Modernization of Charles Dickens classic story finds the hapless Finn as a painter in New York City pursuing his unrequited and haughty childhood love.
Vincent Lamarca, whose father was executed for a 1950s kidnapping of a child, grew up to become a police officer, only to see his own son become a murder suspect.
Director:
Michael Caton-Jones
Stars:
Robert De Niro,
James Franco,
Frances McDormand
An ultraconservative security guard suffers a debilitating stroke and is assigned to a rehabilitative program that includes singing lessons, with the drag queen next door.
Director:
Joel Schumacher
Stars:
Robert De Niro,
Philip Seymour Hoffman,
Barry Miller
After 20 years caring for her father, a woman with cancer now must re-connect with her trashy sister and nephews she's never met after being diagnosed. Her love helps the angry teen nephew, and her sister learns to relate to people.
Based on Charles Dickens' timeless tale, this is a story of the love of a man for an unreachable woman. Updated to modern day New York City, the story concerns a man of modest background who falls in love with a rich girl. But when a mysterious benefactor greenlights the man to make his dreams come true, everything done has the ultimate goal of making Estella fall in love with him...Written by
Steve Richer <sricher@sympatico.ca>
Real-life painter Francesco Clemente created Finnegan Bell's (Ethan Hawke's) artwork for the movie. See more »
Goofs
In the scene in which Lustig is shown on TV, the commentator mentions Lustig is due for death by lethal injection. Florida only began offering lethal injection relatively recently. When Finn was a boy, the method would have been the electric chair. See more »
Quotes
Finn:
What's it like not to feel anything?
Estella:
Let's say there was a little girl, and from the time she could understand, she was taught to fear... let's say she was taught to fear daylight. She was taught that it was her enemy, that it would hurt her. And then one sunny day, you ask her to go outside and play and she won't. You can't be angry at her can you?
Finn:
I knew that little girl and I saw the light in her eyes, and no matter what you say or do, that's still what I see.
Estella:
We are who we are. People don't ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
The credits are accompanied by images of all the artwork drawn by Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke). They run the entire duration of credits. See more »
Too many times we fall into the trap of comparing a movie with the book. Every director and every writer has a vision and we must judge that vision through their respective mediums. This film brings an unconventional theme to a society fascinated by what they cannot have. This film symbolizes just that. Standing on its own, this film was magnificent in its visual images and music and very many other areas. Do not be caught in that trap of comparing this film to the book. Dickens should never be compared to any screenwriter in the first place.
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Too many times we fall into the trap of comparing a movie with the book. Every director and every writer has a vision and we must judge that vision through their respective mediums. This film brings an unconventional theme to a society fascinated by what they cannot have. This film symbolizes just that. Standing on its own, this film was magnificent in its visual images and music and very many other areas. Do not be caught in that trap of comparing this film to the book. Dickens should never be compared to any screenwriter in the first place.