Joint Body | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Directed by | Brian Jun |
Screenplay by | Brian Jun |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ryan Samul |
Edited by | Brian Jun |
Music by | Alec Puro |
Production company | 40/West |
Distributed by | Level 33 Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Joint Body is a 2011 American crime thriller film written and directed by Brian Jun and starring Mark Pellegrino and Alicia Witt. [1] [2] The film is about a convict who is abandoned by his ex-wife and prevented from seeing his young daughter. As a parolee he develops a relationship with a lonely and troubled woman, whom he saves from a violent attack, killing the assailant in the process. Once more on the run, he is forced to re-evaluate his freedom as he evades the law and faces demons from his past. The film was shot on location in various small towns in southern Illinois: Alton, Wood River, East Alton, and Jerseyville. [2] [3] Produced by James Choi, Brian Jun, and Max Velez for 40/West, the film premiered on April 29, 2011 at the Newport Beach Film Festival. [1]
While doing time in prison for a violent offense, Nick Burke (Mark Pellegrino) is visited by his wife who informs him that after waiting for seven years, she is divorcing him and has taken out a restraining order against him to prevent him from seeing their daughter. Sometime later, after accepting the parole board's condition that he relinquish all custodial rights of his daughter, he is given his freedom. Now in his mid-forties and determined to start a new life, Nick tries to find his way back into society and move beyond his violent criminal past. He meets with his parole officer, finds a small motel room, and attends an AA meeting.
Nick's younger brother Dean (Ryan O'Nan) visits him at the motel and describes his life as a newlywed and police officer, having just graduated from the police academy. Although their relationship seems strained, Nick still looks to connect with his brother, even though he never visited him in prison. Before leaving, Dean gives his older brother a gun for protection. Nick soon finds work at a manufacturing plant.
At the motel, Nick meets a lonely and troubled stripper named Michelle Page (Alicia Witt), whose isolated life is interrupted by the deaths of her elderly neighbors. Nick asks his attractive neighbor out for coffee, and the two begin to share their stories with each other.
One morning, Michelle's former acquaintance Danny Wilson (Tom Guiry), whom she hasn't seen in three years, shows up after his three-year tour of duty in Afghanistan, expecting to rekindle their relationship. Michelle hardly knows this man who has developed an obsession over her. When Michelle rejects his advances and his demands for a personal reward for his service to his country, he sticks a gun in her face and brutally rapes her in her room. Hearing the commotion, Nick runs to her room with his brother's gun in hand. In the confrontation, both men are shot — Danny is mortally wounded.
In the coming days, Michelle visits Nick in the hospital as he recovers from his gunshot wound to the stomach. When he learns that Danny died from his wounds, and knowing that he violated his parole and would be sent back to prison—no matter how good his intentions in stopping the attack, Nick leaves the hospital with Michelle's help, and the two drive to the home of Nick's brother Dean and his pregnant wife. There they get a glimpse of a domestic life they have never known. The relationship between the two brothers remains strained, yet Nick reaches out to make some familial connection with Dean, whose only advice is to "disappear".
The next morning, Nick and Michelle leave in Nick's old truck, knowing they have become outlaws on the run. They find solace in each other's arms that night in a motel. Soon after, police detectives arrive at Dean's house with the gun he gave his brother. Convinced that Michelle gave the gun to police, when Nick calls, Dean tells him that she betrayed him. Later, Nick confronts Michelle about the gun, and she swears she did not give it to the police — that they must have discovered where she had hidden the weapon. That night they have sex.
In the morning, Michelle discovers that Nick has abandoned her, perhaps for her own protection. Later, back at her motel, Michelle is arrested by the police and she is taken to jail. Meanwhile, Nick drives to his daughter's school and meets one of her teachers, who tells him she is doing fine. After school, he observes his daughter leaving with her friends, but he does not approach her. Sometime later, on a quiet deserted lake, Nick floats across the water in his old boat.
Joint Body was filmed on location in various small towns in southern Illinois, USA. [2]
The soundtrack included the song "About Me", written and performed by Alicia Witt. [2]
In his review in Cranes Are Flying, Robert Kennedy wrote that Pellegrino and Witt are "both excellent", but that the film suffered from the director's script, which was "abysmally weak". [4] Kennedy went on to write:
The narrative couldn't be more hackneyed and stereotypical, where there's no investment whatsoever in a unique idea or vision, where the audience is rather appalled at the choices the characters make, as they appear to be smarter than that. It's a waste of good performances. [4]
Joint Body was released on DVD on July 24, 2012.
Double Jeopardy is a 1999 American crime thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood, and Gillian Barber. Released on September 24, the film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $177 million.
Urban Legend is a 1998 slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks, written by Silvio Horta, and starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, and Tara Reid, and is the first installment in the Urban Legend film series. Its plot focuses on a series of murders on the campus of a private New England university, all of which appear to be modeled after popular urban legends. In addition to its younger cast, the film features supporting performances from Robert Englund, Loretta Devine, John Neville, and Brad Dourif.
