NO MERCY (1986)is available on Blu-ray From Mill Creek Entertainment. Order information can be foundHERE
Richard Gere and Kim Basinger sizzle in a searing action thriller of passion and murder, NO MERCY. Gere stars as Eddie Jillette, a tough, uncompromising cop whose vow to avenge his partner’s death draws him into a torrid affair with the only witness, the murderer’s girlfriend. Basinger is the sultry Cajun beauty, Michel, caught in the war between Gere and vicious crime lord, Losado, the man who possesses her. Jillette’s vendetta takes him from the streets of Chicago to the violent underworld of New Orleans, where he abducts Michel to flush out Losado. He escapes into the treacherous bayou with his unwilling captive but as their pursuers close in and the danger mounts, so does their lust for each other. Out of time and out of luck, Jillette confronts Losado in an explosive climax where there is…NO MERCY.
NO MERCY stars Richard Gere and Kim Basinger and is directed by Richard Pierce
In support of The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition has arrived to Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD & Digital), DVD and Digital 4K Ultra HD from Lionsgate,
Here’s a new special features introduction fromFrancis Ford Coppola:
Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award®-nominated epic gets its definitive cut when The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition arrives on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD & Digital), DVD and Digital 4K Ultra HD™ December 10 from Lionsgate. Boasting an all-star cast, The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition stars Golden Globe® winner Richard Gere (2003, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Chicago), Tony Award® winner Gregory Hines (1992, Best Actor in a Musical, Jelly’s Last Jam), Academy Award® nominee Diane Lane (2002, Best Actress, Unfaithful), NAACP Image Award® nominee Lonette McKee (1999, Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, “As the World Turns”), Golden Globe® nominee Bob Hoskins (2006, Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, Mrs Henderson Presents), James Remar (TV’s “Dexter,” “Sex and the City”), Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage (1995, Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas), Tony Award® nominee Maurice Hines (1986, Best Actor in a Musical, Uptown… It’s Hot!), Academy Award® nominee Laurence Fishburne (1993, Best Actor, What’s Love Got to Do with It), Golden Globe® nominee Jennifer Grey (1988, Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Dirty Dancing), Grammy Award® winner Tom Waits (2000, Best Contemporary Folk Album, “Mule Variations”), and more. Story by William Kennedy & Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, screenplay by William Kennedy & Francis Ford Coppola, and produced by Robert Evans.
Directed and co-written by Academy Award®-winning writer-director Francis Ford Coppola (1970, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay–Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced, Patton; 1972, Best Writing, Screenplay–Based on Material from Another Medium, The Godfather; 1974, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from Other Material, The Godfather: Part II; 2010, Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award), The Cotton Club Encore: 35th Anniversary Edition will be available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD & Digital), DVD, Digital 4K Ultra HD™, and Digital SD/HD for the suggested retail price of $19.99, $14.98, $12.99, and $9.99 respectively.
In this lavish, 1930s-era drama, Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide. Now, Francis Ford Coppola’s extraordinary film is brought to vivid new life in The Cotton Club Encore. Featuring never-before-seen scenes and musical sequences that deepen the story lines, this remastered and beautifully restored version represents Coppola’s fully realized vision of The Cotton Club.
BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
Introduction to The Cotton Club Encore by Francis Ford Coppola
The Cotton Club Encore Q&A
CAST Richard Gere Chicago, Pretty Woman, Shall We Dance? Gregory Hines Waiting to Exhale, Running Scared, History of the World: Part I Diane Lane Under the Tuscan Sun, Unfaithful, Man of Steel Lonette McKee Brewster’s Millions, Honey, Malcolm X Bob Hoskins The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mona Lisa James Remar TV’s “Dexter,” “Sex and the City”, Nicolas Cage Face/Off, Next, Leaving Las Vegas Laurence Fishburne Contagion, The Matrix, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Allen Garfield The Majestic, The Ninth Gate, Beverly Hills Cop II Fred Gwynne Car 54, Where Are You?, Pet Sematary, My Cousin Vinny
Based on the international best seller of the same name, The Dinner, a dark pyshological thiller about how far parents will go to protect their children, arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD on August 8th from Lionsgate. Boasting powerful performances from an all-star cast, including Golden Globe winner Richard Gere (2003, Best Actor – Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Chicago), Oscar nominee Laura Linney (2007, Best Actress, The Savages), Oscar nominee Steve Coogan (2013, Best Picture,Philomena), Oscarnominee Chloë Sevigny (1999, Best Supporting Actress, Boys Don’t Cry), and Golden Globe nominee Rebecca Hall (2009, Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Vicky Christina Barcelona), the film was nominated for Best Film at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. Written and directed by Oscar nominee Oren Moverman (2009, Best Writing, Original Screenplay, The Messenger), The Dinner Blu-ray and DVD include audio commentary with Moverman and Linney and a photo gallery and will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.
