Martin Donovan Movies
Most recognizable as a Hal Hartley regular, tall, lanky Martin Donovan has made an indelible impression, gaining widespread respect as one of the more underrated figures in the film industry.Born August 19, 1957, in Reseda, CA, Donovan attended the American Theater of Arts in Los Angeles before working for a number of theaters in Los Angeles and New York. Donovan's first starring role came in the 1984 drama Hard Choices, which also starred John Sayles and J.T. Walsh. 1991 marked his first collaboration with Hartley, as he starred in both Surviving Desire (made for PBS' American Playhouse) and Trust. The latter became an art house favorite, helping to establish Hartley's reputation. The following year, Donovan made his next film with Hartley, 1992's Simple Men.
Following his role in Hartley's critically acclaimed Amateur (1994), Donovan performed in a steady number of films throughout the rest of the decade. For Hartley, he appeared in Flirt (1995) and The Book of Life (1999), in which he played a modern-day Christ opposite PJ Harvey's Magdalena. Other notable work for the versatile actor included his role as Nicole Kidman's consumptive confidant in The Portrait of a Lady (1996); a turn as a divorced gay father in the unsettling Hollow Reed (1996); the part of Holly Hunter's philandering husband in Living Out Loud (1998); and his triumphantly understated portrayal of Christina Ricci's too-tolerant half-brother in Don Roos' black comedy The Opposite of Sex (1998). It was this last role, in particular, that helped to thrust Donovan a little further into the spotlight, introducing him to an audience that was eager to learn more about this multi-talented, multifaceted actor. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2007
- Add Masters of Horror: Right to Die to QueueAdd Masters of Horror: Right to Die to top of Queue
The husband of a woman whose flesh has been so horribly charred that she is completely comatose but technically still alive is haunted by her violent apparition as he attempts to make the difficult decision whether or not to end her suffering in Wrong Turn director Rob Schmidt's contribution to season two of Showtime's Masters of Horror series. In medical terms, Abby may technically still be alive, though anyone unfortunate enough to have suffered such a grisly, fiery fate as she would most certainly wished they had died. Now, as Abby lies catatonic in her hospital bed, her guilt-ridden husband, Cliff (Martin Donovan), struggles to get the court order that will allow him to bring his wife's misery to a merciful end. Now, as Abby's condition begins to deteriorate, her vital signs continually flatline and doctors race to revive her each time. Though they are repeatedly successful in their efforts, each time Abby dies her apparition appears to lash out against those who appear to be taking advantage of her dire situation. Each time the specter appears, it is more powerful than before, and now, should Cliff attempt to turn off her life-support system, he too will become a target of his wife's supernatural wrath. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, Robin Sydney, (more)
In this gentle coming-of-age drama, an adult man reflects nostalgically on his youth, when he spent countless hours working at his father's garage and buddied around with a fast friend. Eighteen-year-old Matt was intelligent, sweet-natured, and a recent high school graduate, his pal Schultz three years older, a high school dropout, and a laborer at his abusive father's construction business. Just as Matt longed with great passion and drive to leave the confines of his hometown and realize his passion and driving force, Schultz wanted to do everything in his power to simply escape from the domineering and repressive shadow of his father. Matt realized that the decision to leave the garage would put his dad in dire straits, which greatly complicated his decision. Then an unforeseen tragedy changed everything. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Marantz, Corby Griesenbeck, (more)
- 2006
Five people cross paths in New York City over the course of a day marked by violence in this independent drama from writer and director Jay Anania. Judy (Judy Kuhn) is a singer who is busy in a recording studio working on an album of British folk songs with jazz keyboardist John Medeski. Shira (Alyssa Sutherland) is a successful fashion model doing a photo shoot. Najia (Carmen Chaplin) is a journalist from Palestine who is in the United States working on a piece on treating victims of wartime violence, and she's arranged an interview with a well-respected doctor, Dr. Mary Wade (Olympia Dukakis). And Walter (Martin Donovan) is a quiet man who enjoys spending time in the park observing others. When a Palestinian suicide bomber sets off an explosive charge on a busy Manhattan street corner, all five characters are forced to deal with the physical and emotional wreckage of its aftermath. Day on Fire was screened as part of the "Visions" series, devoted to challenging works from new filmmakers, at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olympia Dukakis, Martin Donovan, (more)
Is the grass really greener on the other side? Yes, and it smells better, too! So when Nancy Botwin (Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker) faces both sudden widowhood and poverty, she's determined to do anything to keep her kids in suburbia, including taking a job as the neighborhood pot dealer. Subversive, satirical and hilarious, the first season of this groundbreaking Showtime hit is guaranteed to spark laughter!
