Emmy Rossum Movies
Possessing the sort of Cinemascope smile that could part the clouds over even the most curmudgeonly of pessimists, talented actress/singer Emmy Rossum has made her mark on stage and screen as one of the most promising talents of her generation. Having worked on-stage alongside such legends as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, and held her own onscreen opposite such formidable talents as Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, Rossum had accomplished by the age of 18 what most actresses dream for a lifetime of achieving. A New York City native whose early work included tenures at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall, the multi-lingual songbird performed in over 20 separate operas in six different languages before making her television debut in the popular daytime soap As the World Turns. Subsequently, Rossum was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance in the Disney Channel feature Genius, and her portrayal of a young Audrey Hepburn in the 2000 made-for-television drama The Audrey Hepburn Story provided the burgeoning screen talent with her widest exposure up to that point.Various television roles were quick to follow, with a feature debut as an Appalachian orphan in the 2000 drama Songcatcher proving that young Rossum could light up the silver screen just as effectively as she did its home-based counterpart. In addition to earning her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance, Songcatcher also took home the Best Ensemble Performance award at that year's Sundance Film Festival. As Rossum climbed the credits with roles in An American Rhapsody, Happy Now, and Passionada, it was obvious to those in the know that her career was only getting warmed up. Her role as the eponymous songwriter in the 2003 romantic comedy Nola proved without a doubt that she could carry a film and provided the perfect transition between her early independent career and her impending success in Hollywood. Cast as the ill-fated daughter of a former thug-turned-semi-legitimate small-business owner in director Clint Eastwood's critically acclaimed drama Mystic River, Rossum's blend of youthful innocence and daddy's girl charm echoed through the film in a way that made the violence of her death truly heartbreaking. After striving to survive the apocalyptic meteorological developments in the popcorn extravaganza The Day After Tomorrow, Rossum next had the honor of being handpicked by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber for the role of Christine in the eagerly anticipated The Phantom of the Opera. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
New wrinkles are added to an old crime when a spitting image of the victim shows up in this dark comedy. Pen-y-wig is a small town along the southern coast of Wales where, in 1988, Jenny Thomas (Emmy Rossum) won first prize in a local beauty contest. On her way home, Jenny began having car trouble, and when Tin Man (Om Puri), a local oddball, found her stranded by the side of the road, he offered to go find help. Jenny was soon approached by Joe (Richard Coyle), a boy she had been dating, as well as Joe's friend Glen (Paddy Considine). Jenny and Joe got into a quarrel, and when Jenny tripped and fell, she struck her head and died immediately. Panicked, Joe and Glen told the police that Tin Man had killed Jenny, and he was found guilty and sentenced to a lengthy stay behind bars. In 2000, Jenny's sister, Tina Trent (Susan Lynch), returns to Pen-y-wig after spending several years in Alaska, and she brings along her teenaged daughter, Nicky Trent, who bears a striking resemblance to Jenny (and is also played by Emmy Rossum). Nicky's arrival in town inspires no small amount of gossip about the death of her aunt, which is bad news for Glen, currently running for a seat in an upcoming local election. As it happens, Tin Man is due to be released from jail soon, and Max (Ioan Gruffudd), a police detective new to the community, begins looking at the loose ends of the case against Tin Man, certain there's more to the story than he's been told. Max also develops a personal interest in the case when he becomes involved with Nicky, who is living with her mother in the same rooming house that Max calls home. Happy Now was the first feature film from director and screenwriter Philippa Collie-Cousins, who in 1999 won the BAFTA award for Best Short Film for her comedy The Deadness of Dad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Susan Lynch, (more)
- 1998
Adapted from a play by Tom Ziegler, the made-for-TV Grace and Glorie stars Gena Rowlands and Diane Lane as the title characters. Disenchanted with her empty existence in New York City, stylish but lonely Gloria "Glorie" Greenwood heads to the country, where she becomes a hospice worker in the mansion of Grace Stiles, an old, terminally ill widow. At first, Glorie has trouble "taking" to Grace, just as Grace resents Glorie's very presence. Gradually, the two women realize that they have far more in common than they ever could have imagined. A CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Grace and Glorie was first telecast on December 13, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The victim of a probable mugging dies, whereupon the detectives launch a homicide investigation. The trail of clues leads to the planned circumcision of Alison Martin (Emmy Rossun), the daughter of an American father (Cotter Smith) and an Egyptian mother (Ava Haddad). The outcome of the story is triggered by the ethnic and religious schism between Alison's parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- R
