegas, they encounter Milo (Alan Arkin), a longtime magician and manager who thinks Max has the right stuff to be a success -- until he sees him perform. Magicians was directed by James Merendino, who previously directed the independent cult hit SLC Punk. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Til Schweiger, Claire Forlani, (more)
- 1998
Sean Smith and Anthony Stark co-directed this romantic drama about an extramarital affair. At Columbia University, during the week of John Belushi's death, lifelong friends Ben (Rob Morrow) and Adam (Jake Weber) meet Nina (Claire Forlani) at a student bar. After Nina and Adam marry, she goes to grad school in New York, while he begins a career as a writer. Ben marries Stanford law student Kat (Jayne Brook), and they both find work in New York. Lives are altered after Ben and Nina enter into an affair. Filmed in Manhattan and the Berkshires, and shown at the 1998 Deauville Festival of American Film and the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Morrow, Claire Forlani, (more)
Originally aired as a two-part miniseries, this biography looks at the early years of America's most dashing president from his early childhood through his nomination for Congress. It's based on Nigel Hamilton's best-selling biography. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Terry Kinney, (more)
- 1992
Directed by Vinci Vogue-Anzlovar, Gypsy Eyes revolves around fugitive government operative Harry Noble (Jim Metzler), who was forced to run from the CIA after a serious misunderstanding. Aide comes in the form of Katarina (Claire Forlani), a young gypsy who may be the only person Harry can trust to help mend the situation without getting killed in the process. The film also features Zachary Bogatz and George DiCenzo. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Metzler, Claire Forlani, (more)
Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) draws on the powers of La Santa Muerte to find his missing daughter, Toby. His life was perfect until his dark past returned with a vengeance. Now the thing that Jack loves most has been taken away. With the help of a sheriff and two FBI agents, Jack searches the seedy underbelly of Mexico City for his daughter and discovers that there's no escape from the grip of La Santa Muerte. Paz Vega and Simon Baker star in a supernatural thriller directed by Basic co-producer Dror Soref. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simon Baker, Paz Vega, (more)
Having squandered his stint in the spotlight on hard drugs and reckless sex, washed-up Hollywood has-been Joe Scott (Daniel Craig) reflects on the summer of innocence and tragedy that would alter the course of his life after receiving news that his childhood best friend has suddenly died. As he makes his way back to the quiet English seaside village of his childhood in order to attend the funeral, he finds his journey into the past becoming a journey of both redemption and self-discovery as well. Oliver Twist star Harry Eden plays the young version of Scott in a drama also featuring Olivia Williams, Claire Forlani, and Eve. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Craig, Eve, (more)
With Hallam Foe, British director Peter MacKenzie and scripter Ed Whitmore adapt the 2002 novel of the same name, a quirky, bittersweet, coming-of-age psychodrama by Peter Jinks. The titular character is the 17-year-old son (Jamie Bell) of a wealthy Scottish businessman (Ciarán Hinds). Still rattled by the death of his mom (who drowned in a nearby loch), Hallam retreats into a deep-seated fantasy world. He harbors amorous feelings for his new stepmother, Verity (Claire Forlani), until he gradually concludes that she murdered his biological mother. Hallam nonetheless lets himself be seduced into an affair with Verity, and is so repulsed by this transpiration that he flees to Edinburgh. His life turns a corner, however, when he spots -- and instantly becomes infatuated with -- Kate (Sophia Myles), a local girl who bears an uncanny resemblance to his mother. After he talks her into giving him a routine job in the kitchen of the hotel that she manages, they become romantically involved, ever so gradually, which spells trouble for Hallam's emotional state by thoroughly overwhelming and confusing him -- and deeper trouble still when Kate's married lover (Jamie Sives) discovers that Hallam has been spying diligently on Kate from his perch in a nearby bell tower. Ewen Bremner co-stars as the bellhop supervisor at the hotel. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, (more)
