Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Movies
Bearing the sort of sensual, androgynous looks that would have landed him in Calvin Klein ads if he hadn't gone into acting, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers has been making a name for himself in roles that call for a certain kind of alluringly deviant behavior. Since 1996, Rhys-Meyers has given trouble a good name in such films as Velvet Goldmine and The Governess.Born July 27, 1977, in Dublin, Ireland, Rhys-Meyers led a tumultuous childhood after his father abandoned his family when the actor was only two and a half. His troubles accumulated as he grew older, culminating with his being kicked out of school at the age of 16. Rhys-Meyers took to hanging about in pool halls, where he was discovered by a casting agent. The agent encouraged him to audition for the film War of the Buttons; when Rhys-Meyers failed to get the part, he gave up on acting. However, he was soon asked to do some commercials, which in turn led to his film debut with a small role in A Man of No Importance (1994). A starring role as an errant runaway in The Disappearance of Finbar (1996) followed, as did a brief but memorable turn as the assassin of the titular hero in Michael Collins (1996).
After more film work, including a supporting role as Brad Renfro's nemesis in Telling Lies in America, Rhys-Meyers landed the lead in Todd Haynes' much-anticipated Velvet Goldmine (1998). Despite the hype surrounding the director's celebration of and requiem for the early-'70s glam rock scene, as well as the presence of actors Christian Bale, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor, the film was far from a critical or box office smash, despite developing a loyal cult following. However, Rhys-Meyers continued to stay busy, making The Governess with Minnie Driver the same year and Michael Radford's B. Monkey the next (the film would eventually be released the following year). In 1999, he starred in a number of high-profile projects: in addition to Mike Figgis' The Loss of Sexual Innocence, he appeared as part of a "hot young things" lineup in Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil, starring with such up-and-comers as Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich, and then turned his talents to interpreting Shakespeare in Titus, Julie Taymor's adaptation of Titus Andronicus.
While continuing to appear in independent, left-of-center films such as Prozac Nation and Happy Now, Rhys-Meyers had a bit of a mainstream breakthrough when the indie comedy Bend It Like Beckham became a surprise hit in 2003. This might have made the actor's unique face more familiar to movie makers, as he was soon seen with Reese Witherspoon in the period movie Vanity Fair, and in the Oliver Stone epic Alexander. These main-stream successes were nothing, however, compared to the coveted role of Elvis Presley that he won in 2005. The high-profile CBS mini series Elvis exposed Rhys-Myers to American audiences like never before, and he picked up a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
That same year, the Irish lad starred with Scarlett Johansson in the Woody Allen drama Match Point. Widely regarded as the best movie from the legendary director in well over ten years, the role helped to cement Rhys-Myer's position in American cinema, as evidenced by the fact that he soon afterward joined the cast of action thriller Mission Impossible III.
~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Director Mike Figgis, creator of the Academy award-winning Leaving Las Vegas, presented this film's world premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. The story is made up of non-linear, interconnected episodes about a man at different stages of his life, all of which explicate thematically the film's title. The film also juxtaposes a retelling of the classic biblical fall-from-grace tale of Adam and Eve. We see the leading character, Nic, at 5 years old as a boy in colonial Kenya, at age 16 in swinging London in the '60s, and as a grown man working as a film ethnographer. Each sequence shows how he lost some degree of his sexual innocence, whether it be through love, puberty, or masturbation. Shot all over the world, including Tunisia, Italy, and England, the film is an exploration of sex and loss through the life of one individual. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julian Sands, Saffron Burrows, (more)
In this witty romantic thriller, Alan (Jared Harris) is a London schoolteacher who leads a quiet, mildly stuffy life. As a hobby, he serves as a jazz disc jockey, spinning tunes for a hospital's public address system, but he craves danger and excitement. One night, Alan stops into a bar for a drink and sees Beatrice (Asia Argento), a beautiful woman who is arguing with two men. Alan is immediately enraptured by Beatrice and begins to pursue her. What Alan doesn't know is that Beatrice is an infamous thief known to the police as "B. Monkey" (named for her ability to break into anything), and the men she was quarreling with were Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a gay couple who are her partners in crime. When Alan becomes aware of Beatrice's secret, he tries to lead her into a safer and more honest way of life, even as she lures him into the thrilling existence he's been dreaming of. Leading lady Asia Argento is the daughter of Italian horror auteur Dario Argento. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Asia Argento, Jared Harris, (more)
