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

The film was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards including Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Supporting Male for actor John Lone, but the picture failed to win a gong in any category.

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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 At the Movies: A Time of Destiny/Bellman and True/High Season/The Moderns/Tokyo Pop (1988)

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Soundtracks

I Swear I Do
Performed by Charlélie Couture
Written by Charlélie Couture

User Reviews

Beautiful Work Of Art

*****SPOILER ALERT!!!*****

Alan Rudolph's "The Moderns" is a wonderful, funny and twisted film set in 1920's Paris, France. The front burner story is a triangle between Nick, his runaway wife and a cold as ice businessman that wants to obtain a higher social status. Nick(Keith Carradine)and Rachel(Linda Fiorentino)were married years ago and she bails out of the marriage. Years later, she shows up on the arms of Bertram Stone (John Lone). While he deals with her reappearance, he is also talked into making art forgeries by a rather shady behaving gallery owner, Valentin(Genevieve Bujold), as a favor for the wealthy Nathalie De Ville(Geraldine Chaplin). His friend, Oiseau (Wallace Shawn)constantly tells Nick that they should head to a new town called Hollywood to seek their fortune and Ernest Hemingway (Kevin J. O'Connor)wanders around in a state of alcoholic cynicism and making quirky observations.

The story, like the period in which the action takes place, is surreal. One scene has one of the dead characters rise from the grave like Houdini, strait-jack, chains and all. The relationship between Nick and Rachel is the heart of the story: Nick doesn't want to trust Rachel because of what she did, but all of his actions throughout the film are a result of Rachel. When he paints the forgeries, he thinks of Rachel's beauty and puts his feelings on canvas. He loves her, but is fighting with the possibility that if he opens his heart to her again, she will break it again. You can see this conflict when he slaps her in front of Stone, yet immediately becomes apologetic. Should he love her, or should he just back off? He clearly does when they share a sexual romp on the bathroom floor while her husband is downstairs.

The entire cast is great, but the best performance comes from O'Connor, who I think is one of the most underrated actors around.

This is a great movie to have if you feel like having a Paris night movie marathon, or just to have fun.