Beautiful Ohio (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Chad Lowe

Writers:

Ethan Canin (screenplay)
Ethan Canin (story)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

You can't resist being who you are.

Plot:

An entire family comes of age during the early 1970s. |

Plot Keywords:

1970s | High School | Math Genius | Female Nudity | Gay Kiss

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

William Hurt	...	Simon Messerman
Rita Wilson	...	Judith Messerman
Brett Davern	...	William Messerman
David Call	...	Clive Messerman
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Sandra
Hale Appleman	...	Elliot
Thomas McCarthy	...	Older William Messerman (as Tom McCarthy)
Julianna Margulies	...	Mrs. Cubano
Matt Servitto	...	Mr. Cubano
Margaret Harth	...	Hungarian Woman #1
Constance Kelly	...	Hungarian Woman #2
Louise Corriente	...	Hungarian Woman #3
Spencer Grammer	...	Carlene
Wai Ching Ho	...	Elderly Woman
Joseph Adams	...	Proctor #1 (as Joe Adams)
Greg Stuhr	...	Mr. Brady
Ryan Hoffman	...	Chet Przik
Bonnie Rose	...	Mrs. Przik
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Mr. Lebreaux
Miles Chandler	...	Young WIlliam
Jeremy Allen White	...	Young Clive (as Jeremy Whirte)
Nicolas Quilter	...	Clive 30's
Robin Borden	...	Clara
Quinn Cunningham	...	Choir Singer
Kyle Fischbach	...	Choir Singer
Steven Gaebel	...	Choir Singer
Evan Lester	...	Choir Singer
Jonathan McCoy	...	Choir Singer
Dmitry Pomirchy	...	Choir Singer
Mike Ness	...	Choir Singer (as James Michael Neas)
Kyle Shoemaker	...	Choir Singer
Dillon Woolley	...	Choir Singer (as Dillon Wooley)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Brandon	...	Young Hungarian man (uncredited)
Audrey Elizabeth Fafard	...	Mean student (uncredited)
Isaac Gabaeff	...	Extra at math finals (uncredited)
Michael Kozak	...	Andrew (uncredited)
Debbie Lang	...	High School Math Teacher (uncredited)
Justin Matthews	...	Marty (uncredited)
Ilo Orleans	...	Jay Minton (uncredited)
Kevin Sebastian	...	Teen student (uncredited)
Micky Shiloah	...	Boy in Cafeteria (uncredited)
Damon Stone	...	Singer - Choir Boy (uncredited)
Philippe Vonlanthen	...	Photographer (uncredited)

Directed by
Chad Lowe

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ethan Canin		screenplay
Ethan Canin		story "Batorsag and Szerelem"

Produced by
Brian Bell	....	co-producer
Steve Blatt	....	co-executive producer
Mark Burton	....	producer
Gail D'Agostino	....	executive producer
Tim Hoy	....	executive producer
Chad Lowe	....	producer
Reggie Miller	....	executive producer (as Reginald Miller)
Jenny Schweitzer	....	co-producer
Hilary Swank	....	producer

Original Music by
Craig Wedren

Cinematography by
Stephen Kazmierski		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Amy E. Duddleston		(as Amy Duddleston)

Casting by
Kerry Barden
Billy Hopkins
Paul Schnee
Suzanne Smith		(as Suzanne Crowley)

Production Design by
Stephen Beatrice

Set Decoration by
Cristina Casanas

Costume Design by
Marie Abma

Makeup Department
Brian Abbott	....	key makeup artist
Belinda Anderson	....	additional hair stylist
Michael Marino	....	special makeup effects artist (as Mike Marino)
Elizabeth Martinelli	....	additional hair stylist
Suzana Neziri	....	key hair stylist
Amanda Ross	....	additional makeup artist
Nereida Soto	....	additional hair stylist

