Parts per Billion

Last updated
Parts Per Billion
Parts Per Billion Movie Poster.jpg
Preview Poster
Directed byBrian Horiuchi
Screenplay byBrian Horiuchi
Produced by Michael Benaroya
David Dickson
Molly Hassell
Jennifer Levine
Starring Frank Langella
Gena Rowlands
Rosario Dawson
Penn Badgley
Teresa Palmer
Josh Hartnett
Cinematography John Guleserian
Edited byCurtiss Clayton
Music byMark Kilian
Production
companies
Benaroya Pictures
Interactor Media
PalmStar Entertainment
XYZ Films
Distributed by Millennium Entertainment
Release date
  • March 25, 2014 (2014-03-25)(HKIFF)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million [1]

Parts per Billion is a 2014 romantic drama written and directed by Brian Horiuchi. It stars an ensemble cast comprising Frank Langella, Gena Rowlands, Rosario Dawson, Penn Badgley, Teresa Palmer, and Josh Hartnett as three loosely connected couples who must deal with a looming biological attack.

Contents

Plot

Erik, a struggling musician who lives off his family's considerable wealth, clashes with his girlfriend, Anna, over what they know are trivial details in their relationship. Apprehensive after watching news reports of increasing conflict in the Middle East, Anna comes to believe that they should spend more time together, but Erik seems preoccupied with music composition and maintaining friendly relations with his ex-girlfriends. At the same time, Len and Mia, a married couple, experience trouble in their own relationship. Len, a depressed and unemployed writer, struggles to find direction in his life. He confesses to his sister, a nurse named Sarah, that he has taken his wife, Mia, for granted until recently. Mia, an accomplished lawyer, has just successfully represented Andy, a scientist of some renown, from accusations of selling trade secrets to a research facility in the 1970s. Anna, worried about visions that she has had recently of a looming apocalypse that involve a young girl, confides in Rick, Len's best friend, that she fears she may be suffering from schizophrenia.

Andy, Erik's grandfather, insists that he take more money, but Erik refuses, as he wants to prove that he can make it on his own. Misunderstanding Erik's motives, Andy accuses Erik of being too good to take his money, as it was made through the production of biological weapons. Although Andy admits that he knew that the research was likely unethical, his wife, Esther, brushes off his guilt and says that the money kept their daughter alive long enough to give birth to Eric. Meanwhile, the situation in the Middle East worsens considerably. Biological weapons are at first rumored to have been deployed, then proven. Although the United States urges calm, Europe suffers massive casualties as trade winds blow the toxins westward. Andy, aware of the worst-case scenarios, urges Sarah to take appropriate precautions when she attends to him and his wife. Sarah in turn alerts Len, who takes Mia into their basement. As panic spreads through the country following loss of contact with the East Coast, Rick attempts to purchase a survival kit. When he comes up short of money, he grabs one and begs to be given a chance for survival; the owner shoots him as a looter.

Andy and Esther survive through the use of oxygen tanks. Esther, an optimist, believes that Erik and Anna have survived somehow, but Andy, a realist, insists that they must be dead. Flashbacks interspersed with Andy's and Esther's argument show Erik and Anna playfully flirting, having sex, and celebrating the news that Anna is pregnant. The flashbacks end with the apparent deaths of both Anna and Erik as they lie in bed. Andy and Esther set out to the local hospital to recover more oxygen tanks, where they discover Sarah's body. Discouraged, Esther begins to lose the will to live, but Andy encourages her with the knowledge that they have each other. At the same time, Len and Mia debate whether they should commit suicide together. Len is hurt by Mia's admission that she failed to discourage a coworker from falling in love with her, but he argues they have real chance to survive. Mia mocks Len's "Adam and Eve" scenario where they rebuild civilization, but Len begs her to stay with him; Mia tearfully pauses on the basement stairs. In the final scene, the young girl that Anna saw in her visions earlier is depicted finding Anna's ring and showing it to her mother.

