Havoc (2005)

Two affluent suburban girls who clash with the Latino gang culture of East LA.

Director:

Barbara Kopple

Writers:

Stephen Gaghan (story), Jessica Kaplan (story)

Stars:

Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Shiri Appleby

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anne Hathaway	...	Allison Lang
Bijou Phillips	...	Emily
Shiri Appleby	...	Amanda
Michael Biehn	...	Stuart Lang
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Sam
Matt O'Leary	...	Eric
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Hector
Laura San Giacomo	...	Joanna Lang
Mike Vogel	...	Toby
Raymond Cruz	...	Chino
Alexis Dziena	...	Sasha
Channing Tatum	...	Nick
Jose L. Vasquez	...	Manuel (as Johnny Vasquez)
Luis Robledo	...	Ace
Sam Hennings	...	Mr. Rubin

Storyline

A pair of naive young girls learn that even the most insignificant actions can have lasting consequences. Influenced by the hip-hop thug lifestyle and seeking to explore life outside of their insulated, culturally homogenized suburb, pretty young teenagers Allison and Emily set their sights on East L.A. to experience the "gangsta" lifestyle firsthand. By the time the pair meet a ruthless Mexican drug dealer named Hector, some true-life Latino gang-bangers, and realize just how far out of their element they really are, it may already be too late to turn back.

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Plot Keywords:

latino | teenager | drug dealer | gang | drugs | 

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Taglines:

Some lines aren't meant to be crossed...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, pervasive language, violence, drug and alcohol use - all involving teens

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 October 2005 (Armenia)

Also Known As:

The Powers That Be

Filming Locations:

MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Media 8 Entertainment, Stuhall Productions, S.R.O. Entertainment AG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 93 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bijou Phillips and Anne Hathaway refused to do any press or promotions for the film after producers got heavily involved and took the final cut away from the film's female director (Barbara Kopple). This led to the film not being released in theaters.

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Goofs

While Toby raps, the sleeves of his sweater are up to his elbows. In the next shot, the sleeves are down to his wrist. And the shot after that, the sleeves are back up to his elbows.

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Quotes

Hector: What you doin' around here?
Hector: Looking all homegirl and shit?
Allison: I always dress like this!
Hector: Oh, yeah? Wow!
Hector: Here I am, trying to look like I got the money,
Hector: And you're trying to look like ME!
Hector: Fuckin' white people.

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Connections

References Primetime: Episode dated 4 December 2002 (2002)

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Soundtracks

Loco En El Coco
(Insane in the Brain)
Written by B-Real, Senen Reyes and Larry E. Muggerud
Performed by Cypress Hill
Courtesy of Columbia Records, by arrangement with Sony BMG Music Licensing
Universal Music Corp., Soul Assassin Music and BMG Songs Inc.
Under license from BMG Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Havoc, yeah, right!

I admit the only reason I watched this movie was to see Anne Hathaway's contribution to the arts and to see if Richard Roeper's praise was on the mark. This was not art. What was she thinking? What was Roeper thinking? I thought maybe she chose this movie because she saw some challenge. The only challenge I believe she had was showing her breasts. Her character was shallow, and it was supposed to be. How difficult is it to play a shallow character? It couldn't have been too difficult because every one of the gang-banger-wannabes was shallow. True to life for them but so what? The parents were just as shallow. The more I watched, the more I prayed for someone to start acting. Just when I saw possibilities, I was disappointed once again.

The best characters were Hector and his gang. They were the most intriguing because once Allison made contact, it became possible that someone was going to experience a change in life and Hector was truly one who could make that change. On the other hand, Allison could also make the change. Welll, it disappointed again. It isn't that a change hadn't occurred, a change did occur, but not one that would help this movie.

The movie is weak and often gives one a reason to walk away. Someone wanted to tell a story that would show life on the wild side and probably encourage abstention to anyone tempted to indulge in a very tough and rough life. But the people who wanted to tell that story gave up, ironically, just like the shallow characters. The lesson was apparently lost with any hope to make this a quality film.

One last thing, if anyone can find a character to relate to, good luck to you. Good luck to Anne, too. Maybe now that Anne has bared her breasts, she will be able to bare her soul in a role more deserving.

2/10 is the best I can do. I guess anyone having anything to do with Havoc is destined to give so little.