Production Management
Brian Bell	....	unit production manager
Stuart Macphee	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Catalano	....	additional second assistant director
Vanessa Hoffman	....	second assistant director
Karen Kane	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Trevor Baldwin	....	art production assistant
Jasmine E. Ballou	....	property production assistant (as Jasmine Ballou)
Harrison Barth	....	additional assistant props
Travis Barth	....	additional art production assistant
Sarah Berney	....	scenic artist
Mary Blanchard	....	scenic artist
William Broom	....	scenic artist
Lou Charles	....	leadman (as Lucien Charles)
Travis Child	....	scenic artist
Amanda Cole	....	art production assistant
Benji Craig	....	art production assistant
Colin Eletto	....	art production assistant
Isaac Gabaeff	....	property master
Haden Garrett	....	art department production assistant
Arlo Hoffman	....	assistant property master
Shana Jackson	....	art department production assistant
Juvenel Levros	....	art production assistant
Melissa B. Miller	....	art department researcher (as Melissa Miller)
James Mulligan	....	additional art production assistant
Steven Oberlechner	....	additional art production assistant
Jorge Pappetta	....	carpenter
Phantie Prak	....	additional art production assistant
Kevin L. Raper	....	additional art production assistant (as Kevin Raper)
Niquan Riley	....	on-set dresser
Leonel Rivera	....	art production assistant
Paul Rovira	....	carpenter
Pierre Rovira	....	construction coordinator
Nicole M. Solis	....	scenic artist (as Nicole Solis)
Greg Spiotta	....	carpenter
Girolamo Tuzzolino	....	carpenter
Irmak Ucar	....	set dresser
George Valenzuela	....	additional art production assistant
Nate Wey	....	art production assistant
Nora Killoran	....	additional set dresser (uncredited)
Alexander G. Lyle IV	....	additional carpenter (uncredited)
Christina Madry	....	art intern (uncredited)

Sound Department
David Boulton	....	adr mixer: Sound One
Michael Brown	....	foley supervisor
Krissopher Chevannes	....	adr recordist: Sound One (as Kris Chevannes)
Gary Coppola	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Gary J. Coppola)
Stuart Deutsch	....	additional sound mixer
Scott Edelson	....	boom operator
Christopher Fondulas	....	utility sound
Brian Gallagher	....	adr recordist: Sound One
John Gutierrez	....	boom operator
Tom Jordan	....	additional boom operator
Thomas O'Neil Younkman	....	dialogue editor (as Thomas Younkman)
Jeff Prosser	....	foley mixer (as Jeffrey Bing Prosser)
Gabriel Sanders	....	utility sound
Christopher Sheldon	....	supervising sound editor
Noah Timan	....	sound mixer
Thomas Varga	....	sound mixer
David Warburton	....	post facility coordinator
Ryan Heiferman	....	adr engineer (uncredited)
Noah Timan	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)
Chris Trent	....	foley mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Larry Arpin	....	senior graphic artist: Matchframe
Rachel Clement	....	digital cleanup artist: Matchframe
Mary Delaney	....	scanning operator: Matchframe (as Marye Delany)
Dietz Toshio Ichishita	....	digital cleanup artist: Matchframe (as Dietz Ichishita)
Scotty Martin	....	scanning operator: Matchframe
Cristine Montore	....	digital cleanup artist: Matchframe
Arturo Lopez Uscanga	....	scanning operator: Matchframe (as Arturo Lopez)
Albert Vivas	....	scanning operator: Matchframe
Juan Bautista	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Ben Campanaro	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Jordan Giuliani	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Douglas Crosby	....	stunt coordinator (as Doug Crosby)
Erik Martin	....	utility stunts (uncredited)
Thomas Place	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Arisohn	....	additional electrician (as Mike Arishon)
Mia Barker	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Nicola Benizzi	....	additional camera loader
Michael Best	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Steve Briante	....	additional camera loader
Michael Burke	....	first assistant camera
Christopher Cannucciari	....	company electrician
Ian Carmody	....	camera loader
Tom Cioccio	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Edward Cohen	....	gaffer
Jeffrey Dutemple	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Jeff Dutemple)
Vanina Feldsztein	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Travis Hottinger	....	best boy grip
Laura Hudock	....	second assistant camera
Stan Keitt	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Meg Kettell	....	camera loader
Mike Kirsch	....	grip
Todd S. Klein	....	key grip (as Todd Klein)
Diane Koronkiewicz	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (as Dianne Korankiewicz)
Michael J. Maurer	....	additional electrician (as Mike Mauer)
Ian McGlocklin	....	additional electrician (as Tan McGlocklin)
Keith McNicholas	....	best boy electric
Soren Nash	....	second assistant camera
Christopher T. Paul	....	camera operator
Christopher T. Paul	....	steadicam operator (as Chris Paul)
Macall B. Polay	....	still photographer (as Macall Polay)
Antonio Ponti	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Zack Rice	....	additional electrician (as Zach Rice)
Eddie Rodriguez	....	first assistant camera
Jeremy Rodriguez	....	grip
Benjamin Salley	....	additional electrician (as Ben Salley)
George Selden	....	generator operator (as George Seldan)
Simon Shen	....	additional electrician
Jamie Silverstein	....	additional steadicam operator
Linda Slater	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Melissa Soltis	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Debbie Stampfle	....	additional camera loader
Dana Turken	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera (as Dana Turkin)
Andrew Turman	....	additional camera operator
Michael Wacks	....	additional electrician (as Mike Wacks)
Rob Woolsey	....	dolly grip
Nu Zhang	....	additional electrician
Mark Beattie	....	additional grip (uncredited)
Noam Bonkowski	....	jib assistant (uncredited)
Robert Carnevale	....	grip (uncredited)
Chris Hali	....	jib technician (uncredited)
Adam Troeger	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Adam Troeger	....	jimmy jib operator (uncredited)
Ethan Wilhelm	....	rigging grip (uncredited)
Stephanie Zimmer	....	film loader (uncredited)

