Limbo (1999)

In an economically devastated Alaskan town, a fisherman with a troublesome past dates a woman whose young daughter does not approve of him. When he witnesses the murder of his shady brother, he, the woman and the kid run to the wilderness.

Director:

John Sayles

Writer:

John Sayles

Stars:

David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Vanessa Martinez

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Laskin	...	Albright
Leo Burmester	...	Harmon King
Hermínio Ramos	...	Ricky
Dawn McInturff	...	Audrey
Vanessa Martinez	...	Noelle De Angelo
David Strathairn	...	Joe Gastineau
Tom Biss	...	Baines
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Donna De Angelo
Jimmy MacDonell	...	Randy Mason
Kathryn Grody	...	Frankie
Rita Taggart	...	Lou
Mérit Carlson-van Dort	...	Stacy
Monica Brandner	...	Corky
Maria Gladziszewski	...	Denise
Kris Kristofferson	...	Smilin' Jack

Storyline

Limbo tells the story of people trying to reinvent themselves in the Southeastern islands of Alaska. The story revolves around Joe Gastineau, a fisherman traumatised by an accident at sea years before, singer Donna de Angelo and her disaffected daughter Noelle who come into Joe's life. When Joe's fast-talking half-brother Bobby returns to town and asks Joe for a favor, the lives of the characters are changed forever.

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Plot Keywords:

wilderness | singer | island | alaska | motorboat | 

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Taglines:

Acclaimed director John Sayles takes you to the heart of America's last frontier

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 1999 (France)

Also Known As:

Ennen kuolemaa

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$139,634, 6 June 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,997,807, 15 August 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Green/Renzi

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed entirely in Alaska.

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Goofs

On some occasions when Noelle is reading from the diary in the cabin, she's sitting with her back to the fireplace. Since the fire is the only source of light at night, that would put the diary in shadow and make it unreadable.

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Quotes

Joe: So, how did your stuff end up at his place?
Donna: Unforeseen circumstances.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Instinct/The Loss of Sexual Innocence/Limbo (1999)

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Soundtracks

Better Off Without You
Written by Marshall Chapman, Dennis Walker and Fontaine Brown
Performed by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

User Reviews

Art-house TV movie

This is certainly a film of two halves. It feels like an upmarket TV movie at first but the acting and camera-work are superior to that aforementioned fare. There is a sense of a community evoked by Sayles's direction as he follows a diverse array of characters and overlaps their problems with the actions of others, while, at the same time, providing enough social commentary on the evils of capitalism that threaten the natural beauty of Alaska. This socio-political commentary is subtle enough because Sayles avoids stereotypes in his portrayal of the inhabitants. The first half feels fragmented at times but the presentation of the blossoming romance between the two main characters provides a seemingly stable counterpoint to the Altmanesque rendering of the tale.

However, the film is really a tease. It abandons the first half in favor of the unexpected Lord of the Flies scenario involving the three main characters for the second half. Moreover, it changes mood full circle, using fear and anxiety as the main concerns of the three stranded characters, whose lives hang in the balance, in a state of limbo as it were. I wasn't sure how the first half related to the second, and I still feel uneasy about the total break Sayles employed between both parts. As a result, it feels like two films joined together. I also feel Sayles abandoned any sense of a multi-threaded narrative drive he successfully built into the first part in favor of the unexpected second part. The second part may symbolically allude to the film's title but it's also an abrupt digression of the preceding genre.

Why bother with showing the first hour if it wasn't followed up? Why bother showing many characters in the first half, then abandoning their concerns in the later, as if it didn't matter? This is essentially a TV movie for the art-house crowd but one that challenges and frustrates in equal measure.