Now you can own the THE DINNER Blu-ray. We Are Movie Geeks has FOUR copies to give away.All you have to do is leave a comment answering this question: What is your favorite movie starring Richard Gere? (mine is PRETTY WOMAN…. – Just Kidding! – it’s AMERICAN GIGOLO!). It’s so easy!
Good Luck!
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
Two estranged brothers and their wives meet at a restaurant to discuss a dark crime committed by their sons. With their involvement still a secret, they must decide how far they’ll go to protect the ones they love. BLU-RAY/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
Photo Gallery
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Oren Moverman and Actress Laura Linney
CAST
Richard Gere Arbitrage, Chicago
Laura Linney Sully, Nocturnal Animals
Steve Coogan Philomena, Rules Don’t Apply
Rebecca Hall Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Christine
Chloë Sevigny Love & Friendship, Boys Don’t Cry
Based on the international best seller of the same name, The Dinner, a dark pyshological thiller about how far parents will go to protect their children, arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital HD) and DVD on August 8from Lionsgate. Boasting powerful performances from an all-star cast, including Golden Globe winner Richard Gere (2003, Best Actor – Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Chicago), Oscar nominee Laura Linney (2007, Best Actress, The Savages), Oscar nominee Steve Coogan (2013, Best Picture,Philomena), Oscarnominee Chloë Sevigny (1999, Best Supporting Actress, Boys Don’t Cry), and Golden Globe nominee Rebecca Hall (2009, Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Vicky Christina Barcelona), the film was nominated for Best Film at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. Written and directed by Oscar nominee Oren Moverman (2009, Best Writing, Original Screenplay, The Messenger), The Dinner Blu-ray and DVD include audio commentary with Moverman and Linney and a photo gallery and will be available for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.
Two estranged brothers and their wives meet at a restaurant to discuss a dark crime committed by their sons. With their involvement still a secret, they must decide how far they’ll go to protect the ones they love. BLU-RAY/DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
Photo Gallery
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Oren Moverman and Actress Laura Linney
CAST
Richard Gere Arbitrage, Chicago
Laura Linney Sully, Nocturnal Animals
Steve Coogan Philomena, Rules Don’t Apply
Rebecca Hall Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Christine
Chloë Sevigny Love & Friendship, Boys Don’t Cry
(l-r) Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Richard Gere and Rebecca Hall in Oren Moverman’s THE DINNER. Photo courtesy of The Orchard (c)
Richard Gere stars as Stan Lohman, a congressman running for governor, who invites his brother Paul (Steve Coogan) and wife Claire (Laura Linney) to dine with him and his wife Kate (Rebecca Hall) at a very upscale restaurant. The brothers don’t get along and Paul does not want to go but his wife Claire is relishing the chance to have dinner at one of the town’s most exclusive restaurants. While the brothers are estranged, their 16-year-old sons Michael (Charlie Plummer) and Rick (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) are friends. It is something the boys did together, something awful, that Stan wants to talk about at this tense family dinner.
THE DINNER is a dramatic examination of how far one might go for family, as well as explorations of mental illness, crime and privilege. The tone starts out slightly comic, with Coogan’s historian character muttering sarcastically about his older politician brother, referring to his brother as an ape. Paul also throws in frequent references to the Civil War, the former history teacher’s area of specialization, particularly Gettysburg. But there is more to the family dynamics than old sibling issues. .
Oren Moverman directs and wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of Herman Koch’s bestselling novel. Moverman recently directed Gere in TIME OUT OF MIND, in which Gere plays a man whose alcoholism leads him to slip into homelessness, despite an earlier more-prosperous life. Moverman used the film to explore how the homeless are invisible in New York and other related issues, and the experience of being homeless.
Gere might be the bigger name in the credits but the acting showcase goes to Steve Coogan, as the emotional, sharp-tongued brother Paul. Coogan’s character more the center of the story, with Gere playing an emotionally cooler but controlling character.
The sections of this family drama are divided like courses of a meal, as they are in Koch’s book, and the restaurant service is almost the comic relief to this sometimes heated drama. The solicitous maitre d’ Dylan (Michael Chernus) presents a series of artistically-styled plates of artisan food, which are described in the kind of self-involved loving detail one expects in a restaurant where the price is inversely proportional to the amount of food on the plate. The dinner takes place on a cold, snowy night, reflecting the chilly feeling that often surrounds this family dinner.
The boys’ involvement in a horrendous crime plunges the family into a crisis that pits parental concerns against questions about right and wrong, about privilege and responsibility, and a host of social issues. Family dynamics, not just between the brothers over their childhood, complicate the issues around what the teens did. Michael is Claire and Paul’s only child. Rick is Stan’s son with his first wife Barbara (Chloe Sevigny), but the couple adopted two more children before they divorced, children that his second wife Kate is raising while Stan pursues his career. Part of the problem is the second, adopted son Beau (Miles J. Harvey), who sometimes tags along with the older teens, and seems to be the family tattletale. Paul dislikes the boy, but that dislike carries a racist undertone since Beau is black.
Coogan turns in a strong performance as troubled Paul. Paul barely has a filter and is likely to storm out of rooms, but his wife Claire tries to smooth things over. In the course of the film, we learn much more about Paul than the others but also get a good view of the complex family dynamics. Gere is also good in his more restrained role, playing Stan as a sincere, well-meaning man but one who has a paternalistic streak as well as a moralizing one. All three of the others eventually rebel against Stan’s efforts to summarily make the decision for all of them. Linney is good as Claire, but Rebecca Hall is a standout, as the complicated Kate. Following up her astounding performance in the less-seen CHRISTINE, one hopes to see her in more high-profile roles in the near future.
The drama is at its best in the ensemble scenes, with all four of these gifted actors engaged in throwing sparks. Periodically, Moverman takes the action away from the table, maybe to keep the film from feeling too stage-y, but the effect is to make the dinner feel endless. Some of these scenes, which include flashbacks, contribute to the emotional power, such as the ones with the homeless woman, played by Onika Day, bu not all do.
Like Moverman’s previous film with Gere, the homeless and mental illness are part of this story. Social issues are raised but not dealt with in great depth. The scenes of the boys, empowered by their sense of privilege, hurl taunts and then trash at a homeless woman, as if she were not human, are chilling but so is Claire’s attempts at justification, shifting blame to the woman sleeping in front of the ATM the boys wanted to use. Mental health issues get a little deeper look through Paul’s personal history and Stan’s commitment to legislation to treat mental health bills like other medical expenses.
The soundtrack is interesting, adding subtle themes under the drama, and ranges from Beethoven and Satie to Bob Dylan and Serge Gainsbourg. Particularly in one tense moment, Sati’s eerie, sadly haunting strains underlying the dialog adds an extra dimension of heartbreak as the parents discuss what decision is best for their children. All of them want the best outcome and future for their children but disagree greatly on what is the best thing to do.
Despite fine performance from its gifted cast and moments of riveting drama and suspense, THE DINNER is a mixed cinematic experience. Like the rarefied world of the restaurant in which it is set, it will not appeal to every taste.
Here’s the story of one of those fellas you pass by almost everyday, if you live in one of the big cities. And if your city has a bustling business district (like Wall Street in NYC, La Salle Street in Chicago, etc.), the chances are much greater. They shuffles about, slightly disheveled, in a suit that’s definitely seen better days. Though the suit is in better shape than the shoes, which they try to save by avoiding taxis and taking public transit only when the weather turns especially nasty. These men facing middle age (and often past) aren’t homeless, but barely head there for just a few hours of rest, You could call them investment hustlers. “schmoozers”, or, as this story’s lead character’s dusty sleeve of cards proclaim, “business consultant”. Inside their worn overcoat is a bulging frayed address book along with a legal pad to connect their , um, connections, like the diagrams of an NFL coach’s touchdown plays. One such man is the focus of this story, NORMAN, and the film’s subtitle fills us in a bit more on his fate: “The Moderate Rise and Tragic Flaw of a New York Fixer”.
The sun is just starting to blanket the big apple, and Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) is already on the move. Really he’s on the hunt for his next commission. He disrupts the early morning jog of Bill Kavish (Dan Stevens), much to the exec’s annoyance. Secretaries and office hours mean nothing to the dogged Norman. Then he’s on the phone to his frazzled nephew Phillip (Michael Sheen) to try to get a meeting with the big energy mogul Taub. Perhaps Norman could get an invite to a big party the big shot is throwing, if he can bring one of the speakers at an international symposium on new energy sources. Inside the auditorium, Norman is impressed by the (deputy) energy development secretary from Israel, the charismatic Mr. Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi). Back on the street, Norman follows Eshel as he wanders back to his hotel. When Eshel lingers at a high-end clothing store’s window, Norman strikes up a conversation. The two enter the store, and, as a friendly gesture, Norman purchases the very, very pricey shoes for Eshel. Then invites him to join him at the big party at Taub’s. But on the advise of his staffers, Eshel ignores Norman’s follow-up calls causing an angry Taub (Josh Charles) to escort Norman out of the party.
Three years later, Eshel has used that charisma to become the Prime Minister of Israel. Phillip brings Norman along to the big NYC reception for the new PM. They’re stunned when Eshel spots Norman’s name on the greeting list and embraces him warmly. Eshel insists that Norman will be his US advisor, and suddenly the hustler is in the big leagues. But now Norman must juggle the requests and needs of all those that suddenly want his ear. Eshel needs help getting his son into an ivy league school. Taub and his rivals want access to Eshel. Even Norman’s rabbi (Steve Buscemi) wants him to help secure the funding that will save the synagogue. But a chance encounter with an Israeli special agent named Alex (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and a political scandal may bring the high-riding Norman crashing back to Earth.
Gere has chosen an unexpected path for this, the fifth decade of his movie career. For much of that time he was the “go-to” guy for romantic hunks and other dashing leading men. Of course he’s still quite the “silver fox” and will still grab a “heart-throb” part, as in the last MARIGOLD HOTEL installment and make hearts flutter. Many of his contemporaries have steered toward the cuddly grandpa’ or the sly, twinkly gray “rascal”, but Gere has instead chosen to really go “out on a limb” with several offbeat character, but still “leading”, roles. Norman is one of the most enigmatic. There’s little glamour to this conniving, often desperate “idea” man who has few ideas left. Some of the Gere charm is there, but he let’s us see the “flop sweat” and his awkward attempts at inserting himself into inner circles. We understand why many “big shots’ view him as an irritating “gnat” and scurry away as he tries to catch their eyes. What’s his home life like? What about his past? It’s barely mentioned, Gere shows us a tired traveler who only care about the present and the future, gathering contact names and numbers like a squirrel hoarding food for the winter. Somehow, Gere can still surprise us on screen.
The character that’s nearly as compelling as Norman may be Ashkenszi as the target who becomes a benefactor. Eshel is courted, almost “wooed”, by Norman in their first meeting (hmm, similar to Rodeo Drive scenes with Julia Roberts in PRETTY WOMAN). But after the “shoe seduction”, Eshel rejects Norman, only to become his “fairy godfather” years later. But Ashkenazi plays Eshel as a younger variation of Norman, one that is just as ambitious, but more “smooth” (he’ll never let you see him sweat). Sheen, as Norman’s nephew, can barely mask his frustration with his needy uncle, but there’s still signs of affection, especially when it seems Norman’s “ship has finally come in”. Gainsbourg projects a steely demeanor as Alex, who is first annoyed by Norman, but sees him as a way to advance her own career. She’s got a powerful “BS” detector and will not tolerate Norman’s flaccid attempts at flattery. Buscemi is solid as the sympathetic rabbi who cares for Norman nearly as much as his nephew (letting him “crash” at the synagogue and raid the kitchen), until he has had his fill of Norman’s “hemming and hawing”.
With his first English-language film (with a few subtitled scenes), writer/director Joseph Cedar delivers an often engaging character study mixed with a cautionary tale of the “movers and shakers”. There’s no noble “Jefferson Smith” in this political landscape as friends are “thrown under the bus” with nary a second’s hesitation. Despite a couple of indulgent fantasy flourishes (Norman is bombarded with new connections, culminating in a choreographed mass business card exchange) and overlapping phone conversations (rather than a split screen, players share a slightly divided background), the film glides along at a fairly brisk pace. Unfortunately it loses its footing with clumsy attempts at comedy (Eshel sleeps with his new shoes?) and certain scenes make little sense (why does Norman feel compelled to impress Alex?). But the location work is superb (little of Israel, while NYC is a frigid Hellscape), and Gere totally inhabits this role, making us wish we knew more about what drove Oppenheimer to this point in time. He’s the main reason to “take a meeting” with the sad, funny, frustrating NORMAN.
2.5 Out of 5
NORMAN opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas
Sony Pictures Classics’ has released the first trailer and poster for Academy Award nominee Joseph Cedar’s NORMAN starring Richard Gere.
The cast includes Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Hank Azaria, Josh Charles and Harris Yulin.
The new film by Academy Award nominated director Joseph Cedar (FOOTNOTE) is a comic and compassionate drama of a little man whose downfall is rooted in a human frailty all too easy to forgive: a need to matter.
Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere) lives a lonely life in the margins of New York City power and money, a would-be operator dreaming up financial schemes that never come to fruition. As he has nothing real to offer, Norman strives to be everyone’s friend, but his incessant networking leads him nowhere. Always on the lookout for someone willing to pay attention to him, Norman sets his sights on Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), a charismatic Israeli politician alone in New York at a low point in his career. Sensing Eshel’s vulnerability, Norman reaches out with a gift of a very expensive pair of shoes, a gesture that deeply touches Eshel. When Eshel becomes Prime Minister three years later, he remembers.
With his very real connection to the leader of a major nation, Norman is awash in the respect he has always craved. Flush with his newfound feeling of success, Norman attempts to use Eshel’s name to leverage his biggest deal ever: a series of quid pro quo transactions linking the Prime Minister to Norman’s nephew (Michael Sheen), a rabbi (Steve Buscemi), a mogul (Harris Yulin), his assistant (Dan Stevens), and a treasury official from the Ivory Coast. Norman’s kaleidoscopic plans soon go awry, creating the potential for an international catastrophe he must struggle to prevent.
NORMAN The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer hits theaters April 14th.
Watch the new trailer for THE BENEFACTOR. Written and directed by Andrew Renzi, the dramatic thriller starring Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning and Theo James.
In THE BENEFACTOR, an iconoclastic philanthropist, Franny, survives a devastating accident that kills his two best friends, but four years later, he is still struggling with the guilt and pain.
When his late friends’ daughter Olivia resurfaces with a new husband and a baby on the way, Franny tries to overcome his emotional and physical suffering by inserting himself into their lives. Outrageously charming and limitlessly infuriating, Franny hands his young friends undreamt-of opportunities while attempting to micromanage their lives in ever more intrusive ways.
A bravura portrait of a larger-than-life personality in crisis, the film is writer-director Andrew Renzi’s debut feature film.
From Samuel Goldwyn Films, THE BENEFACTOR opens in theaters and on-demand this January 15, 2016.
When you imagine Richard Gere playing a homeless man, you may scoff. Yet director Oren Moverman, who also directed THE MESSENGER, put the movie star on the streets of Manhattan dressed as a homeless man and sent him out in the crowds. No one recognized him, which says a lot about how invisible the homeless truly are.
Gere turns in an outstanding performance as George, a man who seems to have teetered on the edge of homelessness for sometime, in this quiet, subtle drama shot in a striking realist style. Moverman plunges right into this story, without giving us any kind of background for George – we do not even learn his name until later in the film. We first meet him as he is roused from sleep and evicted from an apartment by a building manager (Steve Buscemi), where George had been staying with a friend, although it seems neither he nor his friend were legal tenants. George’s wish to shave before he leaves, his nice clothes and suitcase, and dignified manner suggest he was once a more prosperous person. However, he seems to have difficulty grasping what he is happening to him and his general lack of mental sharpness hint he has problems. Although he does not look like our idea of a homeless person, George is now without a place to live and nowhere to go.
The film is more art house in style and may prove challenging for non-film festival audiences. We are told nothing about George at the start, and details are only gradually revealed, often indirectly, through his interactions with people, primarily his estranged daughter (Jena Malone), a garrulous fellow homeless man he meets in a shelter (Ben Vereen) and a homeless woman with a shopping cart he meets in a park (Kyra Sedgwick).
On the streets, George wanders around and quickly loses his few possessions, including his wallet with his ID. He spends the last of his money on a beer, which he downs with a kind of desperation that suggests he is an alcoholic. Some time later – we are not sure how much later – he approaches a young woman named Maggie (Jena Malone) in a laundry mat. Her wary reaction tells us both that she is his estranged daughter and there is a history between them that makes her keep her distance. After meeting a nurse in an emergency room, whom he tries to charm into taking him home, he ends up in a large homeless shelter called Bellevue, where we get a glimpse of the lives of the destitute, discouraged or disturbed homeless and the overworked people trying to help them in an overburdened system.
When Israeli-born, New York-based director Oren Moverman was approached about making a movie starring Richard Gere as a homeless man, he had the same reaction most of us would: No way. Gere is too familiar a face to play a role like this one. Yet the more he thought about it, the more intrigued he was with the challenge. He and director of photography Bobby Bukowski hit on a clever solution, which overturns expectations on how a film about the homeless would look, and even used Gere’s recognizable face to aid the film’s points about the homeless.
Moverman and his photographer approach their subject almost as if they are making a nature documentary. The camera often catches George in a crowd, where Gere’s recognizable face helps us find him, or films him through screens, windows or leafy foliage. The streets that George wanders are ordinary – busy, brightly-lit and full of people, who mostly do not seem to see George. The director accomplished this feat by setting up hidden cameras and using long lens for distant shots, then sending out the actor, made up as his homeless character, to wander among unsuspecting ordinary New Yorkers, not movie extras. Despite his famous face, no one recognized Gere, a chilling illustration of the film’s point about the invisibility of the homeless among us.
Gere delivers a striking performance, perhaps one of his best ever, and is on screen almost the whole time. Gere, who is also a producer on the film and the creative force behind getting the project made, delivers a spare, honest performance that has the feeling of truth. He accurately captures many quirks found in the homeless, such as denial and evasion, a seeming inability to comprehend some instructions or focus beyond the immediate, and repeating himself. At the same time, Gere crafts a distinctive individual, one who was once like you and me until he lost control of his own life through a combination of bad luck and bad choices. The performance is free of false, cloying sentiment, instead a direct and natural portrait of a lost person.
Moverman’s direction takes us inside George’s world, with sometimes disorienting angles and camerawork that mirror his own confusion. The realism is boosted by the soundtrack, which skips the usual music in favor of ambient street sounds – snatches of real conversations, traffic noises, music wafting from bars and restaurants. The streets are sunny and flower-filled, packed with busy New Yorkers working, enjoying the weather and going about their lives. A few people extend kindnesses, like free food, some people are cruel, like the kids who mock him, but mostly no one notices George as he moves among them.
Despite the familiar names in the cast, this will not be a film for everyone. George’s story is told in a series of vignettes that reveal information about him but more often illustrate the struggles of being homeless. The film uses a realism style that is more common in European films than here, which is one reason the film may be challenging for some audiences. There is no narration and there is a series of scenes, day or night, with little indication of how much time has passed between them – it could be an hour, a day, a week or months – or even if they are in sequence. It may sound confusing but it really is not – events in George’s life unfold just as they do in real life.
