Edie Falco Movies
Known as part of "the Purchase Mafia" thanks to her status as one of the many illustrious alumni of the State University of New York at Purchase, Edie Falco is one of America's most well-respected television and film actresses. A native of Brooklyn, Falco, who is of Sicilian heritage, was born in 1963. She got her professional start acting in fellow-Purchase alum Hal Hartley's films, most notably Trust (1991), which cast her as the unrepentantly trampy older sister of a pregnant cheerleader (Adrienne Shelly). Falco spent the 1990s dividing her time and talent between TV and film, doing recurring work on such series as Homicide: Life on the Street and Law and Order, and appearing in a slew of diverse films that included Woody Allen's Bullets over Broadway (1994) and The Addiction (1995).In 1997, Falco began earning kudos for her performance as Officer Diane Whittlesey on the HBO prison drama Oz; she stayed with the show for two years, after which she garnered even greater acclaim for her work on another HBO series, The Sopranos. Cast as Carmela Soprano, wife of Mafioso Tony Soprano, Falco won both a 1999 Emmy and a 2000 Golden Globe for her work on the show. The growing respect and recognition she garnered for her television work was ably complemented by the acclaim she was increasingly receiving for her work on the big screen; after winning an Independent Spirit Award for her role in the noirish Cost of Living (1997), she gave a strong portrayal of a jailed mother in Morgan J. Freeman's Hurricane Streets (1997). In 1999, Falco earned her strongest screen notices to date for her title role in Eric Mendelsohn's Judy Berlin, portraying an aspiring actress trying to break out of her small Long Island town. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Boaz Yakin (a Sundance winner for Fresh) wrote and directed this drama, set in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community, about a young woman who harbors doubts about continuing to follow the path of her religion. Sonia (Renee Zellweger) gives birth to her first child. She wants to name the boy after her dead brother, but after an argument over the name, she resentfully defers to her husband, scholarly zaddik (holy man) Mendel (Glenn Fitzgerald). Both are apprehensive over the child's circumcision. Hasidic traditions dictate their life, including aspects of making love which leave Sonia sexually frustrated. This leads her into an affair with Mendel's older brother, the materialistic Sender (Christopher Eccleston), who offers her an opportunity to manage his neighborhood jewelry store. Against the wishes of Mendel, she accepts, displaying her flair for the jewelry business and establishing herself as a very good businesswoman. However, after she befriends sensitive Hispanic artist Ramon (Allen Payne), a sculptor and jewelry designer, she upsets everyone, especially Sender, who bars her from the store. Forbidden to see her child, Sonia begins a confused, downward spiral. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Renée Zellweger, Christopher Eccleston, (more)
In this independent feature, filmmaker Pola Rapaport weaves together two separate narrative strands: a documentary look at the work of influential Swedish author Alex Munthe and a fictional story of a photographer from America who has a life-changing experience while visiting Munthe's estate in Italy for a photography project. The eclectic cast includes veteran Swedish actor Per Myrberg, American punk rock trailblazer Richard Hell, and Edie Falco, several years before she would rise to fame on the television series The Sopranos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edie Falco, Per Myrberg, (more)
- 1996
- R
David (Dan Futterman) is a language expert who knows how to say "I Love You" in fifteen different languages. But he can't seem to bring himself to say it in plain English to his girlfriend of the past two years, Kathy (Susan Floyd), and that's putting their relationship in jeopardy in the romantic drama Breathing Room. Kathy and David have been having a hard time deciding if they should break up or try to work things out between them when, as he joins Kathy for Thanksgiving dinner with her family, she discovers David has applied for a job teaching English at a school in Vietnam. Careerwise, it would be a significant step for David, but Kathy is a bit miffed that he never saw fit to mention it to her before. Meanwhile, Kathy has her own professional dilemmas to deal with as she tries to kick-start her career as an animator. Eventually they decide to take a break from each other until Christmas, with no clear idea of just what they'll do after that. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Floyd, Dan Futterman, (more)
Bullets Over Broadway is a Woody Allen romp that, as the title suggests, combines gangsters with show business at the height of the Roaring Twenties. David Shayne (John Cusack) is a straight-arrow playwright who plans to stand firm against compromising his work, but quickly abandons that stance when his producer (Jack Warden) finds a backer to mount his show on Broadway. There's just one catch, however: the backer is a mobster (Joe Viterelli) who sees Shayne's play as a vehicle for his dizzy, talent-free girlfriend, Olive (Jennifer Tilly). Shayne also has to deal with the demands of veteran theatre diva Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest) and is shocked to discover that Olive's hitman bodyguard, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), is probably a better playwright than he is, as he secretly revises Shayne's work when he sits in on rehearsals. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Jack Warden, (more)