That Yellow Bastard is a six-issue comic book limited series, and the sixth in the Sin City series. It was published by Dark Horse Comics in February–July 1996, It follows the usual black and white noir style artistry of previous Sin City novels, with the exception of yellow on Roark Junior late in the story.
Drowning Mona is a 2000 American crime comedy film starring Danny DeVito as Wyatt Rash, a local police chief from Verplanck, New York, who investigates the mysterious death of Mona Dearly, a spiteful, hard-drinking, loud-mouthed, abusive woman, hated by all who knew her, who drove her son's car off a cliff and drowned in a river. The film received negative reviews from critics.
Dark City is a 1950 American film noir crime film starring Charlton Heston in his Hollywood debut, and featuring Lizabeth Scott, Viveca Lindfors, Dean Jagger, Don DeFore, Ed Begley, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and directed by William Dieterle.
Dean Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Matt Di Angelo. He made his first appearance on 2 January 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that the characters of Deano and his sister Carly Wicks were being axed by executive producer Diederick Santer. Deano made his final appearance on 7 February 2008. On 15 January 2014, it was announced that Deano, now called Dean, would be returning and Di Angelo would begin filming the following month. Di Angelo took a three-month break from the soap from January to April 2015, with a one-off appearance in February to tie in with the show's 30th anniversary celebrations. In October 2015, it was announced that Di Angelo would be leaving the show in early 2016. The character is arrested for attempted rape with his final scenes set in court airing on 4 and 5 February 2016. On 19 August 2016, Dean is acquitted of attempted rape after standing trial off-screen.
The Invisible is a 2007 teen supernatural thriller starring Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Chris Marquette, Marcia Gay Harden, and Callum Keith Rennie. The film, directed by David S. Goyer, was released in theaters on April 27, 2007. The Invisible is a remake of the Swedish film of the same name, which was based on the Swedish young adult novel by Mats Wahl. It is the last movie produced by Hollywood Pictures.
Cindy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Michelle Collins. She first appeared 10 May 1988 and originally departed on 27 December 1990, before returning as one of the show's central antagonists from 13 October 1992 until her exit episode on 10 April 1998; the character died off-screen of childbirth on 5 November 1998.
Sherrybaby is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Laurie Collyer. Screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2006, the film received a limited release in the United States on September 8, 2006.
Paul Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Sean Gallagher, the character arrives with the rest of his family as one of Michelle Connor's two brothers, first appearing during an episode that aired on 6 September 2006. He was later killed off on 6 June 2007, following the actor's decision to leave the cast after only nine months.
Delinquent Daughters, or Accent on Crime, is a 1944 American drama film directed by Albert Herman and starring June Carlson, Fifi D'Orsay and Margia Dean. An exploitation film, it is about a police investigation into the suicide death of a high school girl and the hard-partying teenagers at a party prior to the incident.
The Line is a Canadian television drama series, which debuted on Movie Central and The Movie Network on March 16, 2009. It centred on two morally ambiguous police officers in the Scarborough district of Toronto.
Dickens Hill is a fictional prison in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The prison is part of a storyline that first aired between 1988 and 1989. The storyline centres on the popular character Den Watts and was filmed on location at Dartmoor Prison in Devon. The episodes were shot in a block of intensive filming, over five weeks, but they were worked into regular episodes of EastEnders later in the year, from September 1988 to February 1989. This was done in order to keep the character Den Watts on-screen after Den's actor, Leslie Grantham, had left the show. Although not part of the original storyline, the prison also briefly appears in 2017 when Max Branning visits his former cellmate, Luke Browning. The prison also appears in a separate storyline in 2018 when Mick Carter is on remand for the shooting of Stuart Highway.
Lucy Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The character was played by Eva Brittin-Snell, Casey Anne Rothery, Melissa Suffield, and Hetti Bywater. Lucy was introduced in December 1993 as the baby daughter of Ian and Cindy Beale. She is the twin sister of Peter Beale, and has three half siblings, older brother Steven Beale, younger sister Cindy Williams and younger brother Bobby Beale.
3 A.M. is a 2001 crime film written and directed by Lee Davis and starring Danny Glover, Pam Grier, Sergej Trifunović, and Michelle Rodriguez. It is the first film written and directed by Lee Davis, a protégé of director Spike Lee. The film follows the lives of several New York taxi drivers.
"The Same Boat" is the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 13, 2016. The episode was written by Angela Kang and directed by Billy Gierhart.
The Professor is a 2018 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Wayne Roberts. The film stars Johnny Depp, Rosemarie DeWitt, Danny Huston, Zoey Deutch, Ron Livingston, Odessa Young and Paloma Kwiatkowski.