Robin Wright Penn Movies
A fiercely independent actress known for never trading on her blonde good looks, Robin Wright Penn strayed even further from the mainstream when she married iconoclast actor-director Sean Penn in 1996. Though she's appeared in such audience favorites as The Princess Bride (1987) and Forrest Gump (1994), the list of blockbusters she's turned down is far longer. Her professional essence remains linked with the daring, blue-collar cinema of her husband and frequent collaborator. Wright Penn has also followed his lead by vehemently shunning the spotlight, at least in matters unrelated to her craft.Born on April 8, 1966, in Dallas and raised in San Diego by her divorced mother, Robin Wright Penn got her first glimpses of show business as a model in Paris and Japan, having pursued that line of work only to raise money for a trip to Europe. Ditching her thoughts of ministering to the poor, Wright Penn heeded the advice of her modeling agent and made her acting debut in the soap opera Santa Barbara, where she played Kelly, the youngest daughter of rich socialites C.C. and Sophia Capwell. Thrice nominated for daytime Emmys, Wright Penn caught the eye of Rob Reiner, who cast her as Princess Buttercup in his beloved fairytale The Princess Bride. Proud and unrelenting, Buttercup nonetheless had a passive role in the events of that comic romantic fantasy, and Wright Penn determined to play neither the princess nor the victim in future projects. This resolve prompted her to reject scripts for Jurassic Park (1993), Batman Forever (1995), and Sabrina (1995), among others.
To an audience expecting a big follow-up, Wright Penn slipped into obscurity for a number of years after Bride made her famous. She appeared with her future husband for the first time in State of Grace in 1990, becoming pregnant with their first child, then followed that up with the small Irish film The Playboys (1992). The famously picky actress finally relented to Robert Zemeckis, agreeing to play Jenny, the title character's decade-spanning love interest in Forrest Gump, the 1994 Best Picture winner. Wright Penn was again well received, flummoxing countless producers who wanted her in their movies.
Soon after Forrest Gump, Wright Penn began to be identified almost exclusively with Sean Penn's endeavors. After working together on his second directorial effort, The Crossing Guard (1995), Robin Wright and Sean Penn decided to marry, and she would continue appearing opposite him and in front of his camera over the next half-dozen years. Given their against-the-grain tendencies, the pair were perfectly suited to play the impoverished, unbalanced, star-crossed lovers of She's So Lovely (1997), Nick Cassavetes' homage to his father John's body of work. Wright Penn also appeared with her husband in the talky ensemble Hurlyburly (1998). In 2001, she was cast as Jack Nicholson's love interest in Penn's third film, The Pledge, which earned critical but not popular acclaim. Her willingness to eschew vanity has never been more evident, as Wright Penn donned a pair of crooked fake teeth to emphasize her character's lower-class upbringing.
As she has retreated into a family life that's as private and intense as anything about her, focusing more on her husband and children than in forging a traditional career, Wright Penn has also made some curious choices that have defied her typical abhorrence for the mainstream. One such example was starring in the four-hanky Kevin Costner romance Message in a Bottle (1999) -- in turn reinforcing the sense of unpredictability she holds so dear. Wright Penn also appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable (2000), and was set to act opposite Robert Downey Jr. in The Singing Detective (2003). After essaying the role of a mother whose daughter appears to have been blessed by immaculate conception in the 2003 drama Virgin, Penn would make a powerful impression with her role as a questionable cab fare in the post-9/11 racism drama Sorry, Haters. In 2006 Penn would join an impressive cast that included Jude Law, Ray Winstone, and Juliette Binoche to tell the tale of intersecting lives in modern day London in director Anthony Minghella's Breaking & Entering. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- 2004
- R
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Directed by Michael Mayer and based on The Hours author Michael Cunningham's novel of the same name, A Home at the End of the World chronicles the 1980s reunion of childhood best friends Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts). Where they were once best pals -- and teenage lovers -- in the suburbs of Cleveland, Bobby has become a charismatic but go-nowhere heterosexual slacker, and Jonathan is now living as an openly gay man in New York City, hoping to serve as father to his eccentric roommate Clare's (Robin Wright Penn) child. When Bobby impulsively moves to the city to be closer to his former friend, their bonds are tested sooner than anyone would have thought. Bobby falls for Clare, and in doing so, effectively eliminates what would have been Jonathan's position in the baby's life. Jonathan temporarily takes off; when his father dies, and he attends the Arizona funeral, Bobby and Clare unexpectedly turn up with the news that she's expecting. Despite the still-existent tensions, the trio becomes a family unit among themselves, ultimately buying a house in Woodstock, Upstate New York, where they all move together, challenging traditional notions of family, commitment, love, and devotion. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