A handful of Minneapolis teenagers, just out of high school and on the cusp of adult responsibilities, try to sort out their messy romantic and emotional lives in this independent comedy/drama. Greg (Sam Trammell) is a cocky aspiring photographer who has already been accepted for a job at a major magazine; in his spare time, he takes nude photos of his sister Clhoe (Bridget White), while discussing her physical flaws with a highly professional detachment. Greg is friends with the cynical Denise (Colleen Werthmann), who is attracted to other women. Denise confesses her lesbianism to a shy classmate, Rebecca (Heather Gottlieb), who responds with enthusiasm to Denise's advances, even though she's already written Greg a letter in which she declares that she's infatuated with him. Greg does some confessing of his own when he tells Denise's mother, the recently divorced Evelyn (Cameron Foord), that he's long had a crush on her. Evelyn responds by leading Greg to his bedroom and seducing him; She is soon involved in an ongoing affair with Greg that she sees no reason to hide, which causes much tension and misunderstanding among Greg's friends, especially Denise. Childhood's End was the debut feature for writer/director Jeff Lipsky. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Foord, Heather Gottlieb, (more)
- 1997
An award-winner at the 1997 AFI/Los Angeles Film Festival, this low-budget drama follows the misadventures of drifter Billie (Edie Falco), who ditches her motorcycle and picks up a car. The vehicle is hit by another car, and she can't collect from the other driver (Andrew Lowery). Instead, she settles into a marginal existence in an impoverished fishing village where she takes on odd jobs while camping out with a local resident (Caitlin Clarke) and contemplating a bleak future. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edie Falco, James Villemaire, (more)
Joe Roth directs his adaptation of Richard Price's novel Freedomland from a script by the author. Samuel L. Jackson stars as a police detective who must investigate a distraught woman (Julianne Moore) who claims that her child was kidnapped by a black man. The accusation stirs up much racial animosity in the town. Edie Falco co-stars. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, (more)
- 1993
Still frustrated by the unsolved Watson murder, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) are in no mood to tackle the murder of a police dog -- but they must, since the Baltimore municipal code dictates that any police killing in the line of duty must be given first priority. Meanwhile, Howard (Melissa Leo) and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) go after a sadistic drug dealer who has ritualistically murdered his victim -- and in so doing, they find a link to a case being handled by Lewis (Clark Johnson). And on the domestic scene, Bolander (Ned Beatty) meets the teenage son (Stiv Paskoski) of his current amour Dr. Carol Blythe (Wendy Hughes); and Crosetti's (Jon Polito) wife is pregnant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1993
Worn out by the dead-end investigation of the Watson killing, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) turns on the obstreperous Capt. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) and calls him a "butthead." As his ex-partner Thormann (Edie Falco) recovers from her wounds, Crosetti (Jon Polito) closes in on the man whom he thinks pulled the trigger -- and who seems eager to confess whether he's guilty or not. While investigating a double murder, Munch (Richard Belzer) becomes fed up with being constantly compared to Bolander's (Ned Beatty) former partner. And Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) search for a car that may be crucial to the outcome of a case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1994
After the body of former homicide detective Steve Crosetti is found floating in a river, Bolander (Ned Beatty) arrives at the sad conclusion that his late colleague has committed suicide. Crosetti's ex-partner Lewis (Clark Johnson) refuses to accept this verdict, and launches an after-hours investigation of his own. As several members of the department draw up separate funeral arrangements for Crosetti, they are deluged by a steady stream of bad news, reopening several old and festering sores. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1997
Memories of his late colleague Steve Crosetti continue to haunt Lewis (Clark Johnson), as well as former cop Chris Thormann (Lee Tergesen), who was blinded by a gunman in one of Homicide's first-season story arcs. Thormann's agony intensifies when the man who robbed him of his sight comes up for parole, obliging Lewis to offer emotional support. Meanwhile, although they haven't yet settled their differences, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) team up to investigate a shooting in which the victim's daughter is a suspect -- thereby sparking more unpleasant childhood recollections for Bayliss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1993
Crossetti (Jon Polito) insists upon handling the case of his ex-partner Thormann (Edie Falco), who was shot in the head on assignment. Bayliss (Kyle Secor) is becoming increasingly frustrated by the dead ends in the Watson killing, the most recent being a raid on the dead girl's house. Felton (Daniel Baldwin) may have found the evidence necessary for Lewis (Clark Johnson) to tighten the noose around "black widow" Calpurnia Church (Mary Jefferson). And a dispute over a bust of Maryland's own Spiro Agnew leads to tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1997