Cast

Production

In 2008, it was announced that Olivia Thirlby, Robert Pattinson and Dennis Hopper had been cast in the film, with shooting expected to begin within a month. [2] However, conflicting shooting schedules with another film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon , forced Pattinson to drop out in early 2009. [3] In November, a press release from the Michigan Film office revealed that the movie had been awarded incentives amounting to $295,766 in the form of state tax credits, by the state of Michigan and was expected to hire 73 Michigan workers. [4] [5] On December 12, 2012, AKA/Bow Street Films announced that Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Hill Harper and Alexis Bledel had joined the cast. Shooting was scheduled to begin in Detroit and last all through Christmas. [6] Also announced as cast members were Gena Rowlands, Frank Langella, Josh Hartnett, Molly Haskell, and Jennifer Levine. Joe Jenckes and Rosario executive produced. [6]

Release

On April 21, 2014 Millennium Entertainment acquired the US distribution rights to the film. [7] It was released on video on demand on May 20, 2014, [8] and on home video on June 6, 2014. [9]

Reception

Thomas Spurlin of DVD Talk rated it 2/5 stars and wrote that the film is too pessimistic and heavy-handed to properly address its philosophical themes. [10] Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict wrote, "This lame, loosely knitted nonsense tries to bring the end of the world down to a human level and fails over and over again." [11]

Related Research Articles

Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Palmer</span> Fictional secret agent

Harry Palmer is the anti-hero protagonist of a number of films based on the unnamed main character, a secret agent, in the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in three of the four films based on the four published novels featuring this character, The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Caine also starred as this character in two other films not directly based on Deighton's novels.

The year 1998 in film involved many significant films, including Shakespeare in Love, Saving Private Ryan, Armageddon, American History X, The Truman Show, Primary Colors, Rushmore, Rush Hour, There's Something About Mary, The Big Lebowski, and Terrence Malick's directorial return in The Thin Red Line. DreamWorks SKG released its first two animated films: Antz and The Prince of Egypt. The Pokémon theatrical film series started with Pokémon: The First Movie. Warner Bros. Pictures celebrated its 75th anniversary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Langella</span> American actor (born 1938)

Frank A. Langella Jr. is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon and as André in Florian Zeller's The Father, and two for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performances in Edward Albee's Seascape and Ivan Turgenev's Fortune's Fool. His reprisal of the Nixon role in the film production of Frost/Nixon earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

<i>Sin City</i> (film) 2005 American crime thriller film

Sin City is a 2005 American neo-noir crime anthology film produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It is based on Miller's graphic novel of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Palmer</span> Australian actress (born 1986)

Teresa Mary Palmer is an Australian actress. She began her career with roles in Bedtime Stories (2008), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010), Take Me Home Tonight (2011), and I Am Number Four (2011). She received further recognition for starring in the films Warm Bodies (2013), Lights Out (2016), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), and Berlin Syndrome (2017). She also starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced the drama film The Ever After (2014), with her husband Mark Webber. From 2018 to 2022, Palmer starred as Diana Bishop in the supernatural drama series A Discovery of Witches.

<i>Flesh for Frankenstein</i> 1973 film

Flesh for Frankenstein is a 1973 horror film written and directed by Paul Morrissey. It stars Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren and Arno Juerging. Interiors were filmed at Cinecittà in Rome by a crew of Italian filmmakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn Badgley</span> American actor and musician (born 1986)

Penn Dayton Badgley is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Dan Humphrey in The CW teen drama series Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and as Joe Goldberg in the Netflix thriller series You (2018–present). For Gossip Girl, he received six Teen Choice Award nominations, and for You, he earned MTV Movie & TV Award and Saturn Award nominations.

Caldecot "Cotty" Chubb is an American film producer who has produced films such as Eve's Bayou, Hoffa, Unthinkable, The Crow, Dark Blue and Pootie Tang. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature in 1997 for Eve's Bayou and was a nominee for To Sleep with Anger in 1991. Both of those films have been admitted to the National Film Archive of the Library of Congress.

Dawson is a Scottish surname. Notable persons with the surname include:

<i>Twilight</i> (2008 film) 2008 American romantic fantasy film directed by Catherine Hardwicke

Twilight is a 2008 American romantic fantasy film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2005 novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series. This film focuses on the development of the relationship between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, and the subsequent efforts of Edward and his family to keep Bella safe from a coven of evil vampires.

