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
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
- Add The Last Time I Committed Suicide to QueueAdd The Last Time I Committed Suicide to top of Queue
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)
- 1994
- PG
- Add Police Academy: Mission to Moscow to QueueAdd Police Academy: Mission to Moscow to top of Queue
In a major stumbling block toward better international relations, America's most laughable police officers are sent to Russia to fight crime in this comedy. In Moscow, master criminal Konali (Ron Perlman) has marketed a new computer game that has an unusual hidden feature -- it allows him to bring down any security system controlled by a PC on which the game has been played, with a string of major robberies as the result. Russian Police Commandant Rakov (Christopher Lee) is at his wit's end about how to deal with the crisis, so he asks for help from the U.S. law enforcement community. However, Rakov's American allies turn out to be Lassard (George Gaynes), Harris (G.W. Bailey), and the rest of the crew from the Police Academy (among them Michael Winslow, David Graf, and Leslie Easterbrook). Claire Forlani also appears in a small role as a Russian beauty. This was the seventh and last film in the Police Academy series, following the departure of franchise loyalist Bubba Smith. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, (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)
