Annabella Sciorra Movies
Born in Connecticut and raised in New York City, Annabella Sciorra began her formal acting training at 13 years old, when she began attending the prestigious Hagen-Berghoff theatrical studios. By the time she was an adult, Sciorra was able to make a well-received film debut as an angst-ridden, Italian-American, Brooklyn-raised bride in 1989's True Love. Before long, the young actress found herself starring largely in wife and girlfriend roles opposite Hollywood A-listers including Tim Robbins, Robin Williams, and Richard Gere. Sciorra's supporting roles in Reversal of Fortune (1990) and The Hard Way (1991) were so successful, in fact, that they led to her breakout performance as Angie Tucci, the Italian-American woman in love with the African-American protagonist, played by Wesley Snipes, in director Spike Lee's groundbreaking urban drama Jungle Fever (1991). Sciorra's skill led to a slew of roles throughout the 1990s, most of them character parts; from Mr. Wonderful to The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to Romeo Is Bleeding, the actress proved her ability, though it wouldn't be until 1997's Cop Land that Sciorra's talent as a supporting actress was showcased to her fans' satisfaction. After a powerful performance as Annie Nielson, who contemplates suicide after the death of her husband and children in What Dreams May Come (1998), Sciorra participated in a variety of moderately faring movies until 2001, when she made her debut as tough-as-nails Italian-American Gloria Trillo in the third season of HBO's hit series The Sopranos. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- 1996
- R
In this Quentin Tarantino-style blood-drenched pseudo-film noir, Denis Leary plays a hood named Johnny who, after getting out of prison, dedicates himself to exacting revenge on mobsters who brutally injured his father. Ned Lynch (Larry Bishop, who wrote the screenplay) attacked Johnny's father, causing him to become permanently brain-dead. Johnny travels in a limousine and targets those who he believes may be responsible in a series of killings that take place on Father's Day. His main target is Frank (Joe Mantegna), but he is not certain that Frank is responsible for what happened to his father. Johnny, who has taught himself psychology in prison, takes Frank to a sex therapist, Dr. Diane Leah (Annabella Sciorra), as part of his cat-and-mouse game, in hopes of eventually learning the identity of his father's attacker. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denis Leary, Joe Mantegna, (more)
- 1995
- R
- Add National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins to Queue Add National Lampoon's Favorite Deadly Sins to top of Queue
Caustic chain-smoking comedian Denis Leary helms this boffo comedy about lust, greed, and anger. Low-brow poster boy Andrew Dice Clay stars as The Thing That Wouldn't Die. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Erik (Brad Renfro) is a 13-year-old boy whose single mother, Gail (Diana Scarwid), has just moved to a new home in Minnesota. Erik feels like a fish out of water with his Southern accent, and he has trouble making friends until he meets Dexter (Joseph Mazzello), a kid a year or two younger who lives next door. Erik and Dexter get along fine, but Gail tells Erik not to go near Dexter when she learns that he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion a few years ago. Erik ignores his mother's instructions and stands up for the frail Dexter at school, while Dexter's mom Linda (Annabella Sciorra) gives Erik the warmth, affection, and home cooking that Gail is too busy to provide. However, both boys are painfully aware of Dexter's illness, and when one of them spots a headline in a supermarket tabloid that a doctor in New Orleans has discovered a cure for AIDS, they run away together, determined to find the doctor and bring Dexter back as good as new. The Cure was the theatrical feature debut for actor-turned-director Peter Horton, who cut his directorial teeth on the TV series The Wonder Years and thirtysomething. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joseph Mazzello, Brad Renfro, (more)
