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The Anniversary Party

Original poster
Directed byJennifer Jason Leigh
Alan Cumming
Produced byJennifer Jason Leigh
Alan Cumming
Written byJennifer Jason Leigh
Alan Cumming
StarringJennifer Jason Leigh
Alan Cumming
Kevin Kline
Gwyneth Paltrow
Music byMichael Penn
CinematographyJohn Bailey
Editing byCarol Littleton
Suzanne Spangler
Distributed byFine Line Features
Release date(s)June 8, 2001 Flag of the United States United States
Running time115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
IMDb profile

The Anniversary Party is a 2001 American drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming. Jennifer Jason Leigh (born February 5, 1962) is a Golden Globe -nominated and two-time NYFCC Award -winning American Actress Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965 is a Scottish film and stage Actor, perhaps best known for his supporting roles as Boris Grishenko in the Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24 1947 is an American Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and two time Tony Award -winning stage and film Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27 1972 is an Academy Award - Golden Globe - and double Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American Michael Penn (born August 1, 1958, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is an American Singer and Songwriter John Bailey, ASC (born August 10, 1942) is American Cinematographer and Film director. Carol Littleton (born in 1948 in Oklahoma) is the Academy Award -nominated American feature Film editor of E Fine Line Features was the speciality films division of New Line Cinema. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The year 2001 in film involved some significant events (For more about non-English films check sources in those languages The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A drama film is a Film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes Jennifer Jason Leigh (born February 5, 1962) is a Golden Globe -nominated and two-time NYFCC Award -winning American Actress Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965 is a Scottish film and stage Actor, perhaps best known for his supporting roles as Boris Grishenko in the

Contents

Plot synopsis

Sally Nash and Joe Therrian are a Hollywood couple celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary shortly after reconciling following a period of separation. He is a novelist who is about to direct the screen adaptation of his most recent bestseller; she is an actress he has opted not to cast in the lead role, despite the fact it's based on her, because he feels she's too old for the part. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story This decision, coupled with an ongoing dispute about their barking dog Otis with their straight-laced, non-industry neighbors, clean-and-sober writer Ryan and interior decorator Monica Rose, has resulted in an undercurrent of tension between the two as they prepare for the arrival of their guests. Among them are aging actor Cal Gold, Sally's co-star in the romantic comedy film she presently is shooting, his wife Sophia, and their two young children; director Mac Forsyth, who is helming Sally and Cal's film, and his anorexic, neurotic wife Clair; photographer Gina Taylor, whose relationship with Joe prior to his marriage and ongoing close friendship since troubles Sally; business manager Jerry Adams and his wife Judy; eccentric violinist Levi Panes; Jeffrey, Joe's roommate - and lover - at Oxford; and up-and-coming actress Skye Davidson, whom Joe has cast in the role Sally believes deservedly is hers. Romantic comedy films, colloquially known as romcom, are movies with light-hearted humorous plotlines centered around romantic ideals such as a True love able to This article describes the term in psychology For the experimental metal band see Neurosis (band. The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the In an effort to dispel the simmering animosity between them and their neighbors, Sally and Joe have invited the Roses as well.

The early part of the evening is devoted to charades and lighthearted entertainment. Charades or charade (ʃəˈradz shə-rahdz or /ʃəˈre(ɪdz/ shə-raidz) is a word Guessing game. Following a series of toasts offered by the guests, Joe distributes the ecstasy Skye brought them as a gift. MDMA ( 34-methylenedioxy- N -methylamphetamine) most commonly known today by the street name Ecstasy (often abbreviated E, X, As it begins to take effect, the night deteriorates, accusations are made, secrets are revealed, and relationships slowly unravel. Complicating emotions triggered by the drug are the disappearance of Otis and a phone call from Joe's father bringing tragic news about his beloved sister Lucy.

Production notes

In an episode of the Sundance Channel series Anatomy of a Scene, the filmmakers discussed the project at length. Sundance Channel is a Cable television network devoted to airing independent feature films, World cinema, documentaries, Short Anatomy of a Scene is a Television series produced by and aired regularly on Sundance Channel since 2001. Because of conflicting schedules, there was a period of only 19 days in which the entire cast—consisting of friends and actors with whom Leigh and Cumming previously had worked—would be available for filming. This prompted the decision to film using digital video, which Leigh felt also added a sense of immediacy and intimacy that would draw the audience into the action as party guests observing everything from the sidelines. Digital video is a type of Video recording system that works by using a Digital rather than an analog video signal

The order in which the toasts were made was determined before the scene was filmed but, with the exception of that offered by Skye, they were ad libbed rather than scripted.