An overachieving good girl, a sexually confused outsider, and a rich kid hiding behind his bad-boy persona unexpectedly find their lives colliding during their last semester of high school. Alexa (Emmy Rossum) may get good grades, but she longs to get her nose out of the textbooks and experience life. Meanwhile, melancholy teen Ben (Ashley Springer) wrestles with his sexuality, and good-looking rich kid Johnny (Zach Gilford) realizes that he can't maintain his bad-boy image forever. As their lives slowly converge, it becomes ever more apparent that they have little to rebel against other than their own self-imposed inhibitions. Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming, and Sandra Bernhard co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, (more)
Directed by Clint Eastwood, the mysterious drama Mystic River is based on the novel by Dennis Lehane and adapted by screenwriter Brian Helgeland. Set in an Irish neighborhood in Boston, Jimmy, Sean, and Dave are three childhood friends who are reunited after a brutal murder takes place. Reformed convict Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn) and his devoted wife Annabeth (Laura Linney) find out that their teenage daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) has been beaten and killed. Jimmy's old friend Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) is the homicide detective assigned to the case, along with partner Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne). Jimmy also gets his relatives, the Savage brothers (Adam Nelson and Robert Wahlberg), to conduct an investigation of their own. Jimmy and Sean both start to suspect their old pal, Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), who lives a quiet life with his wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) but harbors some disturbing secrets. Clint Eastwood won a Golden Coach for Mystic River at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, (more)
- 2003
- R
Nola (Emmy Rossum) is a Kansas teen who runs away to New York City to escape an abusive stepfather. Once she gets to the big town, she sets about looking for a job and for her father, whom she's never met. She attacks both tasks with fierce determination, but has little success, until she stumbles upon a greasy spoon near Union Square where the eccentric owner, Gus (Sam Coppola), immediately takes a liking to her. Soon, she's waitressing at the diner and crashing in a room upstairs with the handsome fry cook, Ben (James Badge Dale), who also goes to law school when he feels like it. Nola spends her spare time using the phone book in an effort to track down the man she knows only as "Hutch." Things look up for Nola when she meets the sassy owner of the diner, Margaret (Mary McDonnell), who also runs a very classy escort service. Margaret sees something in Nola, and hires the girl as her assistant. As Nola's relationship with Ben gets more intimate, she tells him about her dream of being a successful songwriter. But things take an ugly turn when one of Margaret's escorts, a transsexual named Wendy (Michael Cavadias) offends a rich and powerful client, Niles (Thom Christopher). Niles is determined to have his revenge, and tries to use his media contacts to have an exposé written about Margaret's business. But the reporter assigned to the story, Leo (Steven Bauer), turns out to be an old friend of Margaret's. Nola, the feature debut of writer/director Alan Hruska, a former trial lawyer, had its world premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emmy Rossum, Mary McDonnell, (more)
Set adrift in the vast waters of the North Atlantic for a luxury New Year's Eve party staged in the ship's magnificent ballroom, the massive ocean-liner Poseidon receives an unexpected jolt when a rogue, 100-foot wave rolls it completely upside down, forcing the surviving passengers to fight their way to safety in Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen's waterlogged blockbuster. Trapped beneath the waterline and implored by the captain to remain in place until a rescue team arrives, the panicked survivors struggle to keep their cool as the water begins to rush in, infernos blaze all around, and a loss of electricity plunges the doomed vessel into total darkness. Seasoned gambler Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) isn't willing to wage his life on the prompt arrival of help, though, and as he attempts to navigate the treacherous, inverted maze of death, he is flanked by desperate band of like-minded seafarers including eight-year-old Conor (Jimmy Bennett) and his mother, Maggie (Jacinda Barrett), reticent stowaway Elena (Mía Maestro), suicidal Richard (Richard Dreyfus), and concerned father Robert (Kurt Russell), whose missing daughter may still be somewhere onboard along with her frightened fiancé. With a little luck and a little help from onboard waiter Marco (Freddy Rodriguez), the desperate team may just live to see the morning after. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, (more)
Directed by Roland Emmerich, this mega-budget, special-effects-laden epic revolves around the onset of an international series of crises brought on by the long-term results of the greenhouse effect. At the eye of the storm is paleoclimatologist (a professor dedicated to the study of weather patterns throughout the ages) Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), who voluntarily takes on the preservation of the world in the dawn of the next ice age and all the disaster that comes along with it -- violent hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, massive floods, etc. Hall must also contact his son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who was in the middle of an academic competition in New York City when the chaos begun. In addition to facing the largest-scale onslaught of natural catastrophes in the history of humankind, Jack, in his journey north, must contend with the masses fleeing south in an attempt to resettle in a warmer climate. The Day After Tomorrow also features Emmy Rossum, Sela Ward, and Joe Cobden. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, (more)
