A woman, along with her lover, plans to con a rich man by marrying him, earning his trust, and then running away with all his money. Everything goes as planned until she falls in love with him.
The story of the life of Gia Carangi, a top fashion model from the late 1970s, from her meteoric rise to the forefront of the modeling industry, to her untimely death.
Director:
Michael Cristofer
Stars:
Angelina Jolie,
Faye Dunaway,
Elizabeth Mitchell
When a man selects a mail order bride, he is surprised to see the beauty who appears before him. She alleges that she sent false photos to him to assure that he would love her for what she is and not for her beauty. However, what she is is a con artist, prostitute, and actress, who teams with a fellow actor to steal money from men. What she does not expect is that she falls in love with her new husband and ultimately must decide between him and her sadistic former lover. Contains explicit sex including sadistic acts as Thomas Jane cuts Jolie's back with a knife as part of their lovemaking.Written by
John Sacksteder <jsackste@bellsouth.net>
Director Michael Cristofer said in interviews, and in his commentary for the movie, that before the sex scene between Luis and Julia was filmed, Angelina Jolie told him that she would only film the scene if she was fully naked and without tapes or anything else to cover her up. Antonio Banderas also decided to do the scene fully naked after talking with them, and only Cristofer and a couple of more crew members were involved in filming it. This meant that lot of footage filmed for the scene, however, could not be used in the film because it was just too graphic and explicit to show onscreen. Cristofer said he was unable to even include it in the NC-17 unrated version, which is why in all versions of the film, the sex scene has very obvious cuts which are covered with editing and fade outs in between the shots. This was also where the rumor started about how Jolie and Banderas had unsimulated sex, which was said to have been another reason for why the scene was cut down. Cristofer said he still had copy of original cut of the film which, amongst other deleted scenes, also included the original uncut sex scene. Till this day, this remains one of Jolie's several deleted or extended nude and sex scenes that were cut out from her earlier films and never released. Some others include Hackers (1995), which can be even seen in trailer for the film, The Bone Collector (1999), where one of her deleted nude scenes included original introduction for her character in which she has sex with her boyfriend, and Pushing Tin (1999). See more »
Goofs
When Julia wakes from her first nightmare, the right sleeve of her dressing gown slips off and on her shoulder as Luis comforts her. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Julia:
You cannot walk away from love. That was the advertisement in a Baltimore newspaper. And that is how he found her.
See more »
Alternate Versions
Approximately 4 minutes of sexually explicit material has been cut from cable showings, even on the late-night showings on non-commercial premium cable channels. Both R-rated and Unrated editions have been released on Region 1 DVD. The original theatrical release did contain explicit sex scenes, but as currently shown on cable, every time someone is about to go to bed with someone else, the scene fades out and returns to the same locale the next morning. In the original version, Julia's first sexual encounter with Luis is graphically shown, as is their encounter when he finds her in the hotel. See more »
A wealthy, handsome businessman in 1880s Havana advertises in the States for a marriageable woman to sail to his country, become his bride, and bear his children; however, the sultry, lusty young thing who arrives from Delaware curiously bears no resemblance to the photograph she has sent (she's even hotter!), and soon a private detective is snooping about asking questions. Cornell Woolrich's novel "Waltz Into Darkness" would seem an ideal murder-mystery/sexual thriller to absorb a modern-day audience (as a storyteller, Woolrich was far ahead of his time), but writer-director Michael Cristofer doesn't have the teasing personality, nor the sure-handed style, to bring out the juicy twists of this tale. Leads Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie look good together in and out of their clothes, but his forceful, full-blooded acting eclipses hers by a mile. Jolie is not convincing in this period setting; she has little range and, once the camera begins feasting upon her features in Mount Rushmore-like close-ups, her focus visibly wavers (it's a dreadful performance). Told in flashback, we are immediately privy to Jolie's mysteries, with an outcome that defies explanation. Cristofer intermittently tries out different photographic tricks and editing techniques, presumably to pad the running time but in effect showing off his uncertainty as a filmmaker. The dialogue (and Jolie's indifferent delivery of it) is often ludicrously funny, though Banderas deserves credit for at least attempting to take his part of the project seriously. *1/2 from ****
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A wealthy, handsome businessman in 1880s Havana advertises in the States for a marriageable woman to sail to his country, become his bride, and bear his children; however, the sultry, lusty young thing who arrives from Delaware curiously bears no resemblance to the photograph she has sent (she's even hotter!), and soon a private detective is snooping about asking questions. Cornell Woolrich's novel "Waltz Into Darkness" would seem an ideal murder-mystery/sexual thriller to absorb a modern-day audience (as a storyteller, Woolrich was far ahead of his time), but writer-director Michael Cristofer doesn't have the teasing personality, nor the sure-handed style, to bring out the juicy twists of this tale. Leads Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie look good together in and out of their clothes, but his forceful, full-blooded acting eclipses hers by a mile. Jolie is not convincing in this period setting; she has little range and, once the camera begins feasting upon her features in Mount Rushmore-like close-ups, her focus visibly wavers (it's a dreadful performance). Told in flashback, we are immediately privy to Jolie's mysteries, with an outcome that defies explanation. Cristofer intermittently tries out different photographic tricks and editing techniques, presumably to pad the running time but in effect showing off his uncertainty as a filmmaker. The dialogue (and Jolie's indifferent delivery of it) is often ludicrously funny, though Banderas deserves credit for at least attempting to take his part of the project seriously. *1/2 from ****