In this suspense drama, Alan Terry (Rupert Graves) is a homeless man who wanders the streets of London. One night, Alan is trying to sleep near a bridge when he witnesses a strange and grisly murder; a man, speaking Italian, is hanged by four other men, one also speaking Italian while the other three have British accents. When Alan's presence is discovered by the killers, they give chase, and Alan is barely able to escape. However, the following day the papers report the death as a suicide; on the advice of his friend George (Graham Crowden), Alan goes to the police to tell what he saw. However, when Alan is introduced to Detective Matheson (Michael Gambon), the man investigating the case, he realizes that Matheson was one of the men who helped hang the victim. Assuming that Matheson would not be a good person with whom to discuss the case, Alan instead goes to Billie Hayman (Annabella Sciorra), an American journalist working in London who is able to bring Alan's side of the story to the people; Alan and Billie soon discover that this murder is far more complicated, and with more disturbing implications than they ever could have imagined. Though fictional, The Innocent Sleep was inspired by the true story of the death of Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker who was murdered in London in 1982. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rupert Graves, Annabella Sciorra, (more)
- 1995
- NR
Director Abel Ferrara applies his eccentric vision to the vampire genre with this cerebral "Art" film about graduate philosophy student Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), who is bitten by an aggressive female vampire (Annabella Sciorra) and soon spirals into a nightmarish world of blood addiction and existential angst. Driven by her merciless condition, she attacks several of her pretentious friends and classmates (even her professor) and mainlines their blood like heroin. Just as she becomes more bold in seeking prey on the streets of New York, she is waylaid by a potential victim -- actually a sophisticated vampire himself named Peina (Christopher Walken), who chooses to control his own blood addiction through fasting and meditation. Seeming to regain her self-control, she eventually completes her graduate thesis (helped by a bit of vampire nepotism) and holds a party to celebrate, inviting the entire faculty as well as members of her new "family" to join in the festivities. Although the parallels to heroin addiction are in plain view, this is also a study in the essential evil of humankind -- a theme evident in much of Ferrara's work. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, (more)
New York cop Jack Grimaldi (Gary Oldman) has a nice home, a stunning wife Natalie (Annabella Sciorra), and a sweet, if stupid mistress, Sheri (Juliette Lewis). Jack also earns extra money by betraying mob witnesses to Mafia-boss Don Falcone (Roy Scheider). Assigned to guard the viciously sexy Russian-born hit woman, Mona Demarkov (Lena Olin), Jack is almost instantly seduced and allows Mona to escape. Falcone orders Jack to find and kill Mona, and threatens to murder him if he fails. Mona offers to pay Jack to help her eliminate Falcone and fake her own death. Several plot twists and turns later, Jack is left with his life in shambles. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, (more)
A young man (Matt Dillon) is trying to go in with his friends on a bowling-alley investment, but finds that his finances are too strapped to attempt the venture. To curb his outlays, he begins arranging a marriage for his ex-wife (Annabella Sciorra) so he can end the alimony payments which keep him in debt. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Annabella Sciorra, (more)
- 1993
- R
Two people fall in love without meeting -- and discover a wealth of complications when they try to get together -- in this romantic comedy. Even though he's about to be married, Brian McVeigh (Kevin Anderson) doesn't want to give up his old apartment, where he can swill beer, scarf pizza, and be as much of a slob as he wants. He decides to hold onto his flat as a weekend clubhouse, but he rents it out to other people during the week. Brian's new tenants, sharing the place on alternating days, are Sam (Matthew Broderick), an aspiring gourmet chef who's just been dumped by his spacey girlfriend Pastel (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and Ellen (Annabella Sciorra), who is stuck in an unhappy marriage and wants a place to work on her art. Ellen mistakenly assumes that Brian is the guy who leaves her gourmet snacks and admiring notes about how much he likes her paintings, and when she sets up a liaison with Brian, she wonders how the seemingly perfect man could be such a loser in person. The Night We Never Met also features Justine Bateman as Brian's fiancée and Christine Baranski as Ellen's best friend. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Annabella Sciorra, (more)
- 1992
- R
- Add The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to Queue Add The Hand That Rocks the Cradle to top of Queue