Inspired by the epic Old English poem of the same name, director Robert Zemeckis's digitally rendered film follows the Scandinavian hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone) as he fights to protect the Danes from a ferocious beast named Grendel (Crispin Glover). Though at first Grendel seems invincible, Beowulf eventually manages to defeat him in a desperate battle to the death. Devastated by her son's violent demise at the hands of Beowulf, Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie) sets out in search of revenge. Later, Beowulf faces the biggest challenge of his life when he attempts to slay a powerful dragon. Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, John Malkovich, and Brendan Gleeson co-star in an epic fantasy adventure penned by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
A petty thief is the link between a well-to-do businessman and a single mother struggling to get by in his edgy, emotional drama. Will Francis (Jude Law) is a successful landscape architect who runs an upscale business with his friend Sandy (Martin Freeman) in the King's Cross section of London, a neighborhood that has long been plagued by crime and poverty but has lately become the target of a major gentrification program. Will's longtime girlfriend is Liv (Robin Wright Penn), a lovely woman troubled by a lack of communication between herself and her husband and emotional problems with their teenage daughter, Bea (Poppy Rogers), who can't sleep and is obsessed with gymnastics. A thief has broken into Will and Sandy's office not once but twice, taking Will's laptop and the company's computer equipment, and Will begins spending his evenings at the shop in hopes of catching the culprit in action. The burglar strikes a third time, and while giving chase, Will sees him make his way into a shabby apartment building. Will learns the criminal is Miro (Rafi Gavron), a 15-year-old refugee from Bosnia. Without revealing what he knows, Will makes the acquaintance of Amira (Juliette Binoche), Miro's widowed mother -- a Bosnian refugee who makes a living as a seamstress. As Will starts bringing Amira business on a regular basis, the two begin an affair which continues even as Will maintains his relationship with Liv. Breaking and Entering was written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Anthony Minghella; it was his first project made from his own original script since Truly, Madly, Deeply in 1991. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, (more)
Writer/director Robert Zemeckis adapts Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol as a star vehicle for Jim Carrey in this performance capture/Disney Digital 3D animated film for all ages. Carrey will not only take on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, but all of the three ghosts who come to haunt him as well. The filmmaking process will be in tune with the director's other animated outings, The Polar Express as well as the adult-themed Beowulf adaptation. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey
This two-part HBO miniseries is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo. Having long since sacrificed youthful ideals and values to remain in his New England hometown for the sake of his family, middle-aged Miles Roby (Ed Harris) finds his "secure" little world disintegrating when his wife, Janine (Helen Hunt), divorces him. Equally vexing is the emotional and financial pressure exerted by domineering town matriarch Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward), who owns (among other things) the Empire Grill, the little diner that Ed has run for several years. As he reflects on what he considers to be a wasted life, Ed flashes back to memories of his curmudgeonly father, Max (Paul Newman, who also executive-produced the miniseries); his long-dead mother, Grace (Robin Wright Penn); his scapegrace brother, David (Aidan Quinn); his blossoming daughter "Tick" (Danielle Panabaker); and Francine's late husband, C.B. Whiting (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Also tied in with Miles' reminiscences is the spectacular saga of the rise and fall of Empire Falls, a once-prosperous mill town that has fallen into disrepair -- as have the town's once-rigid and inviolate social barriers. Despite the initial bleakness of Miles' plight, and the revelation of innumerable family skeletons as the plot progresses, the story is ultimately both heartwarming and life-affirming. Filmed on location in Maine, Empire Falls originally aired on May 28 and 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Danielle Panabaker, (more)