The film also uses Gere’s familiar face as a way to make the audience think about a “faceless” population. But Moverman is not a longtime campaigner for homeless, toiling in the trenches, and now making a heavy-handed advocacy film. TIME OUT OF MIND is subtle and fluid, a gentle, human way for the socially-conscious director to get his point across, about the difficulty of being homeless and their invisibility, and how a few bad breaks might bring anyone to a crisis.
TIME OUT OF MIND is a bold choice for Moverman, a step back from more commercial films to a less commercial art house one. Nonetheless, TIME OUT OF MIND is worth the effort, a visually striking film with a finely drawn central performance on a socially meaningful subject.
TIME OUT OF MIND opens in St. Louis at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema
on Friday, Oct. 9
Rams Defensive Ends William Hayes and Chris Long are teaming up once again to bring awareness to the issue of homelessness.
The duo will host a private screening of the film Time Out of Mindstarring Richard Gere, to raise funds directed at providing housing for individuals and families who are homeless.
The screening will take place at the Tivoli Landmark Theatre on Thursday, October 8 at 6 p.m.
George (RICHARD GERE) is an increasingly desperate man. Life seems to have passed him by. With nowhere to turn, he finds himself adrift on the unforgiving streets of New York City. After exhausting all possible housing options, he seeks refuge at Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan’s largest intake center for homeless men. It proves a harsh and bewildering environment, teeming with marginalized souls. But when George befriends a seasoned shelter-dweller (BEN VEREEN), he begins to find hope of repairing his relationship with his estranged daughter (JENA MALONE).
TIME OUT OF MIND is a tour de force for Gere, an actor known for portraying urbane, self-possessed characters. Here, he is unmoored, almost unrecognizable, in circumstances no one would want to fall into, in which nearly all is lost. As the camera tracks him, often from afar, George bounces from one situation to the next, virtually invisible to the city dwellers around him.
The unique event will include a pre-screening meet and greet with Hayes and Long beginning at 6:15 p.m. where attendees will have the opportunity to take photos and interact with the two defensive linemen.
The screening of the film will begin at 7 p.m. and will be immediately followed by an interactive panel discussion of the film.
Time Out of Mind was directed by socially conscience director Oren Moverman and is designed to serve as a conversation starter about homelessness. The panel discussion will allow audience members to hear from Hayes and Long about their personal experience of living on the street and their insight on the film. Joined by Judson Bliss of the St. Patrick Center, the panel will also discuss rapid rehousing as a solution to homelessness, which Hayes and Long have chosen to support through this event.
“Homelessness is a cause that is very important to me and has only grown more so after my year of service as I saw firsthand the many faces, causes and effects of homelessness,” says Hayes. “Time Out of Mind allows us to continue the conversation we began in March while raising funds for housing that will serve as a key factor to ending homelessness in St. Louis.”
The money raised at the screening event will benefit both players’ foundations, Big Play Hayes Foundation and The Chris Long Foundation, as well as the rapid rehousing of St. Louis individuals and families who are homeless.
Hayes dedicated eight months of community involvement to the issue of homelessness from 2014 through 2015 that culminated with him living on the streets of St Louis for 24 hours in March 2015 to raise awareness. His teammate and close friend Long joined him for the experience. During their time on the street Hayes and Long met two homeless individuals, Marty and Nancy, who they subsequently housed for two months at an extended stay hotel and helped facilitate access to resources. Through this experience, Hayes and Long unknowingly took part in a rapid rehousing model of ensuring people are housed first as a solution to homelessness. Once housed, wrap around services can be provided to individuals to help stabilize them and move them out of homelessness permanently. As a result of their experience on the street and interactions with Marty and Nancy both Hayes and Long share a passion for ensuring housing for the homeless through a housing first and rapid rehousing model.
About Big Play Hayes Foundation:
Big Play Hayes Foundation: Leading with Heart is dedicated to restoring hope to youth in difficult situations and adults who are experiencing homelessness. By providing resources, support and compassion to these individuals the Foundation lives out its mission to change the world by positively impacting one life at a time.
About The Chris Long Foundation:
The Chris Long Foundation is committed to giving back to the community through focused efforts around clean water, military appreciation, homelessness and youth in need.
Opening in theaters September 9th and VOD September 18th.