At the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, American independent director Todd Haynes (Safe) received the "Artistic Achievement" award for this re-creation of the UK glam rock scene of the early '70s. Glam rock star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who does a character named Maxwell Demon, predicts his own death onstage. As per his prediction, this happens, but when the killing is exposed as a hoax, it marks the end of Slade's stardom. A decade later, in 1984, Brit reporter and former Slade fan Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale), who witnesses the hoax murder, gets the assignment to do a "Whatever Happened To..?" article, and the film's plot suddenly goes into a prismatic Citizen Kane mode, reflecting various angles on Slade's life and career. Arthur visits the wheelchair-bound Cecil (Michael Feast), who discovered Slade, and then tracks Slade through his early life and his initial encounter with outrageous, maniacal American singer Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor). Slade's rise begins as manager Jerry Divine (Brit comedian Eddie Izzard) moves in to take over the performer's career. Ex-wife Mandy Slade (Toni Collette), interviewed by Arthur in a dimly lit nightclub, has memories going back to their initial 1969 Sombrero Club encounter. Their marriage paralleled his Bowie-like ascent to fame as an innovative, bisexual rock star pushing the limits. Idolized by teens, Slade teamed up for a while with the drug-addicted Wild. Eventually, the marriage of Mandy and Slade comes to an end, and she hasn't seen him in seven years when she's interviewed by Arthur. The soundtrack features vintage music by Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed and Brian Eno, plus new tunes. Some background on the making of Velvet Goldmine is documented in producer Christine Vachon's book Shooting to Kill: How an Independent Producer Blasts Through the Barriers to Make Movies That Matter (Avon, 1998) by Vachon with Slate film critic David Edelstein. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, (more)
London TV commercials director Sandra Goldbacher made her feature directorial debut with this early Victorian England drama filmed on the Isle of Arran. In London, Rosina Da Silva (Minnie Driver) is shaken by the murder of her father, a wealthy Jewish merchant. To deal with family debts, Rosina places a classified ad in a local newspaper and gets a job as a nanny with a gentile family in Scotland. Adopting the name Mary Blackchurch and posing as a gentile, she joins the dysfunctional Cavendish family, caring for young Clementina (Florence Hoath) and fending off the advances of teen Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Head of the household is philologist and inventor Charles Cavendish (Tom Wilkinson), and when she gives Charles an assist on his photographic experiments, an affair develops. The music score features Eastern percussion backing singer Ofra Haza. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Minnie Driver, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro) was born in Hungary and immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1960s where he felt adrift in a strange sea of American culture. Jonas tries to fit in at the Catholic high school he attends but finds himself a laughing stock. At home, his stern father (Maximilian Schell) insists that he adhere to traditional Hungarian ways. Karchy's only respite is the rock & roll music he adores. A year before he arrived, flashy, failed disc jockey Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon) rolled into town, found a job at WHK and became the host of the High School Hall of Fame contest, something that Karchy decides he must win so he too can be cool and therefore impress his lovely classmate Diney (Calista Flockhart). Eventually, he does win and before long has made friends with Billy. The DJ proves to be a real pal and pays Karchy a C-note a week to run a few errands and do odd jobs for him. Some of those tasks involve taking money from promoters. When not working, Billy is introducing Karchy to life's wild side. But despite such fun times, there is much the naive youth is destined to learn the hard way about his new buddy Billy. The film's story comes from screenwriter Joe Eszterhas' (Basic Instinct) script, penned around 1982. Himself a Hungarian immigrant, Eszterhas added a few autobiographical touches to the script. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Brad Renfro, (more)
Tim Hunter, the director of River's Edge, returned with another powerful story of troubled teenagers struggling to find their way out of moral and legal limbo. High school senior Josh Minell (Jonathan Rhys Myers) has strong academic skills, but he spends his nights hanging out with a group of delinquents sniffing glue, committing petty theft, and wondering if his life is ever going to get better. His best friend is Bella (Fairuza Balk), a girl with a fondness for cheerleaders; Josh's own infatuations are for Emily Peck (Mary-Louise Parker), a female police officer. Josh's strong grades would make him a good bet for college, but on his 18th birthday, Walter Schmeiss (Matthew Modine) arrives at Josh's door with startling news -- he's Josh's older brother, who left home ten years earlier. Walter makes his living as a thief, and he want to test Josh to see if he can handle the job himself. Screenwriter Rand Ravich co-produced the film and appears in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, (more)
