Guinevere (1999)

A young girl from an affluent family rebels and becomes involved with a much older photographer.

Director:

Audrey Wells

Writer:

Audrey Wells

Stars:

Sarah Polley, Stephen Rea, Jean Smart

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Polley	...	Harper Sloane
Stephen Rea	...	Connie Fitzpatrick
Jean Smart	...	Deborah Sloane
Gina Gershon	...	Billie
Paul Dooley	...	Walter
Carrie Preston	...	Patty
Tracy Letts	...	Zack
Emily Procter	...	Susan Sloane
Sharon McNight	...	Leslie (as Sharon Mcnight)
Gedde Watanabe	...	Ed
Carlton Wilborn	...	Jay
Sandra Oh	...	Cindy
Francis Guinan	...	Alan Sloane
Oded Gross	...	Gary
Grace Una	...	April

Storyline

Connie, an aging Bohemian photographer, meets mousy Harper, headed for Harvard Law from a high-powered San Francisco family, and immediately sees her beauty. He also guesses she has talent and invites her to be his pupil and share his bed. He's Alfred Stieglitz, she's Georgia O'Keefe, and he calls her his Guinevere. When she realizes she's the latest Guinevere in a string of ingenues, she bolts, only to return, sick of her family. She's blossoming, reading, learning, but hasn't yet taken her first photograph when he tells her they're going to L.A., broke, him drinking too much, to sell some photographs. On the trip, she finally snaps the shutter; so does her awe and dependence.

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Plot Keywords:

cake | pantyhose | police officer | coffeeshop | lighting equipment | 

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Taglines:

Blurring the line between passion and obsession.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the non-union shoot in San Francisco, crew members struck and were joined by star 'Sarah Polley', who walked the picket line. Striking crew members report that they were quite touched by her action, which was more than a gesture, but rather a sincere belief in workers' rights. On her part, Polley called her union, the Screen Actors Guild, to tell them of her action, and the union representative told her they'd back her if she crossed the picket line. SAG assumed that she was calling to ask whether she could defy the strike and cross the picket line! A shocked and dismayed Polley stayed out with the strikers, and the strike ended after three days when their grievances were met. Subsequently, Polley has stated that she has been told that she lost several job offers due to this incident as producers don't want a union 'militant' despite the film industry being a craft industry dominated by the guild (union) system and she did what she felt was right.

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Goofs

The wet spots on Harper's shirt after taking a shower.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Harper Sloane: These photographs of me were taken when I was 21 years old. They were shot on Plus X with a 105-mm lens on a Nikon F-2, developed normal, two stops overexposed. I like this one a lot. The F-2 was lost forever to a pawn shop in Los Angeles four years ago. The photographer lived in San Francisco up until last week. He was the worst man I ever met, or maybe the best, I'm still not sure. If you're supposed to learn by your mistakes, then he was the best mistake I ever made. He was my ...

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Double Jeopardy/Jakob the Liar/Mumford (1999)

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Soundtracks

Digital Hash
Written and Performed by Derek Nakamoto

User Reviews

A disturbingly good movie

Guinevere: Harper Sloane (Sarah Pollack) is a painfully shy young woman trapped in a household of lawyers lorded over by an alpha-mother (Jean Smart) who treats her like a servant. Destined to attend Harvard law school and join the pack, Harper finds her salvation in Connor Fitzgerald (Steven Rea), part-time photographer/philosopher, full-time con-man Svengali. Connor actually listens to what she says and offers her escape into an exciting bohemian lifestyle. Will he be her salvation or downfall? There are shades of Leaving Las Vegas in this film - it is dark and at times unpleasant - one scene in particular made me so uncomfortable I turned away from the screen. To its credit, Guinevere, like Leaving Las Vegas, is also a very good film. Sarah Pollack is outstanding as the withdrawn Harper (in stark contrast to her brazen, street-wise savvy Ronna in Go!). Although she's actually twenty, she looks fifteen, which helps to convey a believable vulnerability and transformation.

Rea is truly manipulative as Connor, more pathetic than sinister, who preys on young women - you're never quite sure if you should loathe or pity him. Finally, Jean Smart does an excellent job as the hard-as-nails matriarch, miles away from her smarmy character on Designing Women.

Well worth the price of admission.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Guinevere

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$54,145, 26 September 1999

Gross USA:

$632,283

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$635,680

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Millennium Films, Bandeira Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1