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is director Curtis Hanson's suburban horror story of a demented nanny bent on revenge for past wrongs. Peyton (Rebecca De Mornay) was once a happily married woman, but when her doctor husband is accused of assaulting a patient and he commits suicide, her world falls apart and she plots revenge. Claire (Annabella Sciorra), the woman who made the accusation, hires Peyton as a nanny, not knowing of their past involvement. Peyton then proceeds to terrorize the family, attempts to seduce the husband and generally destroy Claire as she feels she has been destroyed. The film, while somewhat implausible, is saved by the strong performances of Sciorra and De Mornay. Rebecca De Mornay has not given such a good performance since Risky Business, and she manages to make Peyton both believable, frightening and sympathetic. De Mornay has many great moments, but the scene, where she slowly destroys a bathroom in her impotent rage is unbelievably powerful. Hanson, a superb director of thrillers, manages to bring all the elements together to make The Hand that Rocks the Cradle a frightening psychological thriller and an interesting look at a woman's obsessive hatred and envy. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, (more)
When the sadomasochistic sexual fantasies of a Manhattan psychiatrist's disturbed patient begin leaking into the troubled doctor's subconscious, a heated love affair leads to a series of shocking murders in this erotic thriller from Off Limits director Christopher Crowe. The confessions of a sexually obsessed patient are slowly working their way into the dreams of psychiatrist Ann Heckler (Annabella Sciorra), and though the practical advice of her university mentor, Dr. Leo Green (Alan Alda), does little to quell her erotic visions, a torrid affair with handsome pilot Doug McDowell (Jamey Sheridan) at least provides a satisfying momentary distraction. When one of Ann's patients is discovered murdered and all evidence suggests that her new lover is the culprit, Ann must make a choice to put her trust in Doug or escape with her life while she still can. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Annabella Sciorra, Jamey Sheridan, (more)
Action film director John Badham bites the hand that feeds him in this action movie spoof that features ribbing of pretty-boy Hollywood action stars by Michael J. Fox and a parody of colorful, hair-trigger James Woods types by the man himself. Woods plays New York homicide detective John Moss, who is within an inch of closing in on a serial killer who calls himself The Party Crasher (Stephen Lang) because his specialty is shooting his victims in the middle of discos. Chasing The Party Crasher after his latest victim has been dispatched, Moss finds himself hanging onto the door of a speeding truck with The Party Crasher at the wheel. When Moss is thrown off the truck and nearly killed, The Party Crasher escapes, and Moss is taken off the case. Moss is given a new assignment --to tag around with Hollywood action film star Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox), the popular hero of the "Smoking Gun" movies. Lang spotted Moss on a television news show and thinks he would be the ideal cop to study for adding authenticity to an up-coming police action picture. Posing as Moss's rookie partner, Lang follows Moss everywhere, proceeding to spoil his pursuit of The Party Crasher and interfering with Moss's burgeoning affair with his girlfriend Susan (Anabella Sciorra). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael J. Fox, James Woods, (more)
- 1991
This made-for-cable women-in-prison film is an anthology collecting three short subjects. In the first, a pregnant inmate (Rae Dawn Chong) must seek protection from a gang; in the middle film, a prisoner tries to keep her family from following her lead into a life of crime; and in the closer, a killer (Lolita Davidovich) facing parole is loathe to leave the security of life behind bars. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rae Dawn Chong, Lolita Davidovich, (more)
Spike Lee defines "jungle fever" as sexual attraction between members of two races. In his film Jungle Fever, he examines the repercussions of an interracial affair upon two very distinct communities. Wesley Snipes is Flipper, a happily married and successful architect, and Annabella Sciorra is Angie, an office temp. When she starts working in Flipper's Manhattan office, one day they look at each other and are soon having sex over a blueprint-strewn desk. Their liaison causes an explosion on both homefronts. Flipper's family consists of his father Doctor Purify (Ossie Davis), a former preacher; his mother Lucinda (Ruby Dee); his violent, crackhead brother Gator (Samuel L. Jackson); and his wife Drew (Lonette McKee), whom he loves, despite his sexual attraction to Angie. Angie's family is a typical Italian-American household from Bensonhurst. She's engaged to Paulie Carbonne (John Turturro), who works in a deli owned by his father Lou (Anthony Quinn). When the two families find out about Flipper and Angie's affair, their shock leads to recriminations and racial animosity. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, (more)
