Smithereens (film)

Last updated
Smithereens
DVD cover of Smithereens.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Susan Seidelman
Written by Peter Askin
Ron Nyswaner
Susan Seidelman
Produced byJoanne Gross
Susan Seidelman
StarringSusan Berman
Brad Rijn
Richard Hell
CinematographyChirine El Khadem
Edited bySusan Seidelman
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release date
  • September 11, 1982 (1982-09-11)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Smithereens is a 1982 American drama film directed by Susan Seidelman [1] and starring Susan Berman, Brad Rijn (billed as "Brad Rinn"), and Richard Hell. [2] The film follows a narcissistic, young woman [3] from New Jersey who comes to New York City to join the waning punk subculture, only to find that she's gravitated towards Los Angeles; in order to pay her way across country, she engages in a number of parasitic relationships, shifting her allegiances to new "friends" in an ongoing effort to ultimately endear herself to someone who will finance her desired lifestyle. [4]

Contents

Smithereens marked the debut of Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner ( Philadelphia ) and features a score by The Feelies. It was the first American independent film invited to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival. [5] Smithereens is a precursor to Desperately Seeking Susan , Seidelman's next film; both films share similar themes of female identity and self-reinvention.

Plot

Wren is a runaway from New Jersey who has come to New York City in the hopes of becoming a figure in the punk rock scene, only to find that the movement is now centered in Los Angeles. Wren finds herself relegated to sneaking into the city's remaining punk hot spot, the Peppermint Lounge, to ingratiate herself with the bands that play there, in the hopes that one of them will take her on as a groupie. She also engages in a campaign to litter the city with photocopied pictures of herself bearing the legend "WHO IS THIS?" in an attempt to generate mystique. Although she works part-time at a Xerox shop by day, Wren nominally uses her position there surreptitiously to print her fliers, and she supplements her lifestyle by mugging women in the subway.

Wren runs across Paul, a young man from Montana in the middle of a road trip who has briefly taken up residence in the city before heading to New Hampshire. Although he sleeps in the back of his dilapidated van, Paul has saved enough money to otherwise live comfortably. When Paul expresses interest in Wren, she agrees to date him, but she’s emotionally abusive and makes it clear to Paul that she’s more interested in the stability he can offer her.

On a date, the couple meet Eric, former member of Smithereens, a one-hit-wonder punk group from one decade earlier. Although he's now unemployed and living in the apartment of another punk named Billy, Eric professes to be putting together a new group that will be headed to Los Angeles. Wren leaves Paul to move in with Eric, but she’s forced to leave after a confrontation with a nameless, blonde woman who also lives in the apartment.

Returning to her apartment, Wren discovers that her roommates have fled in her absence and that her landlady has locked her out. Wren visits her brother and sister-in-law in an attempt to get a loan, but they decline on the grounds that Wren has cheated them in the past. With nowhere to go, Wren returns to Paul and coaxes him into helping her break into her old apartment to retrieve her things. The two resume an uneasy relationship, and Paul allows Wren to sleep in the back of his van at night.

Eric finds Wren and tells her that they are set to go to Los Angeles, but that they need money to afford transportation and food en route. With Wren’s help, Eric robs a wealthy man, Ed, at gunpoint after trapping him in a taxi. Finding that they've made enough money to go to Los Angeles, Eric sends Wren to collect her things from Paul's van. Returning to Eric's apartment, Wren learns from Billy that Eric has taken all of their money and gone to Los Angeles by himself. Confronting the nameless, blonde woman in the stairwell, Wren learns that she is Eric's wife and that he has a history of picking up vulnerable women to exploit for his own financial gain. Attempting to reunite with Paul, Wren learns that he sold his van to a local pimp and used the money to continue his road trip. Looking inside the van, Wren discovers that Paul left behind a watercolor portrait he'd done of her.

Now homeless, Wren wanders the city until she's propositioned by a man in a convertible. Although she initially dismisses the man's advances, his admonishment that she has nowhere else to go causes her to stop and turn back toward his car.

Cast

In addition, Chris Noth, in his second credited film role, makes a brief appearance playing a prostitute.

Reception

Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote "Smithereens gets off to a fast start, thanks to Susan Berman's feisty performance and the vitality with which her story is told...Although willful inactivity seems a crucial part of the characters' way of life, it's carried too far; everyone here stays put a little longer than is believable, particularly Paul, who remains parked by the highway for what feels like weeks, with nothing to do but wait for Wren to appear." [6]

Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader wrote "Wren, in her self-delusion, manipulativeness, and superficiality, easily ranks as one of the most obnoxious characters in film history, and she exerts a strange fascination." [7]

Film critic Emanuel Levy wrote "Susan Seidelman's feature debut, the first American indie to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, put New York's East Village sensibility onscreen by examining issues of identity, desire and self-fulfillment from a distinctly female perspective." [8]

Home media

Before the Criterion Collection DVD/Blu-ray edition, it was released on VHS by Merlin Video in the UK. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Howards End</i> (film) 1992 film

Howards End is a 1992 period romantic drama film directed by James Ivory, from a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the 1910 novel of the same name by E. M. Forster. Marking Merchant Ivory Productions' third adaptation of a Forster novel, it was the first film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics. The film's narrative explores class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century Britain, through events in the lives of the Schlegel sisters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Hayward</span> American actress (1917–1975)

Susan Hayward was an Academy Award-winning American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories.

<i>After Hours</i> (film) 1985 film directed by Martin Scorsese

After Hours is a 1985 American black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Joseph Minion, and produced by Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne, and Robert F. Colesberry. Dunne stars as Paul Hackett, an office worker who experiences a series of misadventures while attempting to make his way home from New York City's SoHo district during the night.

<i>The Piano Teacher</i> (film) 2001 film by