Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)

A fading Hollywood star looks back at the days of his youth as he returns home from his best friend's funeral.

Director:

Baillie Walsh

Writer:

Baillie Walsh

Stars:

Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Eve

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emile Robert	...	Young Joe Scot
Scoutt Lowe	...	Young Boots McKay
Daniel Craig	...	Adult Joe Scot
Julie Ordon	...	Carrie Ann
Gina Athans	...	Apple
Erich Conrad	...	Voice of Radio DJ (voice)
Eve	...	Ophelia Franklin
Emilia Fox	...	Sister Jean
Annabel Linder	...	Dawn
Angie Ruiz	...	Priscilla
Sue Dall	...	Maitre D
Mark Strong	...	Mannie Miesel
Alwyn Kotze	...	Ritchie Smith
Pope Jerrod	...	Waiter
Darron Meyer	...	Valet

Storyline

An aging Hollywood star, Joe Scott, lives a life of narcissistic hedonism, observed by his laconic personal assistant, Ophelia. The death of his childhood best friend, Boots, takes our protagonist, and the movie, into an extended flashback to a sea-side town in 1970's Britain. Hollywood star Joe is now a teenage boy in a tentative relationship with a school-girl called Ruth. Further, his mother's friend, Evelyn, is attempting to seduce him. Engulfed by guilt at the unintended, tragic consequences of his subterfuge, he leaves home. The movie then switches back to contemporary Hollywood. Joe confronts his fear and returns to England for a difficult meeting with Ruth, who had gone on to marry Boots and has been a left a poor widow.

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Plot Keywords:

older woman teenage boy sex | flashback | adultery | male rear nudity | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last cinema film of Miriam Karlin.

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Goofs

None of the cars that were supposed to be in California, had a front California License Plate. They only had rear California plates. California is a front and rear plate State.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Apple: He's got no stamina.
[giggle]
Apple: I love your nose.
Carrie Ann: Oh, thanks. I wanted to get my nose done since I was ten. It wasn't as simple as I thought. The doctors found out that I didn't have any cartilage in the tip of my nose. So then he needs to do that. Um, my nose was too long, so, I needed to shorten it. And then it was too wide so I had to thin it. And, uh, it was just a lot more complicated than I thought. My nose was just an insane amount of money.
[continues babbling]

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Connections

Referenced in Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: Episode #13.11 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Mozart: 1 Regina Coeli, Laetare
Regina Coeli in B flat, K.127"
Performed by Rundfunkblasorchester Leipzig (as Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester-Leipzig)
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Courtesy of Decca Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Operations

User Reviews

There is nothing foolish about this film.

Although Flashbacks of a Fool is Daniel Craig's pet project – he's the film's executive producer as well as its star – it actually contains surprisingly little of the blonde hunk (though for the ladies out there, you do, admittedly, get to see his bum).

Craig plays Joe Scott, a movie star who has plenty of money and sexual satisfaction in his life, one which - when he is not indulging in coke-addled rumpy pumpy at least - is mostly spent looking out to the sea from his minimalist cliff-top pad.

Yet he has no real friends and seemingly no real future – "there's no role for you ANYWHERE," his agent tells Joe, a moment after he has seen his client throw his prized mobile phone out of a restaurant window.

As Joe begins to wonder what has happened to his life, we are taken back to his adolescent days of first love on the quiet English seaside, to discover what this Brit has in fact been trying to hide from with a life of debauchery and excess in LA.

Even a fan of this film should be able see why some might find it slow and slightly dull, as it does rely on the viewer sharing in a sense of glory in the mystical power of great records, the tragic romance of nostalgia and regret, and the theme of washed-up stardom.

Perhaps that provides limited scope for the film to garner a wide audience, but for those who can find true enjoyment from subtle portrayals of youth and humanity as much as from the more obvious merits of rapid plot progression that will matter little. The direction is superb, the script never feels rushed, and the wistful tone of someone looking back to their yesterdays to get on with their today is rare in its realisation of artistic vision.

There's no big finale, but that's not to say that the conclusion is anything less than perfect in its mood and its timing. A literate film that is there to relish on a quiet afternoon, Flashbacks of a Fool feels more typical of a book by Ian McEwan (though thankfully it bears little in common to the cinematic version of Atonement) than a film starring the current Bond. It could also have you listening to Roxy Music for the rest of your weekend, even if you've never before had the urge to sing along to Bryan Ferry in the bath - a pleasing added bonus.

There is nothing foolish about this film – watch it accordingly.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flashbacks of a Fool

Filming Locations:

Field Road, Denham, Uxbridge, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,020, 19 October 2008

Gross USA:

$1,664

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,117,269

Company Credits

Production Co:

Left Turn Films, Ugly Duckling Films, Lipsync Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1