Gwyneth Paltrow Movies
Although she initially gained fame for her real-life role as Brad Pitt's girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow went on to build a solid reputation as one of the leading actresses of her generation. Repeatedly summoning comparisons to such classic presences as Grace Kelly, the blonde, blue-eyed Paltrow has won acclaim for her parts in a number of films, most notably Shakespeare in Love, for which she won a Best Actress Oscar in 1999.The daughter of actress Blythe Danner and producer/director Bruce Paltrow, Paltrow was born in Los Angeles on September 28, 1972. When she was 11, her family moved to Massachusetts so that her father could direct summer stock productions -- it was there that the actress began to receive theatrical training under her parents' tutelage. Schooled at Manhattan's exclusive Spence School, Paltrow went on to study anthropology at the University of California before deciding to drop out to pursue her acting career. She got her first screen role in the 1991 movie Shout and in the same year she played the young Wendy in Steven Spielberg's Hook.
Two years later, Paltrow made her first significant impression with a chilling turn as a young con artist in Flesh and Bone. She went on to minor but memorable roles in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) and Jefferson in Paris (1995) before earning her first true taste of fame with her part as Brad Pitt's wife in Seven (1995). Unfortunately, she got more attention for her status as the actor's girlfriend than for her work in the film, becoming one of the world's most photographed arm ornaments.
However, the actress was able to come into her own the following year with the title role in Douglas McGrath's adaptation of Emma. She won acclaim for her work and her flawless British accent, and the same year she could be seen in two more films: The Pallbearer, with David Schwimmer, and Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight. However, it was not until 1998 -- having broken off her engagement with Pitt the previous year -- that Paltrow became better-known for her acting than for her ability to look good in designer evening gowns. That year, she had starring roles in no less than five films. Although both Hush and A Perfect Murder proved disappointments, and Great Expectations received mixed reviews, Paltrow's two English excursions, the comedy Sliding Doors and John Madden's Shakespeare in Love, netted positive receptions. The latter film drew particular acclaim, eventually winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Paltrow.
The following year, she had the lead in another high-profile project, Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley. Starring opposite Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Cate Blanchett, Paltrow took part in a film that boasted one of the most photogenic collections of young stars that audiences had seen that year and it further enhanced her reputation as one of the most celebrated members of her generation to step in front of a camera. As photogenic as she may be, however, Paltrow's healthy sense of humor would give the delicate actress the gusto she needed to take on the role of a 300-pound object of funnyman Jack Black's affection in the Farrelly brothers' cheerfully offensive Shallow Hal in 2001. With roles in The Anniversary Party, Possession, and Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums that same year, Paltrow's versatility and popularity showed no signs of waning - even if the subsequent flight attendant comedy View From the Top didn't even climb high enough at the box office to take a nosedive.
Of course the failure of View From the Top could not be placed squarely on the shoulders of Paltrow, and given the film's troubled production history it's a small wonder that the film was released at all. If that film had simply been a glazed-over comedy that gave its starlet little chance to shine, Paltrow would close out the year with a commendable and notably heavier performance in Sylvia. A film based on the life of literary legend Sylvia Plath, Sylvia couldn't have been more different than A View From the Top and provided Paltrow with a role she could truly sink her teeth into. Both her performance as well as the film itself fared fairly well through the duration of its limited art-house run, despite the fact that Plath's real life daughter Frieda Hughes publicly denounced the endeavor. The film also provided Paltrow with the opportunity to appear onscreen opposite her real-life mother Danner, who also played her ill-fated character's mother in the film.
