Anna Thomson Movies

Amos Kollek directs this quiet, understated comedy about lonely hearts and empty pockets in New York. Pushing 40, Bella (Anna Thomson) works as a waitress at small downtown diner in Manhattan. Her elderly regulars include Paul (Robert Modica), a lovelorn retiree who scours the personal ads and his ill-tempered buddies Seymour (Victor Argo) and Graham (Mark Margolis), who are more than a little disparaging toward Paul's attempts at finding love. Involved in a 12-year relationship with married Broadway theater director George (Austin Pendleton), Bella craves marriage and children. On a blind date set up by her mother, Bella meets Bruno, a divorced cabbie and fledgling novelist with two young children. Meanwhile, Paul meets ready-and-willing widow Emily (Louise Lasser), while Seymour shacks up with Wanda (Valerie Geffner), a stripper with a master's degree. This film was shown in competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Troubled, unemployed New York office worker Sue (Anna Thomson) lives in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. However, job interviews lead nowhere, and she's behind in the rent, forced to accept a prostitute as a roommate. Meanwhile, she veers close to a mental precipice as she wanders the city, seeking human contact. She finds a friend in free-lance journalist Ben (Matthew Powers), but after he leaves the country on an assignment, she becomes increasingly disturbed and unable to cope, facing both eviction and mental collapse. Shown at 1997-98 film festivals (Toronto, Berlin). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Alan Madison made his directorial debut with this shrink-wrapped souffle of comedic conflicts in the life of lame NYC psychologist Jeff Stewart (Tony Goldwyn), who is burdened with an unloving wife (Edie Falco) and regarded with contempt by his own patients. In addition to criminals sent to him by the state, his clients include a variety of Harlem residents -- a sex offender (Bruce MacVittie); Mrs. K, a religious fanatic (Tammy Grimes); oversexed hand model Ericca Ricce (Debi Mazar); and Daryl (Giancarlo Espositio), whose lover is dying of AIDS. Others in Stewart's building include British ambulance-chaser McMurtry (Roger Rees), a Holocaust survivor (Mark Margolis) preoccupied with his chessboard, and a fortune-teller in drag (Charles Busch). As his life unravels, speculation surfaces suggesting Stewart himself should be in therapy. Shown at the 1997 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The true story of Valerie Solanas, the radical feminist who became notorious after shooting art world icon Andy Warhol, is portrayed in this fact-based drama. In an attempt to present a fair assessment of her actions, writer-director Mary Harron focuses on Solanas' troubled life, from her childhood as an abuse victim to her life as teenage prostitute in New York City. These experiences left Solanas (played by Lili Taylor) deeply scarred, contributing to a hatred of men that later found full flower in her famous "SCUM Manifesto," an extremist tract calling for the establishment of a "Society for Cutting Up Men." Deeply troubled, she nevertheless briefly finds hope after befriending young transvestite Candy Darling (played by Stephen Dorff) and discovering herself on the fringes of the wild, colorful world surrounding the eccentric Warhol. She becomes obsessed with the idea that Warhol's support could change her life, only to become violently enraged when the artist and his friends begin to turn away from her. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

A 13-year-old boy embarks upon a perilous quest to discover the enigma of his estranged father's illness in this dark drama that is based on a critically acclaimed 1948 novel by Truman Capote. Joel Sansom has just arrived to his father's ramshackle Deep South plantation. He hasn't seen his dad in nine years and wants to know why his father abandoned them. Unfortunately, the sour mistress of the home, Amy Skully refuses to let Joel see him. Meanwhile he meets his strange cousin Randolph. He also meets a Negro servant and they become close friends. Though anxious to see his father, Amy and Randolph continue to hedge, telling him the old man is too weak to entertain visitors. To fill his empty hours, Joel begins looking about the home for clues. He also has a few eye-opening meetings with Randolph who slowly tells him about his relationship with the ailing father. Randolph's tale is told via flashback. It began years ago when Randolph fell in love with a handsome Cuban prizefighter. Unrequited love became obsession and this in turn, caused a terrible accident involving Joel's father. As Joel's investigation continues, Randolph and Amy begin trying to coerce him to stay. Their insistence takes a darker turn when they start stealing his mail and trying to keep him isolated from the world outside the great house. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide