Love the Hard Way (2001)

The story of a petty thief who meets an innocent young woman and brings her into his world of crime while she teaches him the lessons of enjoying life and being loved.

Director:

Peter Sehr

Writers:

Shuo Wang (novel) (as Wang Shuo), Peter Sehr (screenplay)

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Jon Seda

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrien Brody	...	Jack Grace
Charlotte Ayanna	...	Claire Harrison
Jon Seda	...	Charlie
August Diehl	...	Jeff
Pam Grier	...	Det. Linda Fox
Liza Jessie Peterson	...	Pam
Elizabeth Regen	...	Sue
Katherine Moennig	...	Debbie
Joey Kern	...	Fitzgerald
Jonathan Hadary	...	Boris
Michael G. Chin	...	Asian Businessman #1
Ben Wang	...	Asian Businessman #2
Huan Wang	...	Asian Businessman #3
Ned Stresen-Reuter	...	Brian
Michaela Conlin	...	Cara, Jack's Lover

Storyline

The story of a petty thief who meets an innocent young woman and brings her into his world of crime while she teaches him the lessons of enjoying life and being loved.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | cigarette smoking | based on novel | independent film | thief | 

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Genres:

Drama | Crime | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, language and violence

Did You Know?

Quotes

Jack: Are you expecting an eclipse?

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Alternate Versions

Current prints available have two on-screen copyright statements: 2001 listing the 2 copyright owners and "2003 final cut." The initial showings at various film festivals in 2001 and 2002 were obviously different than the final 2003 theatrical released version.

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Connections

References Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

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Soundtracks

Miss NYC
Performed by Me and the Other Guy
Written by Didi Gutman and Rahj

User Reviews

sigh...

Adrien Brody, will you marry me?

Proposals aside, once again, Brody proves why he deserved his Oscar (and that kiss from Halle Berry). He gives a beautiful, touching performance here as a charming, rakish, snakeskin-jacket-wearing con artist who falls in love with a girl from the right side of the tracks. Jack Grace is no ordinary sleazeball, though. He keeps a secret storage unit seperate from the apartment he shares with his partner-in-crime Charlie (Jon Seda), where he keeps first editions of classic novels (he has a penchant for Melville) and works on his own novel. In other words, he's exactly the kind of bad boy that would attract intellectual Claire (Charlotte Ayanna), a beautiful, unstable biology major at Columbia. Claire tells him she likes movies best that make her cry, and he does his best to oblige her, ultimately sending her on a self-destructive bender that makes him look like a good boy.

Brody carries this film, and the lovely Charlotte Ayanna is unfortunately not given nearly as much to work with. She spends most of her time alternating between trying to change him (we all know how well that works), and having hysterics, and then finally goes on to attempt to prove that she can exist in his world and take the kinds of risks that he gets off on. The romance between the two is not well-developed at the beginning, either, so though we see plenty in him that makes us believe she loves him, we don't see what has gone on between them. Brody, however, makes up the slack in the script with every shot of his wonderfully expressive eyes. He is the walking, talking answer to the question, "Why do good girls like bad boys?"

Unfortunately, this film only had a limited engagement at the Starz Film Center, and as far as I know, does not have any wider distribution. This is a shame, particularly after Brody's Oscar win this year, and I hope that this will change and that more people will get to see this movie and see one of the most talented actors of his generation in action.

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Spanish German French Russian

Release Date:

27 March 2003 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Love the Hard Way

Filming Locations:

Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,721, 8 June 2003

Gross USA:

$44,391

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$111,350

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vif Babelsberger Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. Dritte KG, P'Artisan Filmproduktion GmbH, TiMe Film- und TV-Produktions GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1