In the wake of her accolades from Sylvia, Paltrow closed out 2003 by wedding Coldplay singer Chris Martin. The new family would soon expand five months later with the birth of their first child, a girl they bestowed with the unique moniker Apple Martin. But family life didn't slow Paltrow's film career too much. By Autumn she could be seen opposite Jude Law in the sci-fi actioner Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and before the close of the year, audiences could catch her in director John Madden's Proof. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, the wealthy playboy whose exploits as Iron Man are now public knowledge after his admission at the close of the first film. In the follow-up, Stark is pitted against his Russian arch nemesis, Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), and corporate rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Also making their Marvel debuts are Scarlett Johansson as the sexy Russian spy Black Widow, and Don Cheadle, who takes over the role of Colonel James Rhodes from Terrence Howard. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
- 2010
The true story of 1920s artist Greta Wegener (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her transgendered mate/model, Einar (Nicole Kidman), is brought to life in this Per Saari production. Let the Right One In's Tomas Alfredson directs the adaptation of David Ebershoff's book by screenwriter Lucinda Coxon. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
A hyperactive and high-fashion American transplant living in London and working for Vogue magazine does her best to enhance the lives of those around her while remaining blissfully unaware of the man who longs to profess his true love to her in an ultra-modern romantic comedy produced by Luc Besson and David Fincher and directed by Alek Keshishian. Emily Jackson (Brittany Murphy) lives a charmed life. Always on the go in her Mini Cooper and able to talk until the sun comes up and then some, her fast-paced lifestyle belies a sensitive soul who takes great joy in playing matchmaker for her many friends. It's Emily's gay roommate and constant companion, Peter (Matthew Rhys), who usually becomes the subject of the quirky Cupid's frequent pairings, and when handsome new photographer's assistant Paolo (Santiago Cabrera) arrives at the Vogue offices, Emily makes it her mission to bring the two men together. Unfortunately for the contemporary Holly Golightly, Emily is so busy arranging a love connection between Peter and Paolo that she remains completely blind to the obvious torch carried for her by the one suitor who longs to provide her the with the loving companionship that she so cheerfully arranges for others. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brittany Murphy, Santiago Cabrera, (more)
- 2001
This 2001 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow and features musical guest Ryan Adams. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Ryan Adams, (more)
- 1999
This 1999 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow and features musical guest Barenaked Ladies. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Barenaked Ladies, (more)
This 64-minute documentary, winner of the "Audience Award" at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, details the hurdles that determined teenager Kelli Peterson had to confront when she decided to organize a Gay-Straight Alliance at her Utah high school in 1996. After both the school board and the state legislature made efforts to bar the Alliance from the school, the teens drew national attention as they continued to fight for their rights. Peterson, her family, and friends are interviewed by filmmaker Jeff Dupre, who put the situation in perspective with five historical segments, presented chronologically yet intercut with the modern-day Utah conflicts -- the secret diary of 17th-century Puritan clerk Michael Wigglesworth; the 19th-century "marriage" in Boston of novelist Sarah Orne Jewett and socialite Annie Fields; the 1924 organization in Chicago of the first American gay rights group; Bayard Rustin and his role in the Civil Rights movement; and the work of activist Barbara Gittings during the '50s and '60s. Actors Stephen Spinella, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cherry Jones, Edward Norton, and Leland Gantt deliver the narration for these historical segments through readings of letters and diaries. Filmed in 16mm color and black-and-white, Out of the Past was shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Spinella, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
- 1993
In this brooding drama, the lives of four sisters are nearly destroyed by the machinations of their overbearing father. He singles out one daughter in particular to take part in a deadly insurance scam. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Urich, Shelley Fabares, (more)
- 1992
