I Want You (1998)

A young boy and his sister are drawn into one man's obsessive pursuit of his former lover.

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writer:

Eoin McNamee (screenplay)

Stars:

Rachel Weisz, Alessandro Nivola, Luka Petrusic

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rachel Weisz	...	Helen
Alessandro Nivola	...	Martin
Luka Petrusic	...	Honda
Labina Mitevska	...	Smokey
Paul Popplewell	...	Phonebox Man
Ben Daniels	...	Bob
Graham Crowden	...	Old Man
Geraldine O'Rawe	...	Sonja
Steve John Shepherd	...	Sam
Phyllida Law	...	Woman at Hairdresser #1
Mary MacLeod	...	Woman at Hairdresser #2
Kenny Doughty	...	Smokey's Friend
Des McAleer	...	Flowers Salesman
Julian Rivett	...	Billy
Julie Smith	...	Young Woman

Storyline

Helen is a young woman running a hairdressing salon; Bob is her boyfriend and local radio DJ; Honda is a mute kid who's secretly taping people's conversation and Smokey is Honda's sister who sings at local bar. New guy in town is the mysterious Martin, who shares some dark history with Helen and observes her from afar at first. Honda falls in love with Helen and starts taping her conversations with Bob, and that leads to reactivation of the Helen-Martin relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

england | dj | probation | mute | hairdresser | 

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Taglines:

And what Helen wants, Helen gets.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, violence and language

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Macedonian Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

30 October 1998 (UK)

Also Known As:

Beloved

Filming Locations:

Pett Level, Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,242, 6 June 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,242, 6 June 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment,Revolution Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Red Rock West (1993)

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Soundtracks

Beautiful Love
Written by Julian Cope
Performed by Julian Cope
Copyright Warner/Chappell Music Limited
Courtesy of Island Records Limited
Licensed by kind permission of the PolyGram Commercial Marketing Division

User Reviews

A very experimental, open-ended, and unique movie

This movie, first of all, is not for amateur moviefans. The only people who will probably enjoy this movie are the ones who have seen a great many and wide range of films. It is for the open minded and analytical. Why? Because, this movie is virtually left blank for the audience to fill in. The acting is superb, Rachel Weisz and Alessandro Nivola are very talented, and are justly fit for the role. About 70% of the dialogue was improvised, so that should tell you something. Although there are sometimes too many holes in the plot and not enough information given, the movie, i believe, is pulled off wonderfully. It is a very open movie, and there are no reassurances. The audience will probably find themselves playing psychologist to the deep, rich characters that develop as the short movie progresses. The characters and the whole openness of the movie is what appealed to me. I Want You is very underrated, and people should give this movie a second try. Yeah, there is some explicit sex and voyeurism going on, but that is one of the movie's great central themes. The focus is very apparent from the beginning, and the beautiful thing that sets it off is mood. The color tones used, in mellow bluish and yellowish color, the melancholy and often creepy music... and the locale add to it. The movie is almost like The Virgin Suicides in mood, except much, much darker, with a darker, creepier story as well. It seems throughout the entire movie that the characters are sort of lost in this sort of moody limbo that Michael Winterbottom creates... and you get lost as well.