Ira Sachs Movies
After entering into a passionate affair with a much younger woman, an unhappily married man resorts to murder as a means of sparing his frigid wife the humiliation of divorce in director Ira Sachs' suspenseful film noir. Set in the 1940s, Marriage tells the tale of Harry (Chris Cooper) -- a man whose faithful but emotionally distant wife (Patricia Clarkson) has become all but impossible to love. Smitten by the beautiful Kay (Rachel McAdams) but ultra-sensitive to the shame associated with divorce, Harry opts to poison his wife as a means of allowing the marriage to end with her pride still intact. Harry's scheme soon goes horribly awry, however, when after revealing the plan to his best friend, Richard (Pierce Brosnan), Richard too falls in love with the ethereal young beauty and sets into motion a cunning plan all his own. A serpentine tale of murderous deception, Marriage was co-scripted by director Sachs and screenwriter Oren Moverman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, (more)
A woman who has drifted away from her boyfriend's affections finds love in the arms of his son in this independent drama. Laura (Dina Korzun) is an attractive woman in her early thirties who was living in her native Russia when she met Alan James (Rip Torn), a legendary music producer from Memphis. Alan brought Laura back to the United States and moved in with her, but now that the couple have a three-year-old son, Laura finds herself a stranger in the city she now calls home and is growing increasingly distant from the philandering Alan. After a testimonial tribute to Alan, Laura meets his grown son Michael (Darren E. Burrows) for the first time; Michael has a difficult and sometimes combative relationship with Alan and prefers to keep a distance from him and his life, but Michael and Laura find they quickly develop a strong rapport. Laura and Michael's friendship soon grows into an affair, but as Laura considers her unhappiness with Alan, she also feels guilty about betraying a man who has given her a life she would hardly have dared to dream of when she was younger. Forty Shades of Blue was helmed by Ira Sachs (who earned enthusiastic reviews for his 1997 debut feature The Delta), from a script he co-wrote with Michael Rohatyn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rip Torn, Dina Korzun, (more)
- 1996
In this dreamy, gay-themed indie, the debut from writer/director Ira Sachs, two young Southerners from very different backgrounds come together, move apart and continue on their separate paths -- with surprising results. Inarticulate, handsome Lincoln Bloom (Shayne Gray), son of an affluent Jewish family in Memphis, TN, cruises the gut looking for gay sex but also leads a second existence hanging out with his rowdy high-school friends, including Monica (Rachel Zan Huss), his dainty blond girlfriend. One night, Lincoln enjoys wordless sex with Ming Nguyen (Thang Chan), aka John, the immigrant son of an American G.I. and a Vietnamese woman. Another night, after an encounter with a businessman whose unusual predilections bewilder him, Lincoln meets John a second time in an adult bookstore. The slightly older man matter-of-factly convinces Lincoln to hang out with him; the two grab some beers and set out on the Mississippi in Lincoln's dad's boat. Along the way, John shares his life story and sense of frustration at not belonging in either his homeland or America; Lincoln isn't quite sure how to respond. After an entire day of hanging out together at various port towns along the river, the pair get in trouble with the police, resulting in a violent falling out. Lincoln returns to Memphis in his boat, looks up Monica, and faces his father's wrath. Meanwhile, John makes his way home as best he can, settles back into his routine as a disgruntled, sometimes ostracized layabout, and finally seeks out another sexual encounter -- one with a decidedly unexpected conclusion. Memphis native Sachs cast the semi-autobiographical The Delta with non-actors after trawling the pool halls and watering holes of his hometown for several months. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shayne Gray, Thang Chan, (more)