The two-part TV movie Cruel Doubt was based on a true story, as elucidated in book form by Joe McGinniss. In part one, aired May 17, 1992, Wealthy North Carolinian Blythe Danner discovers that her own son Matt McGrath was involved in a robbery-assault in their home, in which her husband was killed. The story was resolved in part two, which debuted May 19, 1992. As the courtroom trial wears on, flashbacks reveal the extent of McGrath's involvement in the crime, as well as the depths of his mental illness. And for a brief period, there's a slim possibility that the evidence is all wrong, and that McGrath is innocent. The boy's sister is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, real-life daughter of Blythe Danner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Ed Asner, (more)
A depressed young man moves back in with his parents and finds his life turned upside down as he struggles to choose between the beautiful daughter of a close family friend and the scintillating but volatile next-door neighbor whose passion helps to reignite his lust for life. The third screen outing for writer/director James Gray and actor Joaquin Phoenix following We Own the Night and The Yards, Two Lovers co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, and Vinessa Shaw. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
Written and directed by Jake Paltrow, the romantic comedy The Good Night stars Martin Freeman as a onetime pop superstar who has swallowed his pride and now makes a living as a jingle writer. Although he has a steady relationship with a longtime girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow), he has become bored with her even though he loves her and dreams often of his idealized perfect woman (Penélope Cruz). One day he meets that dream girl in the flesh, forcing him to confront his feelings for his girlfriend head-on. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penélope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
Douglas McGrath's Infamous represents the second major biopic about the avant-garde belletrist Truman Capote to be released within a year. It thus tells roughly the same story as Bennett Miller's earlier Capote, recounting the events that belied the writer's six-year authorship of the seminal "nonfiction novel" In Cold Blood. The story opens with Capote (Toby Jones) visiting the site of the 1959 Clutter family homicide, on a Kansas research trip, accompanied by his close friend and colleague, author Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock). As Capote settles into the community, McGrath uses the preponderance of screen time to explore the emotional tapestry of Capote's increasingly risky emotional attachment to one of the two murderers, Perry Edward Smith (Daniel Craig), with whom he senses more than a few common bonds. McGrath weaves a decidedly bittersweet tale, contrasting the optimism and devil-may-care, "conquer all" attitude of Capote in his early years with a seemingly endless string of poor choices in the writer's later years, from addictions to drink and pills, to a failure to maintain healthy output as a writer, to poorly chosen romantic and sexual entanglements. Most significantly, however, McGrath reveals how the relationship with Smith virtually destroyed Capote as an artist and a human being, by inducing him to sell out on all levels to satisfy his lust for accomplishment and notoriety. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, (more)
Screen newcomer Joseph Cross portrays Augusten Burroughs in director Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of author Burroughs' best-selling personal memoir of the same name. A child of the 1970s whose alcoholic father Norman (Alec Baldwin) and delusional, unpublished poet mother Deidre (Annette Benning) serve as the dictionary definition of the word "dysfunctional," Augusten is sent by his mother to live with her eccentric psychiatrist Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) when his disagreeable parents ultimately decide terminate their turbulent marriage. Suddenly thrust into an environment that is as unfamiliar as it is unpredictable, young Augusten forms a curious relationship with the doctor's two whimsical daughters while learning to adapt and survive under even the most unusual of circumstances. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Bening, Brian Cox, (more)
The life of poet and novelist Sylvia Plath -- one of the most celebrated literary figures of her generation -- is brought to the screen in this controversial screen adaptation. Born in Boston, MA, in 1932, Plath (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) developed a precocious talent as a writer and published her first poem when she was only eight years old. That same year, tragedy introduced itself into her life as Plath was forced to confront the unexpected death of her father. In 1950, she began studying at Smith College on a literary scholarship, and while she was an outstanding student, she also began suffering from bouts of extreme depression; following her junior year, she attempted suicide for the first time. Plath survived, and, in 1955, she was granted a Fulbright Scholarship to study in England at Cambridge. While in Great Britain, Plath met Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig), a respected author who would later become the British Poet Laureate; the two fell in love, and married in 1958. However, marriage, family, and a growing reputation as an important poet failed to bring Plath happiness, and as she became increasingly fascinated with death in her later poetry and her sole novel, The Bell Jar, and after Hughes left her for another woman, her depression went into a tailspin from which she would never fully recover. Sylvia was adapted in part from Birthday Letters, a collection of poems Ted Hughes published in 1998, in which he dealt with his marriage to Plath in print for the first time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, (more)
