Passion Play (film)
| Passion Play | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mitch Glazer |
| Written by | Mitch Glazer |
| Produced by | Daniel Dubiecki Megan Ellison Rebecca Wang-(executive producer) Tyler Kwon (executive producer) Andrea Chung (co-producer) Dan Keston (co-producer) Bergen Swanson (co-producer) |
| Starring | Mickey Rourke Rhys Ifans Bill Murray Megan Fox |
| Cinematography | Christopher Doyle |
| Edited by | Billy Weber |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Image Entertainment[1] |
Release date |
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| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15 million |
| Box office | $2,060 |
Passion Play is an American drama film that premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is written and directed by Mitch Glazer and stars Mickey Rourke. Filming for the production began in December 2009.[2]
Plot
Nate (Mickey Rourke), a small-time jazz musician, is clearly a hard-luck case. After a performance one night, he is mugged and bound. He awakens to find himself in a vehicle driving him out to the desert, but he is helpless to do anything about it. His assailant then walks him into the desert and is about to assassinate Nate, when he is shot by a band of Indians and Nate is left unharmed. Nate then finds a circus in the desert, and is drawn to the exotic beauty of Lily (Megan Fox), a woman who has wings on her back and is named the Bird Woman at the circus. Lily is cold and dismissive, but it dawns on her that this gentle giant may well be her way out of this life. Lily's father attempts to kill Nate, but Lily rescues him by stealing a truck and together with Nate they escape and flee to the city.
Nate and Lily begin to form a relationship. Nate, fearing another assassination attempt, seeks out Happy Shannon (Bill Murray), a heartless businessman with deep pockets who ordered the assassination of Nate as revenge for Nate having slept with his late wife (whom Happy suggests he had killed). Nate offers to put Lily on display for paying customers, and offers Happy 75%, with him to have the remainder. Happy dismisses the proposal and does not believe that Lily has wings, but later see's for himself using binoculars.
Happy then abducts Lily, and to keep Lily content, he agrees not to harm Nate so long as Nate stays away from Lily. Nate realizes he is in love with Lily, and attempts to break her out of Happy's custody. Together with Lily they run to the top of a building chased by Happy's men. Nate tries to convince Lily to fly away, but Lily does not have confidence that she can fly. Nate then jumps off the building and Lily then jumps after him, discovering that she can fly. She catches Nate before hitting the ground and together they fly off into the desert.
Nate then looks down on the ground below as they are flying and sees his corpse in the spot of the desert where the Indians had shot his assassin, suggesting that everything that happened from that point had been a dream.
Cast
- Mickey Rourke as Nate Poole
- Kelly Lynch as Harriet
- Bill Murray as Happy Shannon
- Megan Fox as Lily
- Lora Cunningham as Nurse Kohl
- Mike Miller as Drunken Millionaire Singer
- Bernardo Gallegos as the father
- Jimmy Scott as himself[3]
Reception
Passion Play premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival with critical reviews of the film's director. Sources say that the movie was still in the middle of editing when the film debuted in Toronto and the Premiere of the film, although star powered and highly publicised, was premature. Director Mitch Glazer explains in Vanity Fair that the final film is very different than the one shown in Toronto.[4]
Despite the Toronto Film Festival being an industry contained festival, rapid-traveling word of mouth put a dent into the anticipated release of Passion Play.
Festival reviews included Variety describing it as "Perversely eccentric and frequently inert."[5] In a video review, David Poland extended his condolences to director Mitch Glazer for his twenty-year dedication in realizing the project, but described the experience as "...an absolute car wreck."[6] eFilmCritic's Erik Childress left the screening after an hour and declared it "Awful."[7] Karina Longworth from Village Voice asserted that "it's hard to imagine that anyone will take Passion Play nearly as seriously as it takes itself."[8]
Release
Despite initial reports that the film was going straight to DVD due to the negative critical reaction at the Toronto International Film Festival, Image Entertainment announced Passion Play will be given a limited theatrical run, starting on May 6 in New York and Los Angeles.[9]
Director Mitch Glazer confirmed the new release had a final cut vastly improved by a "generation" from the very rough cut screened in Toronto. [10]
Despite these assurances, audiences did not turn out to watch it. According to boxofficemojo, the movie "stirred practically zero interest with around $2,000 at two locations (by comparison, also at two locations, Hobo with a Shotgun opened to $12,046)." [11]
Reference
- ^ The Hollywood Reporter
- ^ "Passion Play Is Filming!" Retrieved December 29, 2009
- ^ "Full Cast and Crew" at IMDB.com Retrieved December 29, 2009
- ^ Q&A with Mitch Glazer. Vanity Fair. 05-05-2011
- ^ Anderson, John (September 15, 2010). "Variety Reviews - Passion Play - Film Reviews". Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ "Up On Review - Passion Play". Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ "@EriktheMovieman via MOTOBLUR". Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ "Megan Fox vs. Natalie Portman in the Battle of the Bird Girl Movies - Toronto Day 2". Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ Megan Fox's 'Passion Play' Struggles For Theater Play. Huffington Post. 2011-03-11.
- ^ Q&A: Mitch Glazer on Megan Fox, Mickey Rourke, and His New Miami Gangster Series Vanity Fair. 2011-05-06.
- ^ Weekend Report: 'Thor' Thwacks It Within the Park. Boxofficemojo. 2011-05-11.