flicks
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
this is my father, 1998
plot:
rather straightfwd, and probably unlikely.
widowed high school (history?) teacher who's sort of feeling stagnant. mother is post stroke. finds an old photograph of her. decides to go back to ireland, her hometown to get to know more about his family history [thus the title; an assignment he was giving his students]. sister convinces him to take her son, who's in high school and struggling with school.
get to ireland. and a bit of a run-around but then the mom at the B&B basically tells them the entire story.
kieran and fiona get together despite things being against them.
irish roman catholic church - against everything human nearly.
fiona's mother who drinks too much, controlling.
they do it amongst the hay; kieran gets prosecuted. fiona gets sent off. kieran's parents tell him to leave the place b/c they don't want to lose their land. eventually no charges are pressed. the photo that kieran leaves for fiona with the note on the back that goes unanswered (but somehow makes her cry, sort of "breaking" through the stroke; but how does she know it's from him? i could understand familiarity, opening up fresh wounds making some headway into someone's psyche, but making the connections would require some higher level of cortical processing, no? but it is touching though - love that transcends time and death). she writes him a note, which goes unanswered too b/c he has hung himself by the end of the day. rather quick sequence of events that leaves things that can't be changed obviously.
was there a curse? a mini-one on fiona's ma, but the one left on kiernan's father - is that partially the reason that he's a widowed stagnant HS teacher?
obviously kiernan is kiernan's, but his sister must have been someone else's.
oh, and the nephew - has fun running around with 2 irish gals who were fun with cool accents. i'm assuming that'll make him a better student once school starts again.
Kieran Johnson - James Caan. did an okay job acting. not too emotional, involved role. other than breakdown at the grave of his father - "i think you would have liked me"
Kieran O'Day - Aidan Quinn. did a really good job. orphan, who was taken in by an old couple - common in those days to do that to have someone work the land. a lot of scenes with him laboring - peat moss digging 'n all. simple man, a farmer. he knew how to read, write, was good with words. a wee bit socially awkward - speech, beats people at dances and such.
Fiona Flynn - Moya Farrelly; supposedly her debut? she was really good as the vibrant, willful, beautiful young woman. was at school, but not getting along well with the strict nuns. for some reason picked kieran - hints that other boys were cowards and she was hoping he was a man.
Widow Flynn - Gina Moxley. alcoholic. husband=the captain, who obviously died. only one who could make her happy. rigid, strict, concerned about public position. not warm, motherly. did feel her daughter's pain when she told her that kieran hung himself.
to continue along the cusack tradition. and the irish overtones were nice. makes me want to travel there again. green is just so good for the eyes. and thoughts of grazing - yum...
gift tree. was sweet to have their own place to leave simple gifts for one another, hang out and grope. :P
it's late. i can't sleep. and i can't really study.