An American abroad is introduced to the heady but dangerous pleasures of violence in this powerful drama from Great Britain. Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) is a journalism student from America who is expelled from college when his roommate sets him to take the fall after drugs are found in their dorm room. Needing time to sort out what his next move should be, Matt travels to London to visit his sister Shannon (Claire Forlani), who has married British Steve Dunham (Marc Warren). As it happens, Matt arrives at a less than opportune moment, and he ends up spending his first evening in the U.K. with Steve's brother Pete (Charlie Hunnam). Pete hangs out with a "firm" of friends who call themselves "the Green Street Elite" and are passionate fans of the West Ham United football club (Matt quickly discovers calling British football "soccer" is an easy way to get your teeth knocked out). Pete has little use for Matt until the Green Street Elite get into a dust-up with another firm; Matt turns out to be a fierce if inexperienced fighter, and discovers he enjoys the kick of street brawling. Matt is cautiously accepted by Pete and the other members of the firm, and is soon absorbed into the very British world of violent football fandom. But when Pete and his friends learn that Matt studied journalism, they begin to suspect he's a reporter doing an undercover piece on hooliganism, and they set out to teach him an ugly lesson about loyalty. The debut feature film from British director Lexi Alexander, Green Street Hooligans (initially shown simply as Hooligans) was the first film ever to win both the Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, (more)
Based on a Victorian novel by Wilkie Collins, Basil is a British-made costume drama that ended up on cable and home video. Jared Leto plays Basil, a well-to-do young aristocrat with an uptight Victorian father (Derek Jacobi). He befriends the mysterious gentleman John Mannion (Christian Slater) and falls in love with the lower-class girl Julia Sherwin (Claire Forlani). His father is upset about his questionable choices and threatens to disown him, thereby renouncing his birthright to inherit Windemere Manor. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jared Leto, Christian Slater, (more)
- 1997
- R
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While Neal Cassady never gained fame as a writer, he was a pivotal figure among the Beat poets and novelists of the 1950s. A close friend of most of the seminal figures in the Beat movement, Cassady's free-wheeling, larger-than-life personality was a major influence on Jack Kerouac, who used him as the inspiration for the character Dean Moriarity in On the Road, and he was a founding member of Ken Kesey's post-Beat, pre-hippie "Merry Pranksters," driving their now-famous psychedelic bus (whose destination, then as now, was "Furthur"). The Last Time I Committed Suicide is loosely based on several incidents from Cassady's life, as well as an eight-page letter that he wrote to Kerouac about some complicated events in his love life. In the late 1940s, 20-year-old Cassady (Thomas Jane) was living in Denver and working the late shift at a tire factory when he became involved with Joan (Claire Forlani), a sad young woman with a suicidal bent, and befriended Harry (Keanu Reeves), a cheerful but past-his-prime alcoholic. Cassady also found himself the target of the affections of Cherry Mary (Gretchen Mol), a sexy 16-year-old whose mother, Mrs. Greenway (Christine Rose), doesn't much care for him; he also encountered Ben (Adrien Brody), a shy young poet whose interest in Cassady seemed to be more than just literary. Footage of the real Neal Cassady can be found in the documentary on the Beat Movement, The Source. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Jane, Keanu Reeves, (more)
Andy Warhol was a phenomenon who warrants a lot of explaining: a completely colorless mega-star celebrity, and a kind of LaBrea Tarpit for a vivid and talented collection of oddballs in the New York scene. He fostered their continued degeneration into weird lifestyles and heavy drug use; and at the same time acted as their mentor, agent, and sponsor. One artist who came to be part of Warhol's "scene" was Jean Michel Basquiat, an antisocial street-bum who went from writing graffiti on alley walls to being the toast of New York City's art world. This film biography chronicles the progression of Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright) and his progression from living in cardboard boxes to penthouses, his romances, his drug use, and his death in 1988 at age 27. Along the way, he never stopped detesting the rich, including art agent Bruno Bischofberger (Dennis Hopper), and he never lost his naivete. Warhol (David Bowie) picks up some of the pieces as Basquiat lurches through the art scene. Cameo appearances by Tatum O'Neal and Courtney Love add spice to this interesting film. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Wright, Michael Wincott, (more)