- Starring:
- Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
A mysterious stranger with a magic touch descends upon the small town of Antioch and the town is slowly divided by his seemingly supernatural presence in director Robby Henson's adaptation of Frank Peretti's best-selling novel. Despite the fact that he may have the power to heal, the charismatic stranger nevertheless radiates a strange aura of menace and malevolence. Some believe him to be the one true messiah, and others dismiss him as a false prophet sent to seduce the souls of the weak. When the events in the stranger's remote revival tent take a turn for the sinister, it's up to a fallen ex-minister to re-connect with his faith and reveal the suspicious stranger for what he really is. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Inspired by the themes of Steven Soderbergh's Academy Award winning 2000 film of the same name, Traffic: The Miniseries focuses on a group of people involved in the highest levels of illegal trafficking; dealing with the sale and trade of chemicals, weapons, and even people. DEA agent Mike McKay (Elias Koteas) goes missing in Afghanistan while at home, his son treads dangerously close to addiction. Meanwhile, different storylines follow Fazal (Ritchie Coster), whose wife and child die during illegal transport to the US, and Ben (Balthazar Getty), whose father's shipping company is being used to transport illegal immigrants into the country. The seemingly unconnected lives of the characters eventually begin to converge, illustrating the interconnected nature of issues surrounding the war on illegal transport. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cliff Curtis, Martin Donovan, (more)
The first biographical film produced by the FX cable channel, RFK covers the last five years in the life of Robert F. Kennedy, here played by British actor Linus Roache. The narrative begins in 1963, with the assassination of Bobby's brother, president John F. Kennedy (Martin Donovan). His appointment as Attorney General already a source of outrage for resentful new President Lyndon Johnson (James Cromwell), Bobby now finds himself in the position of proving his worth all over again -- not only to his brother's successor and the world, but also himself. With the spirit of his brother acting as counsel, Bobby succeeds beyond his wildest dreams, especially in the field of social and racial reform. By 1968, he is a viable candidate for the presidency himself, and there seems to be no stopping him -- but fate, as it often will, again takes a hand in matters. Unlike previous cinematic recaps of the early 1960s, RFK is careful not to identify its characters as heroes or heels, but instead as human beings with all the strengths and shortcomings indigenous to the species. Filmed in Ontario, RFK originally aired on August 25, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linus Roache, James Cromwell, (more)
- 2001
Having spent virtually all of her 15 years enwrapped in a sheltered, pampered existence, Lily Greeley McAllister (Alison Lohman) was not quite prepared for the emotional jolt attending the suicide of a strange man in the dining room of the Greeley family's luxurious Pasadena home. Lily was equally unprepared for the blasé, unconcerned reactions of the Greeleys to this appalling spectacle. Attempting to find out why the man killed himself and why no one seemed to care all that much, Lily began to methodically unearth a number of unsavory family secrets -- and in the process, put her own future in dire jeopardy. Mike White of Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks, and Chuck and Buck fame was the guiding creative force behind this bizarre weekly blend of Beverly Hills 90210 and Dallas, while actress Diane Keaton helmed the series' pilot episode. Others in the cast included Natasha Gregson Wagner and Mark Valley as two branches of the Greeley family tree, and Dana Delany as Catherine McAllister. The 60-minute Pasadena debuted September 21, 2001, on the Fox Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alison Lohman, Martin Donovan, (more)
- 2001
Executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, the made-for-TV Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy & Isabelle was based on the bestselling 1999 novel by Elizabeth Strout. The scene is the mining town of Shirley Falls, ME; the year is 1971. Seeking escape from the iron rule of her domineering, social-climbing single mother, Isabelle (Elisabeth Shue), shy teenager Amy (Hanna R. Hall) falls under the seductive spell of her new math teacher, Mr. Robertson (Martin Donovan). Meanwhile, Isabelle, who may not be as straight-laced as she appears, develops a yearning for her married boss, Avery Clark (James Rebhorn), who barely acknowledges the woman's resistance. The tensions between Amy and Isabelle, already heightened by their separate romantic travails, is exacerbated when the two women find themselves working together in the same accounting office. While the rest of the town buzzes with vicious gossip concerning the two heroines, the story takes on a disturbing new tangent when the body of a young girl is found stuffed into the trunk of an abandoned car. Also known as Amy & Isabelle, this film was first aired by ABC on March 4, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elisabeth Shue, Hanna R. Hall, (more)
