The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)

A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.

Director:

George Hickenlooper

Writer:

Phillip Jayson Lasker

Stars:

Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Julianna Margulies

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Garcia	...	Byron
Mick Jagger	...	Luther
Julianna Margulies	...	Dena
Olivia Williams	...	Andrea
James Coburn	...	Alcott
Michael Des Barres	...	Nigel
Richard Bradford	...	Edward Rodgers
Anjelica Huston	...	Jennifer Adler
Xander Berkeley	...	Virgil Koster
Sherman Howard	...	Paul Pearson
Joe Santos	...	Domenico
Susan Barnes	...	Attractive Woman
Tracey Walter	...	Bartender
Asha Siewkumar	...	Receptionist
Kerry Li	...	Restaurant Patron

Storyline

Byron Tiller, happily married with a young child, is a writer whose last novel has ended up in the remainder bins. Down on his luck and struggling to make ends meet, he keeps bashing away, refusing to admit that perhaps he is not that good. One day, at wit's end and feeling sorry for himself, he meets someone who has actually read his book: a rather elegant looking Englishman who introduces himself as Luther Fox. Luther runs an escort agency Elysian Fields, which provides extremely wealthy women with attractive, intelligent dates. Desperate for any job- and Luther guarantees good pay and convinces him that it can be only temporary -Byron reluctantly agrees, keeping the whole thing hidden from his wife. He soon finds himself face-to-face with an extremely attractive woman, whose aging husband is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist grappling with a novel that may be his last. Before long, Byron finds himself immersed in a world that he finds almost impossible to believe and even harder to...

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Plot Keywords:

writer | novel | novelist | escort | book | 

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Taglines:

Wealth affords the ultimate extravagance.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 2002 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Confissões de um Sedutor

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$27,294 (Hong Kong) (29 November 2002)

Gross:

$1,431,625 (USA) (17 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CineSon Entertainment, Fireworks Pictures, Gold Circle Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 97 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production was limited to 30 days because the financing ran out.

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Goofs

When Byron and Andrea first appear in bed together, Andrea's lingerie shoulder strap is alternately under her left arm/on her shoulder between shots.

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Quotes

Dena Tiller: What makes a man do what you do?
Nigel Halsey: I think of our mission as a way of giving joy to others, my darling.
Dena Tiller: Actually, I, um, I really need to know the truth.
Nigel Halsey: Well, its simple. Fucking is the last resort for a man who feals impotent.

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Crazy Credits

The end of the credits caries a dedication to Suzie: "For my darling Suzie".

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Connections

Referenced in Making 'Blood Work' (2002)

User Reviews

Intriguing film

"The Man from Elysian Fields" is a writer's film filled with sensuality, failure, loss, hope, infidelity, intrigue and deception with a touch of film noir. Byron Tiller (Andy Garcia) plays the starving artist with an early success that brought neither fortune nor lasting notoriety who is ready to compromise his ideals for grocery money. Luther Fox (Mick Jagger) has set up a deceptively unobtrusive escort service across the hall. Luther draws Byron into a discussion about life and winds up with a recruit for his high-class service. But writers need broad experience and this opportunity is too tempting for Tilly to pass up. He's entirely too reluctant which makes him ripe for the picking.

And he's just the candidate for the wife of a prominent author. This multiple Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Tobias Alcott played by James Coburn, is losing his muse and his health, but his powers of deception are as sharp as ever. His wife, played by the icy Olivia Williams, draws Tilly into the family with several offers he can't refuse. Andy Garcia nails the struggling writer's persona begging our sympathy while he spirals down the hierarchy of alternatives to keep the wolf from the door. Mick Jagger is perfect for the part of the Faustian lizard who's tiring of the game he's mastered. The role of the escort, his office facade and ultimately his own personal relationship crumbles under the weight of deception.

Tilly is seduced by the temptations of a shrewd couple (the Alcott's) whose too-good-to-be-true offer leaves him with a great story and perhaps a Pulitzer of his own. But he's got to write it. There's always a catch.

The Hollywood ending, so clearly the decision of a focus group isn't a worthy conclusion to this story. This is another film with talented actors, superior cinematography and an intriguing story but lacking direction. Recent films like "Posession" come to mind. The product is compromised when the director lacks the courage to bring the film to a meaningful - in this case a disturbing - conclusion rather than one that's "satisfying," Tilly's editor spoke to this issue when he rejected his second novel saying that the reader doesn't want to think microcosm when she's sitting on the bus... In trying to please the mainstream, reach a wider audience and improve the box office, we lose opportunities to excel.

So what else is new in Hollywood?