Shadowboxer (2005)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Lee Daniels

Writer (WGA):

William Lipz (written by)

Release Date:

14 July 2006 (Italy)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Feeling Protected Is Very Seductive

Plot:

When Rose, a female assassin, is diagnosed with terminal cancer; she decides to carry out one final killing, assisted by lover and also stepson, Mickey. |

Plot Keywords:

Female Assassin | Stepmother Stepson Relationship | Shot In The Head | Interracial Relationship | Mercy Killing

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Mikey
Helen Mirren	...	Rose
Vanessa Ferlito	...	Vicki
Macy Gray	...	Neisha
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Dr. Don
Mo'Nique	...	Precious
Stephen Dorff	...	Clayton Mayfield
Matt Higgins	...	Eddie
Tom Pasch	...	Andrew
Ryan Eric Speise	...	Anthony - Age 3
Cullen Flynn Clancy	...	Anthony - age 7 (as Cullen Clancy)
Marilyn Yoblick	...	Real Estate Agent
Darnell Williams	...	Mikey's Father
Marvina Vinique	...	Mikey's Mother (as Marvina Vinque)
John Panzarella	...	Man in Hotel (as Johnny Panzarella)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Brazil:18 | USA:R | UK:18 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Teton Films

Trivia:

Anjelica Huston was considered for the role of Rose.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dr. Don examines the bodyguard, the bullet hole is straight down through his foot. However, that would be impossible from the distance Clayton shot him.

Quotes:

Rose: [to Vicki] Feeling protected is very seductive.

Movie Connections:

References "Sesame Street" (1969)

Soundtrack:

Come Nightfall

One of the Worst Good Movies I've Ever Seen

** out of ****

For those confused about the summary, let me explain. This is a high quality film. Only talented people could have possibly made this movie. It has good actors, a pretty neat plot, some really creative set design, and some very effective moments and lines. But it is a film filled with some much excess, so many inconsistencies, and so many moments of implausible character choices and results that the overall tone of the film suffers from it.

the film is basically about a stepmother son assassin lover team who get involved with one of their victim's lives. They change her identity and move her out of the country. she has a baby and they help her raise it. Meanwhile, her really sleazy husband is tearing up his associates trying to find her and do whatever he needs to do. Add to the mess an interracial couple who are his only other contact and connection with his wife. it's just a matter of time before they become rats.

Oh, and while all of this is happening, the stepmother(Helen Mirren) has cancer of some sort, their victim appears to fall in love with her son(Cuba Gooding Jr.), the victim's son seems to have some sort of assassin thing going on, and the son wants to quit the killing lifestyle because he doesn't want to hurt anymore parents, i guess. It's really quite creepy.

In all honesty, it's a disgusting film. the violence is way too gratuitous. I actually almost shut it off at the beginning during a scene where a man was about to be impaled through the rectum with a pool cue. I also found all the sex to be distracting more then ever. I never mind sexuality in movies and actually prefer it to violence, but in this, all the sex scenes are so joyless and so graphic, almost violent.

Aside from these, the major flaw in the film is the fact that, despite all the character development, there wasn't a single likable character in the whole film. It's good for a recent Cuba Gooding Jr. film, and there were a couple of good suspense scenes, but it's too uneven.

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