Stormy Monday (1988)

A crooked American businessman tries to push the shady influential owner of a nightclub in Newcastle, England to sell him the club. The club's new employee and the American's ex lover fall in love and inadvertently stir the pot.

Director:

Mike Figgis

Writer:

Mike Figgis

Stars:

Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melanie Griffith	...	Kate
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Cosmo
Sting	...	Finney
Sean Bean	...	Brendan
James Cosmo	...	Tony
Mark Long	...	Patrick
Brian Lewis	...	Jim
Ying Tong John	...	1st Heavy
Mick Hamer	...	Pianist
Ian Hinchcliffe	...	Man at Record Shop
Andrzej Borkowski	...	Andrej
Caroline Hutchison	...	Finney's Secretary Jean
Les Wilde	...	Customs Officer
Desmond Gill	...	Man in Airport Lounge
Benny Graham	...	Passport Officer

Storyline

Brendan takes a job as janitor for Finney, who runs a jazz nightclub in the Northern English city of Newcastle. But Finney is being pressured to sell his club, and Brendan soon provides non-janitorial services to Finney. Soon his rival's American boss Cosmo comes to town, while Brendan begins to fall in love with Kate, an escort working for Cosmo.

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | club | nightclub | newcastle | england | 

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Taglines:

The Most Dangerous Choices Are Made With The Heart

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cosmos: Tommy Lee Jones plays a character in this film, named "Cosmo". Joe Pantoliano would later play a character named "Cosmo" in The Fugitive (1993), and its sequel U.S. Marshals (1998). Jones portrayed Cosmo's superior officer, Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, in both of those films. Keeping up with the "Cosmo" theme here, James Cosmo appeared in the film, but he did not play Cosmo.

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Goofs

When Brendan and Kate were on a date, she tells him she was from New Ulm, Minnesota. He then remarks that she must be Norwegian. In fact, New Ulm was founded by German immigrants, and New Ulm, Minnesota gets its name from Neu Ulm, Bavaria, Germany.

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Quotes

Bob: Nobody said anything about guns! They've got guns, and I think we need guns!
Cosmo: [sarcastically] That's smart thinkin', Bob. That's real smart thinkin'. All the damn money I spread around here, and you want to go play Al Capone with some fuckin' meatball! You fuckin' juvenile!

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Connections

References A Night at the Opera (1935)

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Soundtracks

(Call It) Stormy Monday
Performed by B.B. King
Written by T-Bone Walker (as Aaron T. Walker)
(c) 1948 Gregmark Music Inc.
Courtesy of MCA Records
Recorded at Mediasound
Produced by Trade Martin

User Reviews

Coolest Brit film of the decade.

I have seen this film a few times since it came out more than ten years ago. I think it is seriously underrated. It has a great Jazz soundtrack written by Mike Figgis, the director (who went on to make Leaving Las Vegas). A brilliant cast: Sean Bean, Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones and Sting. It has a film noir feel throughout that fits the post-industrial Newcastle setting very well (lots of great location shots BTW). Last of all, the beautifully paced editing, which is just icing on the cake.

I can't help but notice that this film is not polling too well at the moment (averaging 6.5 out of 10.0), perhaps it's the slightly anti-American subtext?

While I didn't notice any direct references to this film in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (apart from Sting doing an above average acting job in both of them). I think they would make a great double feature.

Worth it for the soundtrack alone : 9/10.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Polish

Release Date:

May 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stormy Monday

Filming Locations:

Queen Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$44,734, 24 April 1988

Gross USA:

$1,791,328

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,791,328

Company Credits

Production Co:

Atlantic Entertainment Group, British Screen Productions, Film Four International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1