The sophomore film from former music video and commercial director Michael Bay, this fast-paced action yarn featured rapid-fire editing, a cutting-edge rock soundtrack and liberal use of shots awash in a haze of burnished hues, all trademarks of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Nicolas Cage stars as Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI chemical weapons expert handed a unique assignment. Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris), an insane Marine Corps general, has taken 81 tourists hostage on the abandoned island prison of Alcatraz. He and his men are threatening to bomb San Francisco with deadly gas unless $100 million is paid in war reparations to the families of servicemen killed in covert operations. Goodspeed is teamed with former British spy John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), the only man ever to escape "The Rock," as well as a Navy SEAL team. When their military escorts are ambushed, it's up to odd couple Goodspeed and Mason to break into Alcatraz and stop Hummel. The Rock was the last film produced by Simpson, who died of a drug overdose before the film's release. Solo, his partner Bruckheimer continued making the sort of glossy, frenetic films for which the duo was famed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, (more)
Kevin Smith's follow-up to his unexpected hit Clerks details the pointless story of T.S. (Jeremy London) and Brodie (Jason Lee), two suburban New Jersey slackers who decide to head to the mall in search of solace after being dumped by their girlfriends (Shannon Doherty and Claire Forlani, respectively). There the two young men machinate to appear on a game show being staged and also manage to meet comic-book magnate Stan Lee. However, complications arise when the girls show up. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, (more)
Country music star Toby Keith writes and stars in this road movie comedy inspired by his chart-topping hit of the same name. Beer for My Horses opens to find small-town deputies and longtime buddies Rack (Keith) and Lonnie (Rodney Carrington) quietly enforcing the law in a small Southern town. Things are relatively quiet in their neck of the woods, so when a violent drug lord (Carlos Sanz) kidnaps Rack's girlfriend (Claire Forlani) in response to seeing his brother (Greg Serano) get arrested, Sheriff Landry (Tom Skerrit) implores them to sit tight and let the professionals handle the case. But Rack and Lonnie aren't about to let Rack's girlfriend suffer any harm at the hands of the notoriously vicious kingpin, and after enlisting the aid of taciturn, bow-and-arrow-toting fellow lawman Skunk Tarver (Ted Nugent), the trio sets out to rescue the girl and ensure that justice is served. The CMT Films production is directed by Michael Salomon (A Glimpse of Hell), with Willie Nelson and Barry Corbin filling out the supporting cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington, (more)
- 2008
- PG13
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Uwe Boll's fantasy adventure film In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale stars Jason Statham as Farmer, a simple man from the Kingdom of Ehb whose goal as the story begins is to care for his family. However, when the power-hungry Gallian (Ray Liotta) invades the kingdom, Farmer must abandon his simple existence in order to rescue his wife (Claire Forlani) and save his king (Burt Reynolds). This film is a cinematic adaptation of the video game Dungeon Siege. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davies, (more)
Mockumentary mastermind Christopher Guest turns his satirical eye away from dog shows, small-town theater, and folk music to offer a hilarious take on Hollywood award season in this comedy focusing on trio of actors whose lives are turned upside down when they discover that their performances in an independent film are generating a sizable buzz in the entertainment industry. Jay Berman (Guest) is in the process of directing his first feature film -- an intimate family drama set in the 1940s and detailing the tempestuous reunion of an estranged Jewish family that is reluctantly drawn together to celebrate Purim at the behest of their dying matriarch. The cast soon comes down with an infectious case of award fever when rumors on the Internet claim that "Purim" stars Marilyn Hack (Catherine O' Hara), Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), and Callie Webb (Parker Posey) may be delivering Oscar-caliber performances. When "Hollywood Now" co-anchors Chuck Porter (Fred Willard) and Cindy Martin (Jane Lynch) perpetuate the buzz on national television, the entire film crew starts to see stars in their eyes. Subsequently convinced that they have a sleeper hit on their hands, unit publicist Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins), talent agent Morley Orfkin (Eugene Levy), and producer Whitney Taylor Brown (Jennifer Coolidge) immediately cave to requests from Sunfish Classics president Martin Gibb (Ricky Gervais) to alter the film so that it may appeal to a larger audience. Now, while "Purim" screenwriters Lane Iverson (Michael McKean) and Philip Koontz (Bob Balaban) are forced to watch helplessly as their original screenplay is plundered in order to cash in on the positive buzz, awards season draws near and the production takes a most unexpected turn. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, (more)
