Faithful (1996)

A depressed housewife whose husband is having an affair contemplates suicide, but changes her mind when she faces death by a killer hired to do her in.

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writers:

Chazz Palminteri (play), Chazz Palminteri (screenplay)

Stars:

Cher, Chazz Palminteri, Ryan O'Neal

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cher	...	Margaret
Chazz Palminteri	...	Tony
Ryan O'Neal	...	Jack Connor
Paul Mazursky	...	Dr. Susskind
Amber Smith	...	Debbie
Elisa Leonetti	...	Maria
Mark Nassar	...	Maria's Boyfriend
Stephen Spinella	...	Young Man at Rolls
Jeffrey Wright	...	Young Man at Rolls
David Marino	...	Little Tony
Steven Randazzo	...	Tony's Father
Olinda Turturro	...	Tony's Mother
Max Norat	...	Jewelery Store Salesman
Allison Janney	...	Saleslady
Chris O'Neill	...	Priest

Storyline

For their 20th wedding anniversary, Jack gets Maggie a diamond necklace and a hit man. But when Tony shows up and, waiting for the signal from Jack in Connecticut to do the hit, he and Maggie begin to talk - perhaps Tony can come to value Maggie even more than her husband does. And when Jack shows up, things get very tricky.

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Plot Keywords:

attempted suicide | female protagonist | kitchen | flashback | bathtub | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about a wife, her husband and his hit man.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sex-related dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Movieweb

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

20 lat... i ani dnia dluzej

Filming Locations:

Harrison, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$967,956, 7 April 1996

Gross USA:

$2,104,439

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,104,439

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, New Line Cinema, Price Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Amber Smith.

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Goofs

The sandwich that Margaret is eating.

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Quotes

Tony: Blow jobs don't count.

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Connections

Referenced in The Larry Sanders Show: Arthur After Hours (1995)

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Soundtracks

The Irish Wedding Jigs
Performed by Joanie Madden and The Yellow Jackets
Traditionally arranged by Joanie Madden
Published by Wood Park Publishing

User Reviews

Cher can be a good actress - but not always

"Faithful" is a worth-watching film, somewhere between comedy and drama, but not tragicomedy. It stars Cher as a rich but rejected wife who wants to take her life on her 20th anniversary. But then a hitman hired by her husband gets into her house. He ties her to a chair and they start to talk - as it's an adaption of a play - and slowly Cher's wish to live on is growing. The dialogue is quite spirited and also funny, you shouldn't miss it. And it's pretty cool when the hitman is making phone-calls to his psychiatrist and vice versa, again and again. You have to enjoy this, it's almost 'tarantinoesque', but better, because there is no celebration of violence here. Nevertheless, in the end it gets kind of disturbing and boring. Now the movie finally suffers from the fact that basically only three actors are involved. Cher's acting is very good in the beginning, her facial acting is fabulous when portraying the desperate woman meeting her killer. But from the moment when her husband (Ryan O'Neal) returns, her character is much less convincing and her face of vivid emotion turns a face of a pale mask of make-up, which - forgive me - she may think makes her look one or two decades younger. Now my vote: 7 out of 10!