<i>All Good Things</i> (film) 2010 film by Andrew Jarecki

All Good Things is a 2010 American mystery/crime romantic drama film directed by Andrew Jarecki and written by Marcus Hinchey and Marc Smerling. Inspired by the life of Robert Durst, it stars Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, and Frank Langella. Gosling portrays the wealthy son of a New York real estate tycoon (Langella) who develops a disturbing relationship with his wife (Dunst) and becomes suspected of a series of murders, as well as his wife's unsolved disappearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arielle Kebbel</span> American actress and model

Arielle Caroline Kebbel is an American actress and model. She has appeared in various television series, including Gilmore Girls (2003–2004), The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017), Life Unexpected (2010), 90210 (2011–2013), Ballers, Midnight Texas (2017–2018), and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2019–2020). Kebbel has also appeared in films such as American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005), John Tucker Must Die (2006), The Grudge 2 (2006), Forever Strong (2008), The Uninvited (2009), Think Like a Man (2012), and Fifty Shades Freed (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leda Gloria</span> Italian actress (1908–1997)

Leda Gloria was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 66 films between 1929 and 1965. During the expansion of Italian cinema of the Fascist era of the 1930s and early 1940s she appeared in starring roles, later transitioning into character parts after the Second World War. She appeared in the Don Camillo series of films, playing the wife of Gino Cervi's Giuseppe Bottazzi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Pattinson</span> English actor (born 1986)

Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

<i>I Am Number Four</i> (film) 2011 film by D. J. Caruso

I Am Number Four is a 2011 American teen science fiction action film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, and Callan McAuliffe. The screenplay, by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Marti Noxon, is based on the 2010 novel of the same name, one of the Lorien Legacies young adult science fiction novels. The film follows a teenage alien on Earth fleeing other aliens who are hunting him down.

The Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films, hosted and sponsored by Spike. The show was created by executive producers Michael Levitt, Cindy Levitt, and Casey Patterson. The performer on the show was M.I.A.

<i>Fire with Fire</i> (2012 film) 2012 American action thriller film

Fire with Fire is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by David Barrett starring Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio and Rosario Dawson. Duhamel plays a firefighter forced to confront a neo-Nazi murderer. The film was released direct-to-video on DVD and Blu-ray on November 6, 2012.

Studio One Eighty Nine is a fashion social enterprise based in Ghana and the United States. Its goal is to promote African and African-inspired fashion. It has its own label and supports other brands. Studio One Eighty Nine co-founders, Hollywood actress Rosario Dawson and former Bottega Veneta communications executive Abrima Erwiah, created Fashion Rising in 2013 in honor of V-Day Movement's One Billion Rising campaign.

<i>Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces</i> 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces is a 2014 feature-length compilation of deleted and extended scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a 1992 film directed by David Lynch and written by Lynch and Robert Engels. It was released over twenty-two years after the movie and the original series ended, and three years before the revival, Twin Peaks: The Return, aired.

References

  1. ↑ McNary, Dave (February 6, 2013). "AKA, Bow Street take cuffs off cop doc". Variety . Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  2. ↑ Larry Carrol. "Robert Pattinson Teams With Rosario Dawson For 'Parts Per Billion'". MTV . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ Larry Carrol. "'Twilight' Star Robert Pattinson Drops Out Of 'Parts Per Billion'". MTV . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  4. ↑ Eric Lacy (19 November 2012). "Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett film 'Parts Per Billion' receives state tax credits; will shoot in Metro Detroit". MLive.com . Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ Matt Roush. "'Parts Per Billion' Approved For Film Incentive". WWJ-TV . Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Gallagher, Brian. "Penn Badgley and Teresa Palmer Join Parts Per Billion". MovieWeb . Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Millennium Takes U.S. Rights To Sci-Fi Drama 'Parts Per Billion'". Deadline Hollywood . 21 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Benardello, Karen (May 7, 2014). "Love May Not Survive in Parts Per Billion Home Entertainment Release". Shockya. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  9. ↑ Longsdorf, Amy (June 6, 2014). "New on DVD this week: June 6". The Record . Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ Spurlin, Thomas (June 13, 2014). "Parts Per Billion (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk . Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  11. ↑ Gibron, Bill (July 11, 2014). "Parts Per Billion (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict . Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
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.