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Passion Play

Passion Play

Mitch Glazer

  • Country: USA
  • Year: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Producer: Daniel Dubiecki, Megan Ellison
  • Executive Producer: Rebecca Wang, Tyler Kwon
  • Screenplay: Mitch Glazer
  • Runtime: 91
  • Programmes:

When a jazz trumpeter is taken to the desert and a gun held to his head, we are at the beginning of a delightful fable about romance and dreams. When he meets a beautiful woman who works as the Bird Woman in a circus, he falls madly in love and persuades her to run away with him only to find that life is a little more complicated than simply living one's fantasies.

Drama,  Romance,  Fantasy

screening times

    • Friday September 10
    • 9:00:00 PM
    • RYERSON
    • Friday September 17
    • 11:00:00 AM
    • VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
    • Saturday September 18
    • 10:30:00 PM
    • AMC 6

Note: indicates Premium Screening.

official description

This strange and lyrical love story blends old-fashioned romanticism with all the fantasy of a fairy tale. It is also a welcome sight to see Mickey Rourke in a role that bores beneath his shambling gruffness to find a tender core. The slow-burning passion that gradually simmers between him and a darkly vulnerable Megan Fox showcases the talents of both actors with finesse. Finally there is Bill Murray, the counterpoint whose role is to act as a cold shower whenever heat blows between the two star-crossed lovers.

Nate (Rourke), a small-time jazz musician, is clearly a hard-luck case. Caught trying to break into a car, he is taken off into the desert where his assailant puts a gun to his head. Game over? Not quite. Stumbling into a circus pitched amidst the vast expanses of the southwest desert, Nate finds himself drawn to the exotic beauty of Lily (Fox), the Bird Woman. Lily is cold and dismissive; socializing with customers is not her scene. But it dawns on her that this gentle giant may well be her way out of a life of eccentric exposition. Nate is protective and understanding, and to him her aquiline beauty is a magic part of her uniqueness. As their bond deepens, Nate finds that his dreams of bliss are about to be thwarted by Happy Shannon (Murray), a cucumber-cool businessman with deep pockets and an eye for the bizarre.

Drawing on the remarkable talents of its high-powered cast, this wonderfully offbeat film is filled with surprises and proves that magic can be found in many places. Mitch Glazer balances the tough-guy moments and the rocky romance with the touch and feel of a high-wire artist. It makes for a spirited and uplifting spectacle with all the spirited colour of the circus.

Piers Handling

director bio

Mitch Glazer was born and raised in Miami Beach, Florida and began his career writing profiles for Esquire, Playboy, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. As a screenwriter, Mitch co-wrote, with partner Michael O'Donoghue, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (79) and Scrooged (88). Mitch went on to write, among other films, Great Expectations (98), Three Of Hearts (93) and The Recruit (03). Passion Play (10) is Mitch Glazer's directorial debut.

full credits

Principal Cast: Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, Bill Murray, Kelly Lynch, Rhys Ifans
Producer: Daniel Dubiecki, Megan Ellison
Executive Producer: Rebecca Wang, Tyler Kwon
Cinematographer: Christopher Doyle
Editor: Billy Weber
Music: Dickon Hinchliffe
Production Designer: Waldemar Kalinowski
   
International Sales Agent: Sierra Pictures
Production Company: Annapurna Productions
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