Directed by actress Rosanna Arquette, this candid documentary is not only about the iconoclastic and somewhat reclusive film star Debra Winger (who does not even appear onscreen until an hour into the film), but also about the trials and tribulations of actresses in Hollywood who have reached "that certain age." In the course of her "search," Arquette interviews several of her colleagues, among them Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Lane, Teri Garr, Holly Hunter, Vanessa Redgrave, Charlotte Rampling, Meg Ryan, and Sharon Stone, all of whom have their own personal horror stories about insensitive producers and casting directors who tend to think of over-40 (and sometimes over-30) actresses as being suitable only for mother, "other woman," and "hero's girlfriend" roles -- when they bother to cast these actresses at all. The women also discuss the difficulties in balancing a successful career and a private life. Test-marketed on the film festival circuit throughout 2002, Searching for Debra Winger received its largest audience when it aired over the Showtime cable channel on August 18, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
In Neil LaBute's film adaptation of A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize-winning 1990 novel, Aaron Eckhart (who has starred in all of LaBute's films) plays Roland Michell, an American academic researcher, working in London, who discovers some important letters written by a famous Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam [Gosford Park]). Ash was presumed to have been totally devoted to his wife, but Roland finds letters written to another unnamed woman, and soon determines that the intended recipient was another, less well-known poet, Christabel LaMotte (Jennifer Ehle of Sunshine). Roland contacts Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), an expert on LaMotte's life and work, who tells him that LaMotte couldn't have had an affair with Ash because she lived most of her life with a female companion, Blanche Glover (Lena Headey), in what was apparently a romantic relationship. Despite Maud's skepticism, the two begin to investigate, and uncover a wealth of information about the affair between the two poets. Period scenes of the illicit relationship between Ash and LaMotte are intercut with the contemporary investigation of the two academics. Roland and Maud initially fight their attraction to each other, but as the pair find more evidence of the historical and tragic romance, they find themselves overcoming their own resistance to romantic entanglement. Possession was kicked around as a film project for a long time before LaBute became interested. Director Sydney Pollack originally was slated to film a screenplay by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), who receives a credit on the finished film. When LaBute took over the project years later, he reworked the screenplay with Laura Jones (The Portrait of a Lady). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
In this Dogma 95-inspired first feature for acclaimed performers Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, the two star as Joe and Sally Therrian, a couple who have recently reconciled after a yearlong separation, and who decide to throw a sixth anniversary party in their honor. They invite a bevy of Hollywood types, including Skye Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow), a young, beautiful, Ecstasy-pushing actress appointed to play a character based on
Sally in the new feature film based on Joe's successful novel. Also featured are Cal and Sophia Gold (played by real-life marrieds Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates), the former a co-star of Sally's and the latter her best friend who has given up the business to raise a family; Mac (John C. Reilly), the director of the new film and his actress wife Clair (Jane Adams), who has continued working after the recent birth of their child; Judy and Jerry Adams (Parker Posey and John Benjamin Hickey), the Therrians' managers; and Gina (Jennifer Beals), Joe's ex-girlfriend, who is often regarded as his first big love. Things are complicated when their contentious neighbors (Mina Badie and Denis O'Hare) make an appearance, and a mystery gift causes the event to unravel over the course of one long evening. The film was also written by Cumming and Leigh, another first for both actors. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Sally in the new feature film based on Joe's successful novel. Also featured are Cal and Sophia Gold (played by real-life marrieds Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates), the former a co-star of Sally's and the latter her best friend who has given up the business to raise a family; Mac (John C. Reilly), the director of the new film and his actress wife Clair (Jane Adams), who has continued working after the recent birth of their child; Judy and Jerry Adams (Parker Posey and John Benjamin Hickey), the Therrians' managers; and Gina (Jennifer Beals), Joe's ex-girlfriend, who is often regarded as his first big love. Things are complicated when their contentious neighbors (Mina Badie and Denis O'Hare) make an appearance, and a mystery gift causes the event to unravel over the course of one long evening. The film was also written by Cumming and Leigh, another first for both actors. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Cumming, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
Director Wes Anderson and his longtime friend and writing partner Owen Wilson follow up Bottle Rocket (1996) and Rushmore (1998) with this similarly offbeat comedy about a dysfunctional family reunion. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) was a successful attorney who had three children with his wife Etheline (Anjelica Huston), an archaeologist. Each of the Tenenbaum kids was a precocious genius: Chas (Ben Stiller) made a killing as a child investor. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior tennis champ and three-time U.S. Nationals winner. The adopted Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright who won a 50,000-dollar Braverman Grant in the ninth grade. When Royal abruptly left his family, however, it was the beginning of two decades of betrayal and failure that would scar the Tenenbaums for life. Their past resentments are bitterly held against Royal when he suddenly reappears, claiming to have six weeks to live and a desire to reconnect with his family. Typically, Royal's story is a sham, but his presence and sincere desire for absolution soon have a profound effect on the Tenenbaums, who are each dealing with thwarted desires and relationships. Among them are Richie's lifelong love for Margot, who's unhappily married to Raleigh St.Clair (Bill Murray) and Etheline's eccentric engagement to Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), who wishes to marry her. The Royal Tenenbaums also co-stars Owen Wilson and features narration provided by Alec Baldwin. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, (more)
Director Bruce Paltrow teams with his Oscar-winning daughter Gwyneth Paltrow for this road comedy with music. Paltrow plays Liv, a struggling professional singer whose meets her father, Ricky Dean (Huey Lewis), for the first time at the funeral of her mother. As it turns out, both Liv and Ricky supplement the income from few-and-far-between gigs by singing in karaoke contests, and soon father and daughter are competing on the same circuit. Meanwhile, Todd Woods (Paul Giamatti), a salesman who has grown disenchanted with his job, his family, and his life, picks up a hitch-hiker named Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher), and during a stop at a tavern, they discover they make a good duet team while belting out a version of "Try A Little Tenderness." And waitress Suzi Loomis (Maria Bello) sweet talks Billy (Scott Speedman), a cabbie, into driving her to Omaha, where the national karaoke finals will determine who does the best job of singing along with the records, as the lives of these six characters begin to intersect. Duets also features Angie Dickinson as Blair, Liv's grandmother who was once a showgirl in Frank Sinatra's Las Vegas floorshow; Brad Pitt was originally cast in Speedman's role but withdrew after he and Paltrow announced the end of their off-camera relationship. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Bello, Andre Braugher, (more)
After the Oscar-winning The English Patient, writer/director Anthony Minghella attempted another tricky literary adaptation with The Talented Mr. Ripley, which features heartthrob Matt Damon cast against type as a psychopathic bisexual murderer. Tom Ripley (Damon) is a bright and charismatic sociopath who makes his way in mid-'50s New York City as a men's room attendant and sometimes pianist, though his real skill is in impersonating other people, forging handwriting, and running second-rate scams. After being mistaken for a Princeton student, Tom meets the shipping tycoon father of Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), who has traveled to the coast of Italy, where he's living a carefree life with his father's money and his beautiful girlfriend, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). Dickie's father will pay Ripley 1,000 dollars plus his expenses if he can persuade Dickie to return to America. As Ripley and Dickie become friends, Tom finds himself both attracted to Dickie and envious of his life of pleasure. In time, he decides that he would rather be Dickie Greenleaf than Tom Ripley, so rather than go back to his life of poverty, Ripley impulsively murders Dickie and assumes his identity. The Talented Mr. Ripley was based on the first of a series of novels featuring Tom Ripley written by Patricia Highsmith; the story was previously filmed in 1960 as Purple Noon, with Alain Delon as Ripley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