A teenager tries to do the right thing with heavy odds stacked against him in this hard-hitting independent drama. Marcus (Brendan Sexton III) is a 14-year-old growing up in a tough section of New York City. Marcus' father is dead, and his mother is in prison; while she told him that it was for helping to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States, he later discovers that she was actually convicted of the murder of his dad. Living with his grandmother, who works as a bartender, Marcus doesn't get much in the way of guidance, and he soon falls in with a group of kids who ride bikes, hang out, and engage in small-time theft for fun and profit. Marcus and his new friends shoplift CDs and sneakers and then sell them in the schoolyard; however, before long, some of the other kids bring up the idea of pulling bigger thefts for bigger profits, and while Marcus is resistant to the idea at first, the decision isn't entirely his to make. One of Marcus' few friends who wants to see him straighten up is Melena (Isidra Vega), who is growing up with a strong set of principles despite being raised in an abusive home. Hurricane (also released under the title Hurricane Streets) won both the Audience Award and the Director's Award at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival; it was the first feature for director Morgan J. Freeman (not to be confused with actor Morgan Freeman). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Sexton III
- 1992
Consumed by visions of prosperity and clean, attractive cities, Silva travels to New York City from Poland with all the cash she can scrape together in her purse, speaking not one word of English. Once there, she swiftly falls prey to an aggressive con artist, and sees nothing but the dingy crime-filled streets which represent New York at its worst. Refusing to be ignored by the man who took her money, she hounds him until he takes her to bed with him, and then her relationships expand to include the creep's cousin. At no point is a good time had by anyone. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Schrader, Dani Levy, (more)
Judy Berlin allows the audience to take a glimpse of a day at once strange and ordinary with the residents of Babylon, Long Island. Judy (Edie Falco) is an aspiring actress who is quitting her job as a "pilgrim" in a local historical museum's display to take her chances in Los Angeles. Her mother is a gifted but bitter schoolteacher (Barbara Barrie) who has long loved principal Arthur Gold (Bob Dishy) from afar. However, Arthur has a wife, Alice (Madeline Kahn), who's more than a bit eccentric and has driven him to distraction. Arthur and Alice have a son, David (Aaron Harnick), who like Judy has showbiz aspirations (he wants to be a filmmaker), though unlike Judy he has no idea of what to do about it; when Judy and David meet, could romance be lurking around the corner? First-time director Eric Mendelsohn has equipped this offbeat comic drama an outstanding cast, which also includes Julie Kavner, Anne Meara, and Novella Nelson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Barrie, Bob Dishy, (more)
- 1997
A police officer is killed and a hired driver kidnapped during a carjacking. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) manage to capture one of the perpetrators, who offers to reveal the whereabouts of the missing driver to Assistant D.A. Ross (Carey Lowell) in exchange for immunity on the cop-killing charge. This potential deal results in much professional grief for Ross' partner Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). Edie Falco returns in the role of defense attorney (and McCoy's ex-lover) Sally Bell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
The victim of a brutal assault refuses to help detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) in their investigation of the crime. This curious incident serves to stymie the efforts by the NYPD to track down the alleged rapist of two women, one of whom was comatose when she was attacked. Is it possible that one of the victims' parents is concealing a horrible secret? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
When an African-American honors student is found murdered, detectives Logan (Chris Noth) and Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) dig up evidence that the dead girl was stealing from her family to support a drug habit. The number-one suspect is the girl's sleazy crack-dealing boyfriend, but for reasons that defy explanation, he will not plea-bargain with the D.A.'s office. Meanwhile, the search goes on for the missing murder weapon -- or has it been deliberately hidden by a hitherto unsuspected party? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
There is no shortage of suspects when a high-profile lawyer is murdered. Among the likeliest "candidates" are Willard Tappan (Michael Zaslow), a crooked financier who specializes in fleecing wealthy women, and John Curren (Jonathan Hogan), the now-impoverished son of Tappan's most recent victim. Edie Falco of The Sopranos fame appears as defense attorney Sally Bell, who'd once been "serious" with Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In this crime comedy, a wastrel is helping his girlfriend move into a new apartment and accidentally stumbles into a drug theft gone awry that leaves his girlfriend dead and him literally holding the bag. Within that bag is a fortune in illegal narcotics and Jerry realizes that he has no choice but to take the dope and split. In desperation he goes to his pal Christy who sends him to stay with his con-artist aunt Rose who quickly cheats Jerry at cards. Later Rose's son Angie shows up and tries to convince his ma to toss Jerry out. She refuses. In time, Jerry and Angie become friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Piven, Louise Lasser, (more)