"Stupid is as stupid does," says Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks in an Oscar-winning performance) as he discusses his relative level of intelligence with a stranger while waiting for a bus. Despite his sub-normal IQ, Gump leads a truly charmed life, with a ringside seat for many of the most memorable events of the second half of the 20th century. Entirely without trying, Forrest teaches Elvis Presley to dance, becomes a football star, meets John F. Kennedy, serves with honor in Vietnam, meets Lyndon Johnson, speaks at an anti-war rally at the Washington Monument, hangs out with the Yippies, defeats the Chinese national team in table tennis, meets Richard Nixon, discovers the break-in at the Watergate, opens a profitable shrimping business, becomes an original investor in Apple Computers, and decides to run back and forth across the country for several years. Meanwhile, as the remarkable parade of his life goes by, Forrest never forgets Jenny (Robin Wright Penn), the girl he loved as a boy, who makes her own journey through the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s that is far more troubled than the path Forrest happens upon. Featured alongside Tom Hanks are Sally Field as Forrest's mother; Gary Sinise as his commanding officer in Vietnam; Mykelti Williamson as his ill-fated Army buddy who is familiar with every recipe that involves shrimp; and the special effects artists whose digital magic place Forrest amidst a remarkable array of historical events and people. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
This attempt at parodying a world of hookers, child pornographers, and drug cartels never quite gets off the ground. Though these topics are not inherently amusing, director Penelope Spheeris takes the plot of Hardcore as a springboard and develops a few parallel stories that are meant to be funny. Pauline Stanton (Trish Van DeVere) is desperately hoping to rescue her daughter Lori (Robin Wright) who is working for the evil Walsh (Frank Gorshin) as a call-girl. As some policemen work on trying to get the goods on Walsh and send him up for white slave trading, another policewoman is involved in trying to bring down a child pornographer in her neighborhood. Yet another cop, detective Romero (H.B. Haggerty) is after a New York mob boss. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ronny Cox, Frank Gorshin, (more)
A precocious but troubled young girl living in 1950s-era Alabama seeks solace in the music of Elvis Presley in director Deborah Kampmeier's controversial tale of childhood trauma and musical healing. An air of repression lingers over the home of spirited youngster Lewellen (Dakota Fanning), who finds both comfort in the music of pop sensation Presley, as well as a place to store her pain and anger. In time Lewellen begins to find her own voice, a voice that will instill her with the strength to move beyond the pain of her past and into a more hopeful future. Piper Laurie, David Morse, and Robin Wright Penn star in a period drama that made its debut at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dakota Fanning, Cody Hanford, (more)
- 2000
- R
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Somewhere in L.A., Peter (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up British playwright, struggles to duplicate his past glory as he surfs a foul-smelling tide of disenchantment. His wife, Melanie (Robin Wright Penn), manages to maintain an optimistic outlook even as she longs for the baby that her husband is hesitant to help her conceive. When Peter befriends Amy (Suzi Hofrichter), a neighborhood girl who has mild cerebral palsy, their friendship softens him to the idea of fatherhood and propels Melanie's maternal yearnings into hyperdrive. As if baby fever weren't enough, Peter is plagued by a seemingly benevolent stalker (Jared Harris), his neighbors' incessantly noisy dog, and the flighty cast and crew of his latest play. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Jared Harris, (more)
David Rabe's popular play of Hollywood immorality and decadence is brought to the big screen by director Anthony Drazan and an all-star cast that includes Sean Penn, Robin Wright-Penn, Kevin Spacey, Meg Ryan, Chazz Palminteri, Garry Shandling, and Anna Paquin. The film is set in the Hollywood Hills and tells the story of Eddie (Penn) a drinking-smoking-snorting-womanizing casting director and his philandering partner-roommate Mickey (Spacey). Along with their buddies Artie and Phil, they sit around and pontificate about the meaning of life -- that is, the meaning of their lives, of which there is very little. Eddie is in love with Darlene (real-life wife Wright Penn), but she is also seeing the married Mickey. When Artie brings Eddie and Mickey a "care package" in the shape of a pretty, disillusioned hitchhiker named Donna (Paquin), they take turns throwing her around until, yet again, their own empty pathetic lives preoccupy their paranoid minds. As people and relationships deteriorate everywhere, the guys try to pick Phil by giving him the gift of a washed-up exotic dancer, Bonnie (Ryan). Of course she ends up just more abused than ever as she and the rest of the gang hit rock bottom. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, (more)
- 1997