A Perfect Murder is based on Frederick Knott's play Dial M for Murder, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954. Married to commodities trader Stephen Taylor (Michael Douglas), Emily Bradford (Gwyneth Paltrow) is romantically involved with artist David Shaw (Viggo Mortensen). Aware of this affair, Stephen researches David's past, visits his loft studio, and informs David that he knows about his aliases, jail sentences, and various cons and scams directed at rich women. Then Stephen offers David $500,000 to murder Emily, and David agrees. The plan is calculated to make the murder look like an accident, but events soon go on an unscheduled course. Enter Detective Mohamed Karaman (David Suchet). Knott's original play opened June 1952 in London, followed by a New York run that began October 1952. Several books and sources describe how Hitchcock's film was made in 3-D but neglect to mention that, despite trade screenings in 3-D, Dial M for Murder was originally released in 1954 with ordinary, flat 2-D prints. It was finally shown to audiences in 3-D during the mid-'80s. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatre whose doors are about to be closed by sadistic creditors, but he's got a nasty case of writer's block. Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years. In fact, he hasn't written much of anything recently. Thus, the Bard finds himself in quite a bind when Henslowe, desperate to stave off another round of hot-coals-to-feet application, stakes The Rose's solvency on Shakespeare's new comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." The problem is, "Romeo" is safely "locked away" in Shakespeare's head, which is to say that not a word of it is written. Meanwhile, the lovely Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) is an ardent theatre-goer -- scandalous for a woman of her breeding -- who especially admires Shakespeare's plays and, not incidentally, Bill himself. Alas, she's about to be sold as property into a loveless marriage by her mercenary father and shipped off to a Virginia tobacco plantation. But not before dressing up as a young man and winning the part of Romeo in the embryonic play. Shakespeare soon discovers the deception and goes along with it, using the blossoming love affair to ignite his muse. As William and Viola's romance grows in intensity and spirals towards its inevitable culmination, so, too, does the farcical comedy about Romeo and pirates transform into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet. ~ Merle Bertrand, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
Alfonso Cuaron (The Little Princess) directed this Mitch Glazer screenplay, a modernization of the 1860-61 classic by Charles Dickens. Some situations in the film are presented as memories -- the way the central figure, Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke) recalls events many years later. At a Florida fishing village, eight-year-old orphan Finn Bell (Jeremy James Kissner), talented at art, is left in the care of his sister and her husband, Joe (Chris Cooper). One day, Finn helps a chained, escaped convict who appears in the surf. On other days, he visits Paradiso Perduto, where he plays with young Estella (Raquel Beaudene), niece of the mansion's colorful, flamboyant, and extremely wealthy owner, Ms. Dinsmoor (Anne Bancroft), who parallels the novel's tragic Miss Havisham, a woman jilted at the altar and left emotionally scarred and mentally imbalanced. As Ms. Dinsmoor watches Finn draw a portrait of Estella, she plots to mold Estella into a hard woman capable of destroying men. In a flash forward to the '90s, Finn (Hawke) and Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow), now in their late teens, re-create the water-fountain kiss of their childhood, but Estella vanishes, breaking Finn's heart to such a degree that he doesn't draw or paint for seven years, choosing to eke out a marginal existence with his uncle Joe (after Finn's sister abandons the two). Then Manhattan art representative Jerry Ragno (Josh Mostel) turns up with a startling offer -- if Finn will return to painting and relocate in New York, Ragno will give him a one-man show. With an apparent assist from Ms. Dinsmoor, Finn makes the move and begins his new life with great expectations and a deadline of 10 weeks to complete the necessary paintings. When Finn next encounters Estella, she has a wealthy boyfriend, Walter (Hank Azaria). As Finn once again becomes entranced by Estella, he also begins to question exactly how his life is being manipulated. Francesco Clemente did the paintings and drawings seen in the film. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
