Sonny (2002)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Nicolas Cage

Writer (WGA):

John Carlen (written by)

Release Date:

21 March 2003 (Greece)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

His life was the morning after, until he decided to change the night before.

Plot:

New Orleans, 1981. Sonny Phillips, just discharged from the Army, returns home. The only life he's known is as a gigolo...

Plot Keywords:

Gigolo | Animal Nursing | Sex | Military Veteran | Brothel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Franco	...	Sonny
Brenda Blethyn	...	Jewel
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Henry
Mena Suvari	...	Carol
Seymour Cassel	...	Albert
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Meg
Josie Davis	...	Gretchen
Willie Metcalf	...	Cal
Janet Shea	...	Wealthy Woman
Cary Wilmot Alden	...	Catherine
Nicolas Cage	...	Acid Yellow
Scott Caan	...	Jesse
Graham Timbes	...	Troy
Wallace Merck	...	Scott
Doug Barden	...	Maitre d'

Also Known As:

Pony Rides (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, language, some drug use and violence.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | UK:18 | USA:R | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Gold Circle Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Make Me Smile

8/10

I guess it's hard to address serious issues when you're dealing with a plot about a flamboyant southern belle who raises her son to be a natural-born-whore, because this movie is considered to be a failure even though it really isn't. It's neither the ready-made slice-of-life that Sundance specializes in, nor is it an innovative film like "Pi," so casual independent fans have little reason to like this (they probably dislike Paul Morrissey, too). So there's already a few misconceptions about the film, but add to that that it's an actor's film: what else are we supposed to expect from Nicolas Cage? The movie is a mix of piano music and prostitution, and it's just like Cage's acting -- hyper-real and over-the-top, classy and trashy at once.

The movie is partially a series of differing acting styles -- Blethyn's comic exaggeration, Franco's sleepy mysteriousness, Stanton's quiet control, Cage's funhouse tricks. But I think Cage deserves a certain amount of credit -- he doesn't scuzzify the material or romanticize it; he creates some interesting scenes (and handles most of the more potentially offensive ones with as close to grace as possible); he indulges all of his actors. And there is some real pain in the story, about not being able to switch jobs, and how vagabonds have nothing to show for their life. There are times when this goes where few films do in terms of honesty, yet the script does have increasing problems as it goes along. A scene like the one where Cage makes his appearance, seen through Sonny's drunken haze, works only because of the oddness of it; it feels stolen from other films because it's supposed to be there for the type of movie this is. But the film is at its best when it resists any "type." 8/10