If nothing else, this throwback to the old low-budget psychotronic films of the '50s and '60s is uniquely stylish, even kitschy. A Spanish-British production it is set in New Mexico (but filmed in Spain) and chronicles the twisted adventures of Candy, a thief and con artist who accidentally ingests part of a meteorite and grows an enormous serpentine talking tongue that has a special taste for human flesh. It all begins after Candy and her partner Johnny pull off their latest job. Johnny gets caught and takes the entire rap and Candy flees to a nunnery/gas station in the desert after hiding their loot. Her four pastel dyed poodles accompany her. Soon after her arrival, the meteor crashes as she eats soup with a bit of the space rock in it. She then gives some to the doggies. While the voracious alien appendage grows in her mouths, her poochies turn into drag queens. They help her procure a steady supply of food. Poor Candy tries to cut the horrible thing out of her mouth but to no avail. She finally begs Johnny to escape and help her. He does, but is pursued by a sadistic prison warden. Unfortunately Johnny gets too close to the meteorite as does a speechless nun. When that happens, real chaos ensues. The film contains gory scenes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
With a nod towards the films of Aki Kaurismaki, this off-beat, whimsical directorial debut by British filmmaker Sue Clayton, centers on the mysterious disappearance of the titular Irish youth, who late one night, leapt from a freeway overpass and was never heard from again. Three years later, his family and his friend Danny still grieve. Matters are made worse when a pop song about Danny and the incident becomes a smash hit in Europe. Shortly after, Danny receives a phone call from Finbar who is in Scandinavia. Thus begins Danny's search for Finbar, a search that leads him to a tiny Lapland village located near the Finnish border. There he is taken in by an icy beauty named Abbi and soon begins to rebuild the life that was shattered by the disappearance of Finbar. When Finbar suddenly returns, problems arise. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The rise and fall of one of the most important and controversial figures in Ireland's struggle for independence is chronicled in this biographical drama. In 1916, the British government ruled Ireland with a firm and cruel hand, as they had for 700 years. When a group of Irish rebels staged a six-day siege at Dublin's General Post Office, only one of the leaders was able to escape execution -- Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), an American citizen of Irish blood. A number of De Valera's followers are sent to prison, and one of them, Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), walked out of jail convinced that a new approach was needed to free his homeland from British rule. With his compatriot Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), Collins formed the Irish Volunteers, who used a combination of terrorist violence and guerilla warfare to attack the British where their defenses were weakest, and employed espionage and a key inside informant (Stephen Rea) to learn what the British planned to do next -- and what they knew about Collins and his supporters. Collins' strategic skills and talent for warfare made a major impact on the British, and he became the hero of the new-born Republican Movement, which seemed to offer a real hope of freedom, despite the violent reprisals of the vicious paramilitary police, the Black and Tans. De Valera, however, was often in conflict with Collins in terms of the methods and approach of their struggle. Collins also found himself in a different sort of conflict with Boland when he fell in love with his girlfriend, a strong-willed advocate of Irish freedom named Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts). Eager to gain support for the Republican cause, De Valera sought economic and military support from the U.S.; when he returned, the Volunteers seemed to have finally won a real victory, as the British government announced that they were willing to formally negotiate with them. While Collins was once the radical and De Valera was the moderate, once negotiations began, Collins sought to end the violence that he saw killing so many young people and was willing to agree to a compromise that would create the Irish Free State. While the agreement would still leave final political control with the British, it would bring a greater self-determination to Ireland, and Collins believed that it was a crucial first step that could lead, in time, to true freedom for his people. De Valera, however, was strongly opposed to the treaty with Britian, and this led to violence among pro- and anti-treaty factions; soon Ireland's most loved leader was now branded a traitor by many of his countrymen. Michael Collins was voted Best Picture at the 1996 Venice Film Festival, and Liam Neeson was awarded the prize for Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, (more)
