Elizabeth Reaser Movies
Hailed by Interview Magazine as one of the "14 to Be" emerging creative women back in October 2004, Independent Spirit Award nominee Elizabeth Reaser has proven to be one of the most promising onscreen talents of her generation thanks to memorable roles in the independent drama Sweet Land and the hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy. The Bloomfield, MI, native worked a series of odd jobs before graduating from high school and enrolling in Oakland University -- eventually realizing that her only hope for escaping the Midwest and accomplishing her goal of becoming an actress was convincing her parents to let her study drama at Juilliard. Much to her surprise, Reaser's parents were entirely supportive of her decision, and the aspiring actress was soon enrolled in one of the most prestigious drama programs in the country. In May 1999, Reaser graduated from Juilliard with her M.F.A. and went about the formidable task of procuring an agent.A supporting role in the long-running daytime drama Guiding Light proved just the break Reaser needed to get her foot in the door, with stage roles in a La Jolla Playhouse revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth and a New York Classic Stage Company production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (in which she appeared opposite David Strathairn and Barbara Garrick) following in quick succession. Shortly thereafter, the rising star madeher London debut as the kept girlfriend of a Lower East Side addict in a critically acclaimed production of Adam Rapp's intense play Blackbird.
Despite Reaser's notable stage presence, however, it was her roles in film and television that truly served to solidify her career as an actress. One the heels of supporting roles in such high-profile releases as Thirteen Conversations About One Thing and Stay, Reaser scaled back to surprising effect with her Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance as a lovelorn immigrant in director Ali Selim's 2005 period drama Sweet Land. Later that same year, Reaser shared the screen with Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker in The Family Stone. Back on the small screen, a recurring role as a pregnant mother suffering from amnesia following an intense ferry accident in Grey's Anatomy found Reaser anchoring one of the show's most memorable storylines. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A man struggling to save the life of another finds himself drawn into a strange netherworld he didn't know existed in this stylish thriller. Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) is a psychiatrist living in New York City with his girlfriend, Lila Culpepper (Naomi Watts), who was once one of his patients. However, it's another one of his patients who becomes the focus of his obsessions when Henry Letham (Ryan Gosling), a disturbed young man whom Foster took over from a colleague, announces during a session that he intends to commit suicide in three days, on his 21st birthday. Sam takes the threat quite seriously and tries to track down Henry, who seems to have disappeared. Sam speaks to a number of Henry's friends and acquaintances -- his mother (Kate Burton), the man he claimed was his father, Dr. Leon Patterson (Bob Hoskins), a waitress who regularly served Henry at the coffee shop where she works (Elizabeth Reaser), and his former therapist Dr. Beth Levy (Janeane Garofalo). As Sam talks to people in Henry's circle, he finds he's learning more about himself than the man he's supposed to save, and he begins to drift into an emotional netherworld where the supposedly dead and the living cross paths. Stay was directed by Marc Forster, who had previously enjoyed breakthrough hits with two very different films, Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, (more)
A woman meets her future in-laws and discovers they don't much care for her in this comedy from writer and director Thomas Bezucha. Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) is a successful young businessman who is dating Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), and has asked her to spend Christmas with his family, with plans to ask his mother, Sybil (Diane Keaton), for the titular family wedding band and propose to Meredith on Christmas Day. Meredith is more than a bit nervous about meeting Everett's folks, and things only get worse when they arrive -- Meredith is by her nature straight-laced and a bit uptight around strangers, while Sybil and family patriarch Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) are free-thinkers who, except for Everett, have raised a family of cheerfully rebellious children, most notably younger daughter Amy (Rachel McAdams), older brother Ben (Luke Wilson), and adopted sibling Thad (Tyrone Giordano), who is both deaf and gay. Meredith and the Stone family do not get along well at first, especially Sybil, who is appalled at the prospect of Everett giving Meredith the family's heirloom wedding ring; in dire need of moral support, Meredith asks her younger sister, Julie (Claire Danes), to join her for Christmas with the Stones. However, the plan runs into a snag when Everett's head is turned by pretty Julie, and Meredith finds herself on the receiving end of attention from slobby Ben. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, (more)
A woman who loves opera finds herself playing a romantic version of musical chairs in this independent comedy from writer and director Maria Maggenti. Allegra (Elizabeth Reaser) is a writer who has been involved with Samantha (Julianne Nicholson) for some time, but Allegra just isn't willing to make a commitment. Eventually, Samantha decides she's had enough, and she not only leaves Allegra, she jumps to the other side of the gender divide and starts dating a man. While Allegra is none too pleased with Samantha's actions, she unwittingly finds herself following suit when she meets Philip (Justin Kirk), a college professor, at a party. After a few cocktails, Allegra and Philip end up in bed, and while Allegra is content to leave it as a one-night stand, Philip has different ideas, and goes so far as to dump his girlfriend to pursue a relationship with Allegra, even though she's made it clear to him she's not at all serious about him. At the same time, Allegra strikes up a new romance with Grace (Gretchen Mol), but she doesn't know all that much about Grace's previous lovers -- who happen to include Philip. Puccini for Beginners was screened in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Reaser, Justin Kirk, (more)
A handful of New Yorkers with little in common cross one another's paths as they try to sort out their romantic and emotional troubles in this comedy drama from writer and director Eric Schaeffer. Sam Blue (Eric Schaeffer) is a single father who is raising a ten-year-old son, Rocky (Christopher Kovaleski), on his own. Rocky was conceived using an egg Sam purchased on the Internet; after being left at the altar by his fiancée, Sam isn't sure he can stand the pain of another romance, though Rocky wishes he could have a mom. Herb Schweitzer (Alan King) is an elderly man with a sour personality who has pledged to honor the memory of a deceased friend by walking from his apartment to a beach in Manhattan. However, the trip will cover many miles, and these days Herb can barely shuffle to the end of the block. Jody Buller (Jill Sobule) is an eccentric street musician who was given a pacemaker for her weak heart as a child. Jody is convinced this means a broken heart would be fatal, despite her doctor's efforts to convince her otherwise. Malissa Zubach (Elizabeth Reaser) is a young woman who dreams of traveling to other lands, but is stuck in a trailer home caring for her dying mother. Hoping to get a sense of the outside world, Malissa persuades pen pals across the globe to record audio tapes in public places so she can hear the places she wants to see. And John McCabe (Charles Parnell) is a man still struggling to come to terms with the collapse of his marriage, brought on by his own infidelity. Mind the Gap received its world premiere at the 2003 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award for Narrative Feature. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alan King, Elizabeth Reaser, (more)
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