F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, often regarded as one of the greatest American novels of the 20th century, is brought to the screen in this made-for-TV feature, produced in collaboration with the A&E Cable Network in the United States, and Granada Entertainment in Great Britain. Nick Carraway (Paul Rudd) is a young bond salesman who rents a cottage near the mansion of the wealthy but reclusive Jay Gatsby (Toby Stephens). In time, Nick gets to know his neighbor, who has accumulated a vast fortune through vague, suspect means, but has carefully forged an outward image of refinement and charm. Years ago, before he left to fight in World War I, Gatsby was a poor man named Gatz and was in love with a beautiful woman from a wealthy family, Daisy (Mira Sorvino). When he returned, Gatz was determined to remake himself so that he might be seen fit to someday win her hand, even though Daisy had by this time married the socially prominent but boorish Tom Buchanan (Martin Donovan). Gatsby has yet to give up on his romantic dream and enlists Nick, who is distantly related to Daisy, in his plan. This production marked the fourth time that The Great Gatsby had been committed to film -- the best known version being Jack Clayton's 1974 adaptation, featuring Robert Redford as Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino, (more)
- 2000
This series is a gritty hard-driving look at an insane asylum. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Burke, Joelle Carter, (more)
- 2000
The border between professional and personal relationships comes under fire in this independent drama. Michael (Martin Donovan) is a filmmaker whose last project featured a beautiful actress named Anna (Irène Jacob). While Michael is trying to work on his next screenplay, he can't get Anna out of his mind, and obsessively watches outtakes from her scenes. Deeply infatuated and desperate for a reason to speak to her, Michael calls Anna and asks is she can help with his script -- he's having some trouble with dialogue and it would help if he could have an actress read the lines with him. Anna agrees, but as she keeps returning to "assist" Michael with his project, he writes more and more of what he wants to hear her say, and his pretense of working on a film begins to melt away. A prizewinner at the Avignon Film Festival, The Pornographer (a love story) also features cameo appearances from Maggie Gyllenhaal and Laura Prepon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Superachiever Claire Raphael (Lorraine Bracco) expertly divides what little time she has between her job, her family, and her invalid mother. As a result, Claire's stay-at-home husband Dennis (Martin Donovan) suffers from a profound inferiority complex. As a means of reclaiming his "manhood," Dennis sues for divorce -- and for the custody of the couple's children. By rights, Claire could challenge her husband; instead, she cuts her losses, starting life (and love) anew in a reconditioned lighthouse. Adapted from Barbara Delinsky's novel A Woman's Place, the made-for-cable Custody of the Heart was first telecast by the Lifetime network on August 28, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorraine Bracco, Martin Donovan, (more)
- 2000
In this offbeat thriller, Halley Fischer (Katja Riemann) is a schoolteacher at an elementary school in Winnipeg where children have been disappearing under mysterious circumstances. Francis (Zachary Bennett) is a single father and classical pianist who supplements his income playing in cocktail lounges. Francis and Halley meet when his daughter is enrolled in her class, and Halley finds herself strongly attracted to the musician, even after learning of his unusual sexual tastes. But the more Halley finds out about Francis, the more she begins to wonder about both him and his highly domineering mother (Elizabeth Shepherd). Meanwhile, a cop (Graham Greene) starts hanging around the neighborhood, looking for clues regarding the missing children. Desire marked the first role in English for noted German actress Katja Riemann. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katja Riemann, Zachary Bennett, (more)
Australian director Bill Bennett sets this exploration of sexual politics and cultural differences against the stunning vistas of the Trobriand Islands. In it, two anthropologists travel to a remote island in the South Pacific to study its culture in the 1930s. Evelyn (Maya Stange) is an adventurous free thinker, while her husband Phillip (Martin Donovan) is a rigid scholar bound to convention and propriety. Tension develops between the couple when Phillip fails to acknowledge what Evelyn sees as obvious: that women run this lusty culture. Tensions are upped another notch when Evelyn falls for Mick (Rufus Sewell), a macho American pearl merchant. As Evelyn's life begins to crash in around her, the Japanese army invades her island paradise and tragedy strikes her priggish husband. In a Savage Land was screened at the 1999 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, Rufus Sewell, (more)
- 1999
Based on a true story, The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer concerns the notorious Ira Einhorn, a political activist turned murder suspect who eluded Philadelphia police for nearly 20 years. In 1968, Texas-born Holly Maddux (Naomi Watts) left home to attend Bryn Mawr College, and two years later she made the acquaintance of Einhorn (Kevin Anderson), a community organizer and activist well known for leading peaceful crusades and as the key figure in Philadelphia's radical community. Holly and Ira became romantically involved, but, despite his public image, behind closed doors Einhorn was often abusive and manipulative, though Holly, for her own reasons, accepted his poor treatment and infidelity. In 1977, Holly had reached the end of her rope and told friends she was leaving Ira, intending to return to their apartment only to collect her belongings. She was not seen again for several months, until her corpse was found stuffed in a trunk in Ira's apartment. Einhorn was arrested in connection with the crime, but was released on bail, only to flee the country, surfacing in France four years later. Convicted 'in absentia' for Holly's murder in 1993, Einhorn was extradited to the United States in 1997 under the condition he receive a new trial. The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer was produced for NBC Television, and was first aired as a two-part miniseries in May 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Anderson, Tom Skerritt, (more)