The film's soundtrack includes "I Know a Place" by Petula Clark, "I May Never Go Home Anymore" by Marlene Dietrich, "Comin' Home Baby" by Mel Tormé, "There Is No Greater Love" and "A Lot of Livin' to Do" by Sammy Davis Jr., "Stealing My Love from Me" by Lulu, and the Adagio from the Sonata No. "I Know a Place" was a 1965 single by Petula Clark, the singer's second US Top Ten hit Petula Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932 is an English singer actress and Composer best known for her upbeat popular international hits Marlene Dietrich maɐˈleːnə ˈdiːtrɪç (December 27 &ndashMay 6) was a German -born American Actress, Singer and Entertainer Melvin Howard Tormé ( September 13, 1925 &ndash June 5, 1999) nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician known as Samuel George “Sammy” Davis Jr (8 December 1925 &ndash 16 May 1990 was an American Entertainer. This is an article about an American automobile company For other subjects with similar names see Lulu. 1 in G minor by Johann Sebastian Bach. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise"

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2001 prior to its limited release in the US the following month. The Cannes Film Festival (le Festival de Cannes founded in 1946 is one of the world's oldest most influential and prestigious Film festivals alongside Venice, It grossed $4,013,506 in the US and $884,559 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $4,898,065 [1].

Principal cast

Critical reception

In his review in the New York Times, Stephen Holden called it "an articulate, acutely observant film [that] makes you realize how starved Hollywood movies are for great ensemble acting . . . the movie has such finely woven performances that the best scenes project a convincing illusion of spontaneity . . . Ms. Leigh and Mr. Cumming's screenplay does an amazing job of creating about a dozen fully rounded, nuanced characters with a minimum of words. The dialogue, though it comes quickly and in scraps, is so juicy that the zest with which the actors bite into it suggests they invented it themselves . . . This isn't Chekhov, by any stretch of the imagination. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ( –) (Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов) was a Russian short-story writer and Playwright, considered to be one The empathy the film extends to its characters may be evenly distributed, but it isn't all-embracing. Yet despite its shortcomings, this smart, caustic movie is easily the most incisive and realistic comedy of manners to emerge from Hollywood in quite a while, and that's saying a lot. " [2]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "The appeal of the film is largely voyeuristic. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily Newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. We learn nothing we don't already more or less know, but the material is covered with such authenticity and unforced natural conviction that it plays like a privileged glimpse into the sad lives of the rich and famous. We're like the neighbors who are invited. Leigh and Cumming . . . are confident professionals who don't indulge their material or themselves. This isn't a confessional home movie, but a cool and intelligent look at a lifestyle where smart people are required to lead their lives according to dumb rules. " [3]

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle said, "Leigh and Cumming save the best roles for themselves, and both their roles reach major emotional crescendoes. The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H Mick LaSalle (born May 7, 1959) is an American Film critic currently writing for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author Yet to their credit, with all the video in the world at their disposal and nobody to rein them in, they don't indulge themselves. They're both brilliant, spot-on and wonderfully true. The Anniversary Party is probably one of those miracles that can happen only once. Still one can't help hoping that Leigh and Cumming collaborate on another film. " [4]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone stated, "The final result should be a self-indulgent mess - and, in truth, the final third of the film comes close. This is about the film critic For the singing colleague of Mary Travers see Peter Yarrow. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published But until Leigh and Cumming let their actorly urge for high drama blunt their flair for bracing wit and subtle feeling, they turn what could have been an acting stunt into an intimate and compelling study of bruised emotions . . . [They] were fortunate to secure the services of master cinematographer John Bailey, who brings textured marvels of light and shadow to digital camerawork that is often crude in lesser hands. It's only when the guests head for the pool to play truth games on Ecstasy while Leigh and Cumming head for the hills for a Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? sparring match that the movie collapses under the weight of its artsy-fartsy ambitions. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, My advice on how to get the most from this Party is: Leave early. " [5]

In Variety, Todd McCarthy said the film "is well observed in many particulars but is too familiar in its basic trajectory to be fresh or compelling . Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman . . All the roles are in good hands, and it's mildly amusing in a voyeuristic way to watch the likes of Paltrow behave as we might imagine stars do at a party . . . Although the digital video imprint is still evident, ace vet lenser John Bailey has gone a long way toward making this look like a celluloid-shot picture, most successfully in the bright, daytime scenes, less so at night or under low lighting conditions, where the images sometimes appear washed out. " [6]

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ^ The Anniversary Party at TheNumbers.com
  2. ^ New York Times review
  3. ^ Chicago Sun-Times review
  4. ^ San Francisco Chronicle review
  5. ^ Rolling Stone review
  6. ^ Variety review

External links

The Anniversary Party at the Internet Movie Database

The 8th Annual Chlotrudis Awards were presented April 6 2002 by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. 73rd NBR Awards
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