movie: rented by sq from bethlehem library (yay!). fountainhead pizza and stewart's ice cream. : )
john cusack
imdb search
Actor - filmography
1. Doll's House, A (2005) (announced) .... Torvald Helmer
... aka Dukkehjem, Et (2005) (Norway)
2. Martian Child, The (2005) (pre-production)
3. Ice Harvest (2005) (post-production) .... Charlie Arglist
4. Runaway Jury (2003) .... Nicholas Easter
5. Identity (2003) .... Ed
6. Max (2002/I) .... Max Rothman
7. Serendipity (2001) .... Jonathan Trager
8. America's Sweethearts (2001) .... Eddie Thomas
9. High Fidelity (2000) .... Rob Gordon
10. Being John Malkovich (1999) .... Craig Schwartz
11. Cradle Will Rock (1999) .... Nelson Rockefeller
12. Pushing Tin (1999) .... Nick Falzone
... aka Turbulenzen - und andere Katastrophen (2000) (Germany)
13. Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) .... Myrl Redding
14. Thin Red Line, The (1998) .... Capt. Gaff
15. This Is My Father (1998/I) .... Eddie Sharp, the Pilot
... aka Histoire de mon père, L' (1998) (Canada: French title: TV title)
16. Chicago Cab (1998) .... Scary Man
... aka Hellcab (1998) (USA: video title)
17. Anastasia (1997) (voice) .... Dimitri
18. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) .... John Kelso
19. Con Air (1997) .... U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin
20. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) .... Martin Q. Blank
21. City Hall (1996) .... Deputy Mayor Kevin Calhoun
22. Road to Wellville, The (1994) .... Charles Ossining
23. Bullets Over Broadway (1994) .... David Shayne
24. Floundering (1994) .... JC
25. Money for Nothing (1993/I) .... Joey Coyle
26. Map of the Human Heart (1993) .... The Mapmaker
27. Roadside Prophets (1992) (as John Cusak) .... Casper
28. Bob Roberts (1992) .... Cutting Edge Host
29. Shadows and Fog (1992) .... Student Jack
30. True Colors (1991) .... Peter Burton
31. Grifters, The (1990) .... Roy Dillon
32. Elvis Stories (1989) .... Corky
33. Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) .... Michael Merriman
... aka Shadow Makers (1989) (UK)
34. Say Anything... (1989) .... Lloyd Dobler
... aka ...Say Anything... (1989) (USA: promotional title)
35. Tapeheads (1988) .... Ivan Alexeev
36. Eight Men Out (1988) .... Buck Weaver
37. Broadcast News (1987) (as John Cusak) .... Angry Messenger
38. Hot Pursuit (1987) .... Dan Bartlett
... aka Persecución intensa (1987) (Mexico)
39. One Crazy Summer (1986) .... Hoops McCann
40. Stand by Me (1986) .... Denny Lachance
41. Better Off Dead... (1985) .... Lane Myer
... aka Better Off Dead (1985) (USA)
42. Journey of Natty Gann, The (1985) .... Harry
43. Sure Thing, The (1985) .... Walter (Gib) Gibson
44. Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) .... Johnny Maine
45. Sixteen Candles (1984) .... Bryce
46. Class (1983) .... Roscoe Maibaum
Producer - filmography
1. 2.2 (2002) (producer)
2. Cosmic Banditos (2002) (producer)
3. Max (2002/I) (associate producer)
4. Never Get Outta the Boat (2002) (executive producer)
5. High Fidelity (2000) (co-producer)
6. Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) (executive producer)
7. Chicago Cab (1998) (executive producer)
... aka Hellcab (1998) (USA: video title)
8. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) (co-producer)
Writer - filmography
1. High Fidelity (2000) (screenplay)
2. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) (screenplay)
Miscellaneous Crew - filmography
1. High Fidelity (2000) (music supervisor)
Himself - filmography
1. 76th Annual Academy Awards, The (2004) (TV) .... Himself - Co presenter: Best Documentary Short
2. Road to 'The Sure Thing' (2003) (V) .... Himself
3. Breakfast with Hunter (2003) .... Himself
4. Adaptation. (2002) (uncredited) .... Himself
5. Concert for New York City, The (2001) (TV) .... Himself
6. America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV) .... Himself
7. Eastwood on Eastwood (1997) (TV) .... Narrator
8. "Baseball" (1994) (mini) TV Series (voice) .... Himself
9. Player, The (1992) .... Himself
10. Making of 'Class', The (1983) (TV) .... Himself
Notable TV Guest Appearances
1. "Tinseltown TV" (2002) playing "Himself" 18 October 2003
2. "Extra" (1994) playing "Himself" 10 October 2003
3. "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" (1989) playing "Himself" 25 April 2003
4. "Rosie O'Donnell Show, The" (1996) playing "Himself" 11 April 1997
5. "Frasier" (1993) playing "Greg" (voice) in episode: "Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven" (episode # 4.8) 9 December 1996
