Holy Matrimony (1994)

A young Hutterite boy must marry his late brother's wife who comes from outside the community.

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

David Weisberg, Douglas Cook

Stars:

Patricia Arquette, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Armin Mueller-Stahl

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patricia Arquette	...	Havana
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Ezekiel
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Wilhelm
Tate Donovan	...	Peter
John Schuck	...	Markowski
Lois Smith	...	Orna
Courtney B. Vance	...	Cooper
Jeffrey Nordling	...	Link
Richard Riehle	...	Greeson
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Female Officer
Alaine Byrne	...	Bar Woman
Dan Cossolini	...	Bartender
Lori Alan	...	Cleopatra
Jess Schwidde	...	Samuel
Frank Novak	...	Teacher

Storyline

A young couple, Havana & Peter, rob a county fair of its daily receipts and escape to Canada to hide out in the Hutterite community where Peter was raised. While there, they get married to satisfy the conservative elders in the community. Peter hides their loot in a secret hiding place, but then soon dies in a car wreck. His much younger brother Zeke is called upon to replace his brother and marry Havana. Zeke already hates Havana because he believes she is what changed his brother. She begins looking through everything that was Peter's, and Zeke rightly deduces that Peter hid something from her. He finds the money, along with a newspaper article that mentions Peter as the prime suspect in the robbery. Zeke initially uses the cash to trick his bride into doing housework. Later he shows it to the elders, who deem that it should be returned to its rightful owners. Zeke and Havana (who claims innocence of the source of the money) are sent on a quest back to the US to return the money.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | amish | independent film

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Taglines:

The hilariously sexy comedy!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bankrabló a feleségem

Filming Locations:

Great Falls, Montana, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$713,234 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aurora Productions LLC, Hollywood Pictures, Interscope Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the hotel, Zeke is told to get a room key. As he tries various doors, we see that they are operated by key cards. When his wife meets him in the lobby, she hands him the room key which is metal and dangling from a keychain, although there would have been no way he could have used that to open the room door.

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Quotes

Ezekiel: [Havana and Zeke are hitching a ride on a train] It's cold out here.
Havana: [rubs his arms] Is that better?
Ezekiel: Do you think my brother was a bad person?
Havana: No. He just didn't know how to listen.
Ezekiel: To what?
Havana: To that little voice inside that tells you what's okay and what's not.
Ezekiel: Do you hear it?
Havana: Sometimes.

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Connections

References The Seven Year Itch (1955)

User Reviews

Matrimony that's Sinful but Rocking :-)

Beautiful movie, friends. What starts of as a wild, greedy couple robbing money to live the good life turns out at the end as a story of lives changed from selfishness to selflessness, of pure love and simply that doing the right thing can heal any guilt you hold.

Sorry if I sounded somewhat mushy but Holy Matrimony was both comical & holy(kinda!). A very interesting storyline and so many hilarious scenes. And also moments where the our lead characters Havana(essayed very well by Patricia Arquette) learns life lessons from the child Ezekiel(wonderful acting by Inception fame Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

Truly, Joseph stole the show and can be regarded as the soul of the movie. And some really touching dialogues by both characters Havana and Ezekiel that leaves you impressed.

Maybe there could have been more action(like more thrilling chasing scenes by the bad guys) that would have been enough to push the movie a notch higher than the cool entertainment it is. Also, I was little annoyed by the fake laughing of some cops towards the final. But these are minor flaws in an otherwise enjoyable fare.

Though, I would caution children watching this as there are some nearly nude scenes of Havana.

Verdict: A delightful treat. Leaves you smiling from start to end.