The mysterious reasoning of women who protect men who hurt them is explored in this psychological drama. Hedda (Robin Wright-Penn) was once involved with a man who had a long history of violence against women (played by Anthony Lucero). Even though Hedda broke up with him after a violent incident that caused her to fall out of a window, she hasn't been able to get him out of her mind, and her sorrow over ending the affair has led her to attempt suicide on more than one occasion. After the man's most recent girlfriend died as an indirect result of his abuse, District Attorney K.D. Dietrickson (William Hurt) has decided to file charges of negligent homicide against him, and he wants Hedda to testify in court to help establish a pattern of abuse. However, for whatever reason, Hedda still loves him, and in her mind she has turned the incident into a situation in which she was at fault. Despite the urgings of Hedda's concerned parents (Joanna Cassidy and Paul Dooley) and her sister, a tough lawyer named Brett (Amy Madigan), Hedda seems unmovable, which makes it all the more difficult for Dietrickson to stop the abuser before he can hurt someone else. Sean Penn, who happens to be Robin Wright-Penn's husband, served as co-producer and has a showy cameo role early in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Wright Penn, William Hurt, (more)
Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Message In A Bottle stars Robin Wright Penn as Theresa Osborne, a writer for the Chicago Tribune. While her son visits her cheating ex-husband, Theresa goes on a vacation by herself. One day, while running on the beach, she finds a bottle washed up on the shore. She opens it and inside finds a love letter unlike any she's ever read. Captivated by the author's words of love, she returns to her job at the Tribune where she convinces her boss to run an article about the mystery writer, known only as "G." He approves, and Theresa begins her hunt. Scrutinizing every physical detail of the letter and the path the bottle may have taken, she eventually locates Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), a North Carolina boat-restorer who has not been the same since the tragic death of his beloved wife Catherine. Since her death, Garret has written several letters to his dead wife, put them in a bottles, and let them loose in the sea. As Theresa spends time with Garret, she quickly falls in love with him, though she neglects to tell him she knows about the letters. Garret, prodded by his cantankerous, no-nonsense dad, Dodge (Paul Newman), emerges from his shell of grief and develops an interest in Theresa as well. Theresa returns to Chicago and Garret soon visits her; he meets her son, Jason (Jesse James), but also discovers her knowledge of the letters. Eventually the two, who have both lost love, must cast off their emotional baggage and decide if they will pursue love even if it can't always last. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
An orphaned young woman struggles to overcome a difficult childhood and her later experiences as a prostitute in this period drama set in 18th century London. Drawing only loose inspiration from the Daniel Dafoe novel that provided the film's title, writer-director Pen Densham creates a new story surrounding the title character of Moll Flanders (Robin Wright). The daughter of a thief, young Moll is placed in the care of a nunnery after the execution of her mother. However, the actions of an abusive priest lead Moll to rebel as a teenager, escaping to the dangerous streets of London. Further misfortunes drive her to accept a job as a prostitute from the conniving Mrs. Allworthy (Stockard Channing). It is there that Moll first meets Hibble (Morgan Freeman), who is working as Allworthy's servant but takes a special interest in the young woman's well-being. With his help, she retains hope for the future, ultimately falling in love with an unconventional artist (John Lynch) who promises the possibility of romantic happiness. While Densham's script reflects the intricate plots and varied characters of the period's novels, the often deliberate film stresses Moll's self-determination and emotional journey over the narrative's melodrama. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Wright Penn, Morgan Freeman, (more)
Some of the world's most-respected directors align forces to pay tribute to the city of the New York in this unconventional omnibus sister film to 2006's Paris, Je T'Aime. Broken into short segments, New York, I Love You is comprised of ten films, most choosing to take a down-to-earth approach to the stories of the countless lives lived in the city on a given day. The segments are as follows, chronologically:
Segment 1 -- Directed by Jiang Wen; written by Hu Hong and Meng Yao; starring Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, and Rachel Bilson.
Segment 2 -- Directed by Mira Nair; written by Suketu Mehta; starring Natalie Portman and Irfan Khan.
Segment 3 -- Written and directed by Shunji Iwai; adaptation by Israel Horovitz. Starring Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci.
Segment 4 -- Directed by Yvan Attal; written by Olivier Lécot and Yvan Attal; starring Robin Wright Penn, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Q, and Chris Cooper.
Segment 5 -- Directed by Brett Ratner; written by Jeff Nathanson; starring Anton Yelchin, James Caan, Olivia Thirlby, and Blake Lively
Segment 6 -- Directed by Allen Hughes; written by Xan Cassavetes and Stephen Winter; starring Drea de Matteo and Bradley Cooper.
Segment 7 -- Directed by Shekhar Kapur; written by Anthony Minghella; starring Julie Christie, John Hurt, and Shia LaBeouf.
