Northfork

Last updated

Northfork
Northfork poster.jpg
Directed by Michael Polish
Written by Mark Polish
Michael Polish
Produced byMark Polish
Michael Polish
Starring Peter Coyote
Anthony Edwards
Claire Forlani
Daryl Hannah
Kyle MacLachlan
Nick Nolte
Mark Polish
James Woods
Cinematography M. David Mullen
Edited byLeo Trombetta
Music byStuart Matthewman
Distributed by Paramount Classics
Release dates
  • January 21, 2003 (2003-01-21)(Sundance)
  • July 11, 2003 (2003-07-11)(United States)
Running time
103 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.9 million [1]
Box office$1.6 million [2]

Northfork is a 2003 fantasy drama film directed by Michael Polish and written by Michael and Mark Polish. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2003 and later received a limited release in the United States on July 11, 2003. [3] The film stars Duel Farnes, James Woods, Nick Nolte, Michele Hicks, Daryl Hannah, Anthony Edwards, Robin Sachs, Ben Foster, Claire Forlani, Clark Gregg, Kyle MacLachlan and Peter Coyote. This is the brothers' third film collaboration, after Twin Falls Idaho (1999) and Jackpot (2001).

Contents

Plot

The film's narrative consists of several interwoven subplots taking place in the town of Northfork, Montana circa 1955. A new dam is being built that will flood the valley of Northfork, and the town is in the midst of an evacuation. The narratives focus on several individuals who, for one reason or another, have yet to evacuate.

Walter O'Brien and his son are on the evacuation team, helping to evacuate the last few inhabitants of Northfork. In return, the government will give them acres of lakeside property if they meet their evacuee quota. Father Harlan is one such individual, who has stayed behind to care for Irwin, a dying orphan too weak to leave town.

While the O'Briens and their co-workers encounter an array of unusual characters, Irwin discovers that he is the "unknown angel" through a suitcase with his angel wings in it and a Bible with an angel's feather telling his family story. He finds himself, in his dreams, a family of angels, with whom he makes a deal to take him a thousand miles away.

Cast

Production

The script for the film was the first screenplay written by the Polish brothers. [4] The brothers, who grew up in California but spent time on relatives' ranches in Montana, based their script on people and places they had known in their youth. [4] [5]

The film was shot in 24 days. [6] Montana locations included Fort Peck, Choteau, Great Falls, Fort Peck Dam, and Augusta. [7] [5] The film was shot in CinemaScope. [3]

Reception

Northfork received mixed to positive reviews from critics and has a rating of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 103 reviews with an average rating of 6 out of 10. The consensus states "Visually poetic, but may be too dramatically inert for some." [8] The film also has a score of 64 on Metacritic based on 31 reviews. [9]

Roger Ebert awarded the film 4 out of 4 stars [10] and screened it as part of his Ebertfest festival. [4] Ebert wrote, "There has never been a movie quite like 'Northfork,' but if you wanted to put it on a list, you would also include 'Days of Heaven' and 'Wings of Desire.' It has the desolate open spaces of the first, the angels of the second, and the feeling in both of deep sadness and pity. The movie is visionary and elegiac, more a fable than a story, and frame by frame, it looks like a portfolio of spaces so wide, so open, that men must wonder if they have a role beneath such indifferent skies." [10]

A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "Like another pair of filmmaking brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, Mark and Michael Polish have a taste for odd, half-buried Americana. But their quiet, almost morose sensibility is miles away from the Coens' antic whimsy. At times their slow, deadpan style may remind you of David Lynch, but without the unnerving psychological subtext, the undercurrents of dread, sex and mayhem, that lurk below the surface of Mr. Lynch's pictures." [3] Scott likened the Polish brothers' sensibilities as closer to Wim Wenders. [3]

Patrick Z. McGavin of IndieWire wrote that though the film is underdeveloped narratively, its strength is in its cinematography: "Mullen’s crisp, widescreen frame conjures up a magnificent world of verdant plains and ravishing horizontal lines. His graceful camera hovers and floats around the movie’s ineffable subject, the possessive urge for independence and freedom in violent opposition with the need for community and social innovation." [11] He concluded, "The command and assurance of the Polish brothers is impressive, and this insinuating, fascinating movie has a magnetic, eerie pull." [11]

Accolades

Related Research Articles

<i>Leaving Las Vegas</i> 1995 film by Mike Figgis

Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 American drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic in Los Angeles who, having lost his family and been recently fired, has decided to move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. He loads a supply of liquor and beer into his BMW and gets drunk as he drives from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Once there, he develops a romantic relationship with a prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue and the film shifts to include her narrative perspective. O'Brien died from suicide after signing away the film rights to the novel.

<i>Adaptation</i> (film) 2002 American film

Adaptation is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. It features an ensemble cast led by Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper, with Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston and Maggie Gyllenhaal in supporting roles.

<i>Richard III</i> (1995 film) 1995 Shakespearean film by Richard Loncraine

Richard III is a 1995 period drama film, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Richard Loncraine. The film adapts the play's story and characters to a setting based on 1930s Britain, with Richard depicted as a fascist plotting to usurp the throne.

<i>You Can Count on Me</i> 2000 American film

You Can Count on Me is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan in his feature directorial debut. Starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, and Matthew Broderick, the film follows a single mother living in a small Catskill Mountains town, and her complicated relationships with family and friends.

<i>Barfly</i> (film) 1987 film by Barbet Schroeder

Barfly is a 1987 American black comedy film directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. The film is a semi-autobiography of poet/author Charles Bukowski during the time he spent drinking heavily in Los Angeles, and it presents Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski. The screenplay, written by Bukowski, was commissioned by the Iranian-born Swiss film director Barbet Schroeder, and it was published in 1984, when film production was still pending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mads Mikkelsen</span> Danish actor (born 1965)

Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen is a Danish actor, former gymnast and dancer. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher film trilogy, Detective Sergeant Allan Fischer in the television series Rejseholdet (2000–2004), Niels in Open Hearts (2002), Svend in The Green Butchers (2003), Ivan in Adam's Apples (2005) and Jacob Petersen in After the Wedding (2006).

<i>Charlotte Sometimes</i> (film) 2002 American film

Charlotte Sometimes is a 2002 drama film written, directed, and produced by Eric Byler. The title is taken from the song Charlotte Sometimes by The Cure, which in turn is based on the book Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer.

<i>Before Night Falls</i> (film) 2000 American film

Before Night Falls is a 2000 American biographical drama film directed by Julian Schnabel. The film is based on both the autobiography of the same name by Reinaldo Arenas—published in English in 1993—as well as Jana Boková's 1990 documentary Havana.

<i>Shy People</i> 1987 film by Andrei Konchalovsky

Shy People is a 1987 American drama film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, from a script by Konchalovsky, Marjorie David and Gérard Brach. It stars Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh, and Martha Plimpton, and features music by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. The film is about the culture clash that takes place between Diana, a Manhattan writer, her wayward teenage daughter Grace, and their long-distant relatives in the bayous of Louisiana.

<i>A River Runs Through It</i> (film) 1992 film by Robert Redford

A River Runs Through It is a 1992 American period drama film directed by Robert Redford, based on Norman Maclean's 1976 semi-autobiographical novella of the same name. It stars Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt as the Maclean brothers, Norman and Paul, alongside Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn and Emily Lloyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography</span> British film industry award

Best Cinematography is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize a cinematographer who has delivered outstanding cinematography in a film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. David Mullen</span> American cinematographer

M. David Mullen, A.S.C. is an American cinematographer known for his work on Twin Falls Idaho, Northfork, Akeelah and the Bee, The Astronaut Farmer, Jennifer's Body, and The Love Witch, as well as for his contributions to numerous television series, including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, for which he won an Emmy Award. He frequently collaborates with The Polish brothers.

Mark Polish and Michael Polish, known informally as the Polish brothers, are American twin filmmakers. Michael usually directs their films, and Mark often has an acting role.

<i>Rust and Bone</i> 2012 film directed by Jacques Audiard

Rust and Bone is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection Rust and Bone. It tells the story of a nightclub bouncer who falls in love with a woman who trains killer whales and lost her legs in a workplace accident. The film is a co-production between France and Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerzy Wójcik (cinematographer)</span> Polish cinematographer (1930–2019)

Jerzy Wójcik was a Polish cinematographer, author of screenplays and film and television director, professor of University of Silesia in Katowice and Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Theatre and Television in Łódź.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greig Fraser</span> Australian cinematographer

Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC is an Australian cinematographer. He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the 2021 sci-fi movie Dune.

<i>Corpus Christi</i> (2019 film) 2019 film by Jan Komasa

Corpus Christi is a 2019 drama film directed by Jan Komasa and written by Mateusz Pacewicz. An international co-production between Poland and France, the film stars Bartosz Bielenia, Aleksandra Konieczna, Eliza Rycembel, Tomasz Ziętek, Leszek Lichota, and Łukasz Simlat. Inspired by real-life events, it follows a 20-year-old man who experiences a spiritual transformation while living in a youth detention center.

The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films is a nonprofit organization that honors outstanding achievement in independent and world cinema. The organization gives out the Chlotrudis Awards. Membership in the society includes "the Boston film community...critics, film festival programmers, theater exhibitors, and representatives from consulates in Boston." The winners for the 27th annual Awards were announced on March 21, 2021.

<i>Brother</i> (2022 film) 2022 Canadian film

Brother is a 2022 Canadian drama film, written, produced and directed by Clement Virgo. An adaptation of David Chariandy's award-winning novel of the same name, the film centres on the relationship between Francis and Michael, two Black Canadian brothers growing up in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario in the early 1990s.

References

  1. ↑ "Northfork (2003)- Financial Information". The Numbers . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Northfork (2003)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Scott, A. O. (July 11, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; Angels Dare to Tread A Spooky Countryside". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Merli, Melissa (April 15, 2016). "'Just keep filming,' Ebert said". The News-Gazette . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Meyers, Christene (August 20, 2003). "Montana-bred twin filmmakers touting 'Northfolk'". Billings Gazette . Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Mark and Michael Polish on 'Northfork'". oneguysopinion.com. July 18, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ Schontzler, Gail (September 4, 2003). "Of men and angels: 'Northfork' sensibilities arise from lives of twin filmmakers". Bozeman Daily Chronicle . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Northfork". Rotten Tomatoes . July 11, 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Northfork". Metacritic . Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (July 11, 2003). "Northfork". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. 1 2 McGavin, Patrick Z. (July 9, 2003). "The Polish Brothers' "Northfork" Disquieting Meditation on the Vanishing American Frontier". IndieWire . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Northfork". montanakids.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  13. ↑ "2004, 10th Annual Awards". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ Nesselson, Lisa (August 20, 2003). "Lange lounging at Deauville". Variety . Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  15. ↑ ""In America," "American Splendor," and "Raising Victor Vargas" Top Nominees for 2004 IFP Independent". IndieWire. December 4, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Oldenburg's Top Ten Discoveries". The Hollywood Reporter . September 14, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.