Casting Department
Meredith Jacobson	....	extras casting: Amerifilm Casting (as Meredith Marciano)
Marny Smith	....	casting assistant
Laura Verbeke	....	extras casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Amy Bradshaw	....	assistant costume designer
Carmen Campbell	....	additional assistant costume designer
Diana J. Collins	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Diana Collins)
Lucia Lettini	....	on-set costumer
Robin McGee	....	additional assistant costume designer
Gabriela Stanciu	....	on-set costumer
Yvette Stapleton	....	on-set costumer
Gifford Byrne	....	additional costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Prince Bagdasarian	....	high definition coordinator: Matchframe
Marina Davis	....	post-production assistant: producers
Julius Friede	....	digital intermediate colorist: Matchframe
Nadia Fugazza	....	associate editor
David Graubard	....	digital intermediate senior systems engineer
Michael Grawert	....	assistant digital intermediate editor: Matchframe
Leigh Jones	....	digital intermediate production assistant: Matchframe
Dennis Little	....	digital intermediate production coordinator: Matchframe
Jon Pehlke	....	digital intermediate on-line editor
Sarah Priestnall	....	digital intermediate production supervisor: Matchframe
David Waters	....	digital intermediate senior producer: Matchframe
Ken Rubenfeld	....	colorist: dailies (uncredited)
Ira Schweitzer	....	colorist: high definition dailies (uncredited)

Music Department
Dondi Bastone	....	music supervisor
Jherek Bischoff	....	musician
Stuart Canin	....	musician
Yagmur Kaplan	....	music editor
Lee Mars	....	music scoring mixer
Aurisha Smolarski	....	musician
Somer Waters	....	musician
Craig Wedren	....	musician

Transportation Department
Michael D. Canale	....	teamster captain
Frank Fennimore	....	driver: process trailer
Chris Schirripa	....	driver: camera truck
Dave Vormittag	....	teamster co-captain

Other crew
Robyn Alcock	....	production coordinator
Luches Banks	....	additional set production assistant
Kathleen Beall	....	location scout
Anthony Blanco	....	production assistant: first team
Kit Bland	....	set production assistant
Christopher Carbone	....	additional set production assistant
Erin Cassidy	....	office intern
Syd Cole	....	client services: Matchframe
Dan Cooley	....	additional assistant location manager
Joe Coppa	....	office intern
Greg Cuozzo	....	caterer
Jim Delany	....	client services: Matchframe
Gerry De Leon	....	assistant: Chad Lowe (as Gerry F. De Leon)
Martin Denson	....	additional set production assistant
Richard Elmiger	....	chef
Hilary Feldstein	....	assistant to producers
Andy Forshee	....	post-production accountant: Tanner Mainstain Blatt & Glynn
Rubén García	....	client services: Matchframe (as Ruben Garcia)
Carlos Germason	....	additional set production assistant
Wayne Han	....	production assistant: background
Joshua Huffman	....	production secretary
Peter Hutchison	....	production accountant: John Finn Associates (as Pete Hutchison)
Marshall Johnson	....	assistant location manager
Jason Kitchen	....	office production assistant
Victoria Krikorian	....	craft service
Tony Liu	....	post-production accountant: Tanner Mainstain Blatt & Glynn
Benjamin Logan	....	set production assistant
Brendan MacDevette	....	additional set production assistant
Stephanie A. Marquardt	....	script supervisor (as Stephanie Marquardt)
Greg Martin	....	payroll accountant
Huttenberg Nassar	....	additional office production assistant (as Huttemberg Nassar)
Greg Pastorelli	....	location assistant
Peter Pastorelli	....	location manager
Carlo Pepia	....	caterer
Angel Pina	....	caterer (as Angelo Pina)
Jorge Pina	....	caterer
Amos Posner	....	office intern
Irwin M. Rappaport	....	legal services
Dorin Razam-Grunfeld	....	additional set production assistant
Morgan Ressa	....	set intern
Phillip Saxton	....	additional set production assistant
Sophie Shepherd	....	office intern
Nicole Sherwin	....	set intern
Alexandra Soler	....	location intern (as Alex Soler)
Rachael Tartell	....	location scout (as Rachel Tartell)
José Tejada	....	parking coordinator (as Jose Tejada)
Hector Terrones	....	caterer
Chris Tomeo	....	key set production assistant
Anthony Torre	....	chef
Fernando Vallejo	....	additional set production assistant
Brett Van Deusen	....	set intern
Shane Williams	....	location intern
Katy Yeh	....	post-production accountant: Tanner Mainstain Blatt & Glynn
Stephanie Zimmer	....	additional set production assistant
Christina Grozik	....	location scout (uncredited)