Segment 8 -- Written and directed by Natalie Portman; starring Taylor Geare, Carlos Acosta, and Jacinda Barrett.
Segment 9 -- Written and directed by Fatih Akin; starring Burt Young, Ugur Yucel, and Shu Qi.
Segment 10 -- Written and directed by Joshua Marston; starring Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman.
Transitions in between segments -- Directed by Randall Balsmeyer; written by Israel Horovitz, James Strouse, and Hall Powell; starring Emilie Ohana, Eva Amurri, and Justin Bartha. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Segment 1 -- Directed by Jiang Wen; written by Hu Hong and Meng Yao; starring Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, and Rachel Bilson.
Segment 2 -- Directed by Mira Nair; written by Suketu Mehta; starring Natalie Portman and Irfan Khan.
Segment 3 -- Written and directed by Shunji Iwai; adaptation by Israel Horovitz. Starring Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci.
Segment 4 -- Directed by Yvan Attal; written by Olivier Lécot and Yvan Attal; starring Robin Wright Penn, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Q, and Chris Cooper.
Segment 5 -- Directed by Brett Ratner; written by Jeff Nathanson; starring Anton Yelchin, James Caan, Olivia Thirlby, and Blake Lively
Segment 6 -- Directed by Allen Hughes; written by Xan Cassavetes and Stephen Winter; starring Drea de Matteo and Bradley Cooper.
Segment 7 -- Directed by Shekhar Kapur; written by Anthony Minghella; starring Julie Christie, John Hurt, and Shia LaBeouf.
Segment 8 -- Written and directed by Natalie Portman; starring Taylor Geare, Carlos Acosta, and Jacinda Barrett.
Segment 9 -- Written and directed by Fatih Akin; starring Burt Young, Ugur Yucel, and Shu Qi.
Segment 10 -- Written and directed by Joshua Marston; starring Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman.
Transitions in between segments -- Directed by Randall Balsmeyer; written by Israel Horovitz, James Strouse, and Hall Powell; starring Emilie Ohana, Eva Amurri, and Justin Bartha. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, (more)
Filmmaker Rodrigo García takes an unusual look into the lives of nine different women in this episodic drama. Each of the film's nine sequences has been staged as a single shot, using the Steadicam system to allow the camera to follow the action fluidly and without cuts. In these short episodes (lasting between ten and 14 minutes), Holly (Lisa Gay Hamilton) has a brief moment of reverie while confronting the specters of her past in her old neighborhood. Maggie (Glenn Close) escorts her young daughter Maria (Dakota Fanning) to a cemetery as they visit the graves of their family members. Ruth (Sissy Spacek) is a married woman contemplating an affair while visiting Henry (Aidan Quinn) in his hotel room. Diana (Robin Wright Penn) unexpectedly runs into an old boyfriend, Damian (Jason Isaacs), while shopping for groceries. Camilla (Kathy Baker) is a hospital patient awaiting surgery for cancer. Samantha (Amanda Seyfried) is a teenage girl who helps look after her handicapped father Larry (Ian McShane). Sandra (Elpidia Carrillo) is a female prison inmate who is expecting a visit from her children. Sonia (Holly Hunter) lashes out at her boyfriend Martin (Stephen Dillane) when she finds out he's been cheating on her. And Lorna (Amy Brenneman) has an unexpectedly moving encounter with her ex-husband Andrew (William Fichtner) as she pays her respects to his second wife, who has just passed away. Nine Lives premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, (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)
Written by the late John Cassavettes in 1987 and filmed by his son Nick a decade later, the comic drama She's So Lovely (originally and more appropriately titled She's De Lovely in honor of the Cole Porter composition central to the movie) stars real-life couple Sean Penn and Robin Wright-Penn as Eddie and Maureen, a young husband and wife whose relationship is strained by Eddie's frequently irrational behavior. When a run-in with a slimy neighbor (James Gandolfini) leaves the pregnant Maureen beaten and bruised, Eddie goes on the warpath, and his violent actions land him in a mental institution. Upon his release a decade later, he discovers Maureen has remarried (to a construction manager portrayed by John Travolta), had two more kids, and moved to the suburbs. Regardless, he resolves to win her back. A kind of reworking of the Cassavetes Sr. masterpiece A Woman Under the Influence, She's So Lovely marked the second film directed by Nick after Unhook the Stars. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
