Sonny (2002)
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Theatrical Release: Dec 27, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), is one of small-time prostitution: mom is a madam, and Sonny has been... Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), is one of small-time prostitution: mom is a madam, and Sonny has been in the brothel all his life. His brief excursion into the broader world makes Sonny want a different life, but he finds that his old habits--as well as the pull of young call girl Carol (Mena Suvari), and the bond with his mother's companion Henry (Harry Dean Stanton)--make leaving nearly impossible. For his first shot at directing, Cage chose a particularly gritty, knotted story in SONNY. Barry Markowitz's rich cinematography is nearly tactile, and Cage makes the interesting choice of having the colorful (in more ways than one) city of New Orleans mostly push through the edges of the movie, which is primarily shot in close-up. Those tight shots reveal the simmering rage in Franco's character, as well as the strange Oedipal twist of the hustling son who tries to please his mother by having sex with other women. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James Franco, Mena Suvari, Brenda Blethyn, Harry Dean Stanton, Scott Caan
Screenwriter: John Carlen
Producer: Nicolas Cage, Norm Golightly, Paul Brooks
Composer: Clint Mansell
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 19, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Snap Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Stereo 2.0 - English
Addtional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - 1. Nicolas Cage - Director
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Sunk by way too much indulgence of scene-chewing, teeth-gnashing actorliness.
Actors generally make good actor's directors, but Sonny is a mixed bag in that department.
Enchanted with low-life tragedy and liberally seasoned with emotional outbursts ... What is sorely missing, however, is the edge of wild, lunatic invention that we associate with Cage's best acting.
There's too much forced drama in this wildly uneven movie, about a young man’s battle with his inescapable past and uncertain future in a very shapable but largely unfulfilling present.
Keep your day job, Nicolas Cage. This shockingly inept directorial debut reveals the brooding actor to be a hackneyed helmer.
Author John Carlen has abstrusely captured that struggle of one man simply trying to be human in nonhuman, vile, circumstances.
Nicolas Cage isn't the first actor to lead a group of talented friends astray, and this movie won't create a ruffle in what is already an erratic career.
Franco is an excellent choice for the walled-off but combustible hustler, but he does not give the transcendent performance SONNY needs to overcome gaps in character development and story logic.
It is as uncompromising as it is nonjudgmental, and makes clear that a prostitute can be as lonely and needy as any of the clients.
Preposterous and tedious, Sonny is spiked with unintentional laughter that, unfortunately, occurs too infrequently to make the film even a guilty pleasure.
Amid the cliché and foreshadowing, Cage manages a degree of casual realism ... that is routinely dynamited by Blethyn.
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