This film is a darkly humorous, determinedly ambiguous adaptation of Alan Dershowitz's book about his successful legal appeal of Claus von Bulow's conviction for the attempted murder of his wife, Martha "Sunny" von Bulow. Sunny (Glenn Close) -- who remains in a "persistent vegetative state" resulting from a suspicious injection of insulin -- narrates the film, summarizing the first murder trial, which ended with Claus (Jeremy Irons) convicted and released on bail pending appeal. Claus approaches Harvard Law professor Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to handle the case. Working with a small group of law students recruited from his classes, Dershowitz presents sufficient new evidence to cast doubt as to Claus' guilt and the veracity of the star witness, her maid. Jeremy Irons' extraordinary, Oscar-winning performance dominates the film. He plays the role of Claus with a alternatively pompous, aloof snobbishness and an engagingly enigmatic, kinky, sly humor. Barbet Schroeder was also nominated for an Academy Award for his extraordinary, off-beat, direction of this sophisticated, exceptionally intelligent legal drama. Reversal of Fortune with its sharp, witty, Oscar-nominated screenplay by Nicholas Kazan is unusual in its understanding that legal guilt and moral culpability are not the same thing -- making for an unusually provocative tragicomedy of bad manners and bad behavior among the rich. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, (more)
Robin Williams stars in this oddball comedy about a fast-talking car salesman who is down on his luck and in over his head until an extreme situation forces him to use his sales skills to save lives. Joey O'Brien (Williams) is the stereotypical car salesman: enterprising, aggressive, and desperate to make enough money to spend on his high-maintenance girlfriends. But suddenly the pressure is really on: he owes money to the mob, his ex-wife is nagging him about not spending enough time with their teenage daughter, and if he doesn't sell at least a dozen cars by the time the big sale is over on Saturday, he's going to lose his job. As Joey attempts to placate several potential buyers, his day is interrupted by Larry (Tim Robbins), the insanely jealous husband of dimwitted showroom receptionist Donna (Annabella Sciorra), who's been having an affair with someone who works at the dealership. With the police surrounding the place, his job (and life) on the line, Joey realizes that it's up to him to use his wits to persuade Larry -- who's not even sure what he wants out of the situation -- not to kill anyone. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, (more)
In this glossy L.A. crime drama by Mike Figgis, Andy Garcia stars as Sgt. Raymond Avila, a cop who just joined the Internal Affairs division of the L.A.P.D. An investigation into police corruption has led Avila and his partner, Sgt. Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf), to Officer Dennis Peck (Richard Gere). Avila suspects something about Peck from the beginning; his influence and dominance over others seems to extend further than the reach of his badge. When officers who wish to testify against Peck start dying, the depth of his corruption becomes increasingly clear; at his disposal, he has an army of cops and criminals alike. He even agrees to assassinate a sleazy businessman's own parents, and humiliates the businessman while they make the deal. In his drive to dominate others, Peck attempts to seduce almost every woman around him and is obsessed with children and fatherhood. Peck is most dangerous when the investigation threatens his territory and his extended family; he stalks Avila and turns him against his wife (Nancy Travis). ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, (more)
Independent filmmaker Nancy Savoca's True Love stars Annabella Sciorra as a none-too-bright young lady who evinces untapped brilliance in getting her boyfriend Ron Eldard to the altar. Sciorra's work is certainly cut out for her: Eldard, who prefers chumming around with his old high school chums, is a virtual stranger to the word "commitment." Even so, a wedding date is set, and the guests begin gathering. Will the bells peal for Sciorra, or is she in for another let-down? Hardly original material, True Love scores in its "little truths" about the characters: these are people that you and I know all too well, no matter what our social standing in life. Co-written by Nancy Savoca and her husband Richard Guay, the film won first prize at the Utah-based US Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, (more)
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