One of the most popular stage musicals in the history of Broadway and London's West End makes its long-awaited arrival on the motion-picture screen in this lavish adaptation directed by Joel Schumacher. Christine (Emmy Rossum) is a beautiful and gifted young woman who longs to join the company of the Paris Opera House. During rehearsals for one of the opera's grand productions, a backdrop falls and crashes to the floor, nearly crushing leading lady Carlotta (Minnie Driver). When several members of the company suggest this could be the work of the "Phantom of the Opera," a spectral presence said to haunt the building, Carlotta drops out of the show, and the fates permit Christine to step in as her replacement. Christine's performance is a triumph, and on opening night she becomes reacquainted with Raoul (Patrick Wilson), a former childhood friend who is now a wealthy and well-known nobleman. Christine soon finds herself smitten with the handsome Raoul, but the same evening she makes a startling discovery -- the story of the Phantom is not just a legend. A brilliant but horribly disfigured composer (Gerard Butler) lives deep in the depths of the opera house, and taken with the beauty of Christine's voice, he abducts her and brings her to his lair, where he offers to help her perfect her talents, offering to write an opera especially for her. As the terrified Christine is comforted by Raoul, the two fall in love, but the phantom sees her affection for Raoul as a tremendous betrayal, and the jealous phantom nearly kills Christine as he nearly killed Carlotta. When the phantom emerges to present the opera's management with the piece he has written for Christine, the singer is asked to put her life on the line in an effort to capture the mad genius once and for all. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Gaston Leroux's novel, which had already enjoyed several stage and screen adaptations in the past, opened in London in 1986 and has been a popular favorite around the world ever since; the show was still running in New York and London when the film version premiered in late 2004. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, (more)
A woman learning to trust men again finds herself falling for a man who may not be trustworthy in this romantic comedy. Celia Amonte (Sofia Milos) is a beautiful woman of Portuguese-American heritage who lost her husband, a fisherman, to an accident at sea. Eight years after his death, Celia remains loyal to her late husband's memory, even though her equally lovely teenage daughter, Vicky (Emmy Rossum), frequently encourages her to start dating again, and has even tried fixing Celia up with eligible men. Unknown to her mother, Vicky has become a frequent visitor to a local gambling casino, where she meets a handsome Englishman named Charlie Beck (Jason Isaacs), who gambles for a living. Vicky urges Charlie to see Celia perform at a local nightclub, where she sings the passionate Portuguese songs of the fado style. Charlie is immediately taken with her, but Celia isn't especially interested in him. Vicky makes a deal with Charlie -- if he'll show her how to cheat at blackjack, she'll persuade Celia to go out with him. In time, Charlie's charm eventually conquers Celia's reservations, and a romance begins to bloom, However, Charlie has made the mistake of telling Celia he's a fisherman, and he's not sure how much longer he can keep up the charade. Passionada also features Theresa Russell, Seymour Cassel, and Lupe Ontiveros. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Isaacs, Sofia Milos, (more)
Janet McTeer follows up her Oscar-nominated performance in Tumbleweeds (1999) with this period drama set during the 1910s. Dr. Lily Penleric (McTeer), an uptight musicologist, is furious after getting denied tenure again at an elite all-male East Coast university. She promptly quits out of protest, and having nowhere else to go, she joins her sister in a remote mountain school. Her high-minded, refined ways quickly clash with the locals, yet her academic interests are peaked when she realizes that this bucolic mountain culture is thoroughly infused with music that harkens back to traditional English and Scottish folk ballads. After retrieving some tools, including a primitive recording device, from the East Coast, she sets out collecting songs. The locals react with a mixture of amusement, bafflement, and suspicion. Meanwhile, a mining company is strong-arming the impoverished residences into selling their coal-rich land for a pittance. Lily soon realizes that the culture she's seeking to preserve is quickly being torn asunder. Aidan Quinn and David Patrick Kelly also appear in this film, which was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn, (more)
James Wong adapts the rich mythos of the Dragonball series that grew from a manga into various popular animated series with this 20th Century Fox production starring Justin Chatwin. The plot revolves around Goku (Chatwin), Earth's greatest champion, who must defend the planet against an invading race of alien warriors hell-bent on dominating the universe. Wong directs from his own script, with Kung Fu Hustle's Stephen Chow producing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters co-stars as the film's villain, Piccolo, with Jamie Chung playing Chi Chi and Emmy Rossum portraying Bulma. Hong Kong legend Chow Yun-Fat rounds out the cast as Master Roshi, Goku's mentor in the film. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, (more)