John Irvin directed this gripping and effective WWII drama set amid the carnage and slaughter of the Hurtgen Forest battle when the Allies moved on toward Germany in the fall of 1944. Private Manning (Ron Eldard) hopes for a Section 8 switch away from the frontline combat, but when he's the only survivor of his platoon, Captain Pritchett (Martin Donovan) is so impressed he upgrades Manning to sergeant. This irritates Sgt. Talbot (Dylan Bruno) who views Manning as a coward. Manning is put in charge of a group of awkward recruits, including the clumsy Sanderson (Zak Orth), as the Allies prepare to take a key location, a well-defended bridge. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival, this television production had its HBO premiere on June 27, 1998. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Eldard, Zak Orth, (more)
Hal Hartley directed this French-produced comedy about the Second Coming of Christ (Martin Donovan), with Thomas Jay Ryan in the role of Satan. While a gambler (David Simonds) and a waitress (Miho Nikaido) talk with Satan in a hotel bar, Jesus arrives at JFK airport with Magdalena (PJ Harvey). Jesus has been sent down to end the world by breaking the Seven Seals on a computer disk in a bowling alley locker room. Made in digital video blown up to 35mm, this film is part of the French "Collection 2000 Seen By" television series of one-hour films about the Millennium (and the only one by an American director). Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, PJ Harvey, (more)
- 1997
Reminiscent of the "best" of David Lynch, the two-part TV movie Night Sins uses a mysterious abduction as catalyst for a progressively bizarre and disturbing expose of small-town corruption, hypocrisy and perversion. When the 8-year-old son of a doctor is kidnapped from his home in the rural Washington town of Deer Lake, government agent Megan O'Malley (Valerie Bertinelli) arrives to investigate. It soon becomes apparent that this most recent abduction is tied in to a string of kidnappings and murders that have occurred in the region over the past twenty years. As Megan pursues her investigation with the help of friendly local cop Mitch Holt (Harry Hamlin)--to whom she grows extremely close--innumerable local skeletons are dredged out of innumerable local closets. In fact, it seems that everyone concerned with the story is harboring a dark, unsavory secret--including Megan. If nothing else, this offbeat melodrama may well be the only TV movie to feature an evil chess club! Originally telecast on CBS, Night Sins was first seen on February 23 and 25, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In Eran Palatnik's The Rook, Martin Donovan plays John Abbott, a religious detective investigating the murder of a young woman named Wain Shepard. He travels to the village of Sutheridge in a horse-drawn carriage and meets Police Chief Bob Brice (John A. MacKay), who shows him the body. There is sand under her nails, she's bald, and her stomach bears an odd design, a spiral with crosses. In her room, there is a picture of Abbott himself, with another note, "Beware, beware, the circle in the square." The rest of the film is rife with codes, ambiguous messages, and cryptograms, each more puzzling than the last. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, John A. MacKay, (more)
- 1993
In this erotic thriller, two bunco artists ply their trade in Miami Beach. They prey upon wealthy marks; the female grifter uses all her wiles to seduce men out of their cash. It works fine until she tries to con ex-G-man Jack Shanks. He catches on and ends up blackmailing her into helping him get a little revenge in Jamaica. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
- 1991
Made for PBS' American Playhouse, Surviving Desire is a very short romantic comedy starring Martin Donovan and Mary Ward. He's an uninspired college literature professor. She's a kooky student, and the only member of Donovan's class who doesn't doze off during his lectures. The comedy relies upon the inevitable pairing of two vague, aimless, but very recognizable campus types. The videocassette version of Surving Desire is filled out with two other short subjects directed by Hal Hartley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, Mary Ward, (more)
- 1984
In this odd mix of social commentary, forbidden romance, police action thriller, and teenage delinquency, a well-meaning social worker slowly careens off the charts when a 15-year-old teen is about to receive a stiff sentence as an accessory to a crime. Bobby (Gary McCleery) is driving the getaway car when his two brothers run into trouble in a robbery and shoot a policeman to death. The trio of siblings is quickly apprehended, and Bobby is thrown in jail until the judge can decide whether to try him as an adult or not. Not a moment behind it all is Laura (Margaret Klenck), a young woman who runs a non-profit agency dedicated to making sure young teens are not given adult sentences for their criminal behavior. When it looks like Bobby will get a life sentence, Laura cannot accept the inevitable and asks a close friend (and drug-runner) to help her out - and then she walks into the sheriff's office with a gun and gets Bobby out of jail. Her drug-running friend spirits them off to Florida, where Laura and Bobby hide out and begin a romantic entanglement - just another mistake in a long series of mistakes that have placed the two in a dangerous and impossible situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary McCleery, John Seitz, (more)
