The Moderns (1988)

A struggling artist is hired to forge paintings, causing him to cross paths with his ex-wife and her powerful new husband.

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writers:

Alan Rudolph, Jon Bradshaw

Stars:

Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, Wallace Shawn

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keith Carradine	...	Nick Hart
Linda Fiorentino	...	Rachel Stone
Wallace Shawn	...	Oiseau
Geneviève Bujold	...	Libby Valentin (as Genevieve Bujold)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Nathalie de Ville
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Hemingway
John Lone	...	Bertram Stone
Charlélie Couture	...	L'Evidence (as Charlelie Couture)
Elsa Raven	...	Gertrude Stein
Ali Giron	...	Alice B. Toklas
Gailard Sartain	...	New York Critic
Michael Wilson	...	Surrealist Poet
Robert Gould	...	Blackie
Antonia Dauphin	...	Babette
Véronique Bellegarde	...	Laurette (as Veronique Bellegarde)

Storyline

Nick Hart is a struggling American artist who lives amongst the expatriate community in 1920s Paris. He spends most of his time drinking and socializing in local cafés and pestering gallery owner Libby Valentin to sell his paintings. He becomes involved in a plot by wealthy art patroness Nathalie de Ville to forge three paintings. This leads to several run-ins with American rubber magnate Bertram Stone, who happens to be married to Hart's ex-wife Rachel.

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Plot Keywords:

painting | drinking | art patroness | 1920s | expatriate | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les modernes

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,011,497

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nelson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Alan Rudolph is a protégé of director Robert Altman. This film's lead actor Keith Carradine had previously starred in Altman's Nashville (1975), Thieves Like Us (1974), and McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971). Carradine has also appeared in Rudolph's Welcome to L.A. (1976) and Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) both of which Altman was the head producer.

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Quotes

Oiseau: [while observing his own faked funeral] If it weren't for me, these people would think surreal was a breakfast food!

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Mavericks (1990)

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Soundtracks

Parlez-moi d'Amour
Music by Jean Lenoir
Lyrics by Jean Lenoir
Performed by Lucienne Boyer and Charlélie Couture

User Reviews

Quirky, Fun, Interesting

Alan Rudolph does not make movies for everyone to see. His movies seem like personal projects that interest him at the time. Some of his movies I haven't been able to get involved in (Trixie, Mortal Thoughts, Afterglow) but with The Moderns, I was pulled in quickly. The story focuses on Keith Carradine's ex-patriot Nick Hart, a painter who has the ability to duplicate famous works of art with his brush. He's hired to create forgeries by Mademoiselle de Ville (Geraldine Chaplin).

But the story doesn't stop there. There are other ex-patriots around, including young Ernest Hemingway, comically portrayed by Kevin J. O'Connor; who is constantly drinking, philosophizing and pursuing women. It's not a flattering look at Hemingway, but somehow it adds to the whole ambience of the film and seems to ring true. And then there is Linda Fiorentino, a former lover of Nick's, and her husband, the rich and icy Bertram Stone (John Lone). The characters are odd and quirky, the story is uneven at times, and meanders a bit, but it is never boring. This movie has such style and depth that it pulls the viewer in, like we're trying to see the work that is under the painted canvas. That's what this movie is about -- the greater depth of art. What is art and what is crap? What is love and what is hate? What is real and what is illusion? As a director, Alan Rudolph pulls us along cleverly, with a hint of intrigue, the dichotomy of Nick's love and Hemingway's carousing, a taste of passion and the beauty of art. Then there are the characters who are well-layered works of art themselves. Maybe this movie isn't a masterpiece, but it leaves us chipping away at the paint trying to see what treasure is underneath. It's a movie to be enjoyed