An embittered television executive working for a hip-hop-oriented music channel finds her fate intricately tied with a New York City taxi driver after hailing his cab for questionable purposes in director Jeff Stanzler's intimate look at the tenuous relationship between Caucasians and Muslims in post-9/11 America. Phoebe (Robin Wright Penn) hates her job at Q Dog TV, and focuses the brunt of her disgruntled rage squarely on co-worker Phyllis MacIntyre (Sandra Oh). During the course of their extended journey to Phoebe's suburban destination, troubled Muslim cab driver Ashade (Abdel Kechiche) confides to his passenger that the arrest of his brother on charges of suspected terrorism has thrown his family into chaos. Though the increasingly unstable Phoebe listens diligently to Ashade's tragic confession -- even offering to help the distraught Syrian chemist-turned-cab driver's struggling family -- it's only after arriving at his fare's destination that Ashade truly begins to grasp Phoebe's true nature and realize that he has made a grave mistake in placing his trust in her. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Wright Penn, Abdel Kechiche, (more)
This directorial effort from Phil Joanou stars Sean Penn as an Irish-American undercover cop working the Hell's Kitchen beat. Penn is ostensibly on a sentimental journey to his old neighborhood. Actually he's been assigned to infiltrate a criminal gang led by Ed Harris, the brother of Sean's best friend Gary Oldman. Penn suffers the requisite honor vs. duty anguish when he renews his childhood romance with Harris' sister Robin Wright. State of Grace would have had more clout had it been more clear as to time and place: it's supposedly set in the 1990s, but the attitudes and behavior are pure 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Last King of Scotland director Kevin McDonald teams with screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan for this American adaptation of the hit British miniseries concerning the suspicious circumstances that set a rising congressman and a dogged reporter on a dangerous collision course. U.S. congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is handsome, unflappable, and ascending the ladder of power with unprecedented speed. He's the future of his political party, and as the chairman of a committee assigned to oversee defense spending, he's got all the right connections. As the presidential race draws near, Washington insiders begin to speculate that Collins will earn his party's nomination for the country's top job. The prospect of Collins becoming president seems less and less likely, however, when his research assistant/mistress is viciously murdered, and some unsavory truths begin to surface. Collins was once a close friend to Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), now a top reporter in the nation's capitol. Assigned the task of investigating Collins by his ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar-winner Helen Mirren), McAffrey recruits fellow reporter Della (Rachel McAdams) in order to track down the truth and identify the killer. But McAffrey has just walked into a cover-up of unprecedented proportions, and in a game where billions of dollars are at stake, life, love, and integrity are luxuries that simply cannot be afforded. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, (more)
- 2010
Robert Redford mines the chaotic moment in history directly following President Lincoln's assassination in this period drama. Robin Wright Penn stars as Mary Surratt, a member of a group convicted and put to death over their taking part in the conspiracy to kill the President. James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin Kline, Alexis Bledel, and Justin Long co-star. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Wright Penn, James McAvoy, (more)
Sean Penn wrote and directed this tale of loss, guilt, and revenge. The daughter of Freddy and Mary Gale (Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston) was killed by a drunk driver, John Booth (David Morse). The death of their child took a heavy toll on the Gales; their marriage broke up, and, while Mary has remarried and attempted to put her life back together, Freddy has become an embittered alcoholic, seething with directionless rage and searching for a purpose in life. Freddy intends to kill Booth as soon as he's released from prison, as he believes that jail was not a severe enough punishment for his daughter's death. But Freddy discovers that Booth is still wracked with guilt for his crime and can barely live with himself. He tells Booth that he has three days left to live; Booth tries to find solace in the arms of artist Jojo (Robin Wright), while Freddy continues to wallow in alcohol and self-pity at a strip club. The Crossing Guard also features an original song by Bruce Springsteen; Penn's previous directorial outing, The Indian Runner, was loosely based on a Springsteen song from his album Nebraska. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, David Morse, (more)
The American Film Institute's Directors: Robert Zemeckis profiles the Academy Award-winning director of blockbuster hits and critic's picks. The video chronicles Zemeckis progression from a teenager obsessed with making 8 mm movies to a hungry USC Film School student to a red-hot Hollywood director. Considered a creator of modern classics, such as Used Cars, Back to the Future, Romancing the Stone, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Forrest Gump, and Contact, Robert Zemeckis explains how he cultivated his considerable skills and shaped his artistic vision. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