Thanks
Deepa Mehta	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Accomplice Films
• Wonderfilms
• Boom Baby Productions (in association with)
• Departure Studios (in association with)

Special Effects

• Mechnology (visual effects) (as Mechnology Visual Effects Studio)

Other Companies

• 3:20 Studios  music recording facility
• Amerifilm Casting  extras casting
• Axium International  payroll services
• BBL Mobile Dressing Room  honeywagon provided by
• Black Dog Jib Productions  jimmy jib equipment
• Camera Service Center  camera equipment
• Departure Studios  post-production audio services
• Gourmet To U  catering
• Hollywood East  stage facilities
• Hollywood Intermediate  digital intermediate services
• John Finn and Associates  production accounting (as John Finn Associates)
• K.A.S. Lighting  lighting and grip equipment (as KAS Lighting)
• Matchframe Digital Intermediate  digital intermediate (post-production services and facilities)
• Planet Mars Studio  score mixing facility
• PostWorks, The Lab  processing
• Postworks New York  dailies
• Sound One  adr facility
• Sound Satisfaction  foley recording facility
• Tanner Mainstain Blatt & Glynn  post-production accounting
• Truman Van Dyke Company  insurance (as Truman Van Dyke)
• Widget Post Production  sound post-production
• Wiggle Room  music recording facility

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Accomplice Films

Trivia:

Author Ethan Canin's original short story "Batorsag & Szerelem", which this movie is based on, originally took place in Iowa. When director Chad Lowe became interested in the project, and plans were made to film a movie based on the story, the action of "Batorsag & Szerelem" was moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio, which is a suburb of Cleveland.

A Family Finding Itself

Ethan Canin is one of our more important authors ('America, America', 'Emperor of the Air', 'The Palace Thief' which became the film 'The Emperor's Club') and to discover a screenplay/story by him is a treat. BEAUTIFUL OHIO is a fascinating little film directed by Chad Lowe about an apparently close knit family that knows really very little about each other: it is Canin's purpose to unravel the stories of 'ordinary people confronting aspects of themselves they'd rather not see.' Behind each member's delusions and hopes to ultimately reach the mid-ground of recognition of just how special is each member is where this very tender story travels.

Simon Messerman (William Hurt) is an insurance salesman who happens to read voraciously and speaks in quotations of famous writers and thinkers. His wife Judith (Rita Wilson) is equally bright, quotes as often as William, but adds a flavor of correcting people's grammar and living in a world of her beloved composers (Chopin, Schumann, Mozart, etc). They have two sons - Clive (David Call) is a long-haired math genius who despite his gifts spends his time playing loud hard rock music and speaking in a language all his own, and William (Brett Davern) who is devoted to his more intelligent brother but longs for a sense of normalcy in a family that tends to fragment at odd times. Clive's best friend and the only person who understands his special language is Elliot (Hale Appleman): the two of them essentially keep to themselves and smoke pot while they are not entertaining the 'homeless' Sandra (Michelle Trachtenberg). Sandra chooses to live in the basement of the Messerman house to avoid coping with her own abusive parents. The four youngsters are a team of sorts, thought the interrelationship roles each plays is not at first apparent.

The Messermans brag about Clive's constant triumphs at math contests, entertain their neighbors the Cubanos (Matt Servitto and Julianna Marguiles), and fill their lives with attending math meets, basically ignoring the personalities of their two boys. William longs for acceptance and understanding by his parents: Clive lives in his own world. William is driven to discover the meaning of Clive's strange language and eventually finds clues that lead to the secrets he'd rather not know. A situation occurs that stuns the family, and the story jumps forward to the resolving aftermath of that discovery.

For a bare bones budget film the story is well told and is a compelling one. Ethan Canin reads better on the page than his words convey through the mouths of actors, and at times the result is pretentious dialogue. But the cast is superb and the ending is one that makes the audience stop, think, and want to see the movie again for the clues we missed. Well worth seeing. Grady Harp