Sorry, Haters (2005)

Director:

Jeff Stanzler

Writer (WGA):

Jeff Stanzler (written by)

Release Date:

1 March 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The dust has finally settled... for most of us.

Plot:

Against the anxieties and fears of post-9/11 America, an Arab cab driver picks up a troubled professional woman (Robin Wright Penn) with unexpected results.

Plot Keywords:

Syrian | Syria | Canadian | New York City | Arab

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Abdel Kechiche	...	Ashade (as Abdellatif Kechiche)
Remy K. Selma	...	Imam
Robin Wright Penn	...	Phoebe
Jim Ryan	...	Security Guard
Starla Benford	...	Traffic Officer
Sandra Oh	...	Phyllis MacIntyre
Élodie Bouchez	...	Eloise
Makani Rietveld	...	Ashade's Nephew
Aasif Mandvi	...	Hassan
Fred Durst	...	Evan Jealous
Rich Monahan	...	European Cab Driver
Annouchka Yameogo-Stanzler	...	Socialite #1
Jennifer McCabe	...	Socialite #2
Maya Mikhailov	...	Socialite #3
David Bishins	...	INS Agent

Also Known As:

Untitled Post-9/11 Cab Drama (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

Canada:83 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

InDigEnt (Independent Digital Entertainment)

Trivia:

Shot in 15 days.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in No Apologies: 'Sorry, Haters' Roundtable (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Bull In The Heather

Nothing at all to be sorry about

A kind of psychological mystery that tends toward the thriller genre that is a also finely-tuned character study that features a brilliant performance from its leading lady and--most tellingly of all--approaches how we live now and the events of 9/11/01 with an original perspective that makes that day frightening again in a whole new manner (and that's a mere portion of what you'll get), SORRY, HATERS is so shocking in so many surprising ways that I haven't stopped thinking about it for several days. It succeeds as entertainment, provocation and mind-expander, and seems to grow more powerful and mysterious the more I consider it.

Robin Wright Penn, who has helped improve movie after movie from "The Princess Bride" through "Forest Gump," "White Oleander" and "Nine Lives," reaches a new plateau here: that of taking absolute ownership of a film. She manages this despite the very fine work of the rest of the cast, which includes Sandra Oh, Josh Hamilton, Elodie Bouchez and an especially rich and beautiful performance from leading man Abdel Kechiche (who is himself writer/director of the 2005 Cesar-winning French film "L'Esquive"). The writer/director of "Sorry Haters" is Jeff Stanzler, who made the interesting "Jumpin' at the Boneyard" back in 1992, and two short films since. That this 2005 piece didn't put Stanzler on the map of big-time movie makers will remain as mysterious to me as does his movie.

I will say no more about the film, except that you might, at its conclusion, want to turn to the Special Features and watch the round-table discussion between a group that includes Tim Robbins, Mary Louise Parker and Julian Schnabel, all of whom seem as blown away by the film as was I. Certainly, for all of us, Muslims in America and a sweet phrase like "I want to give you something my parents gave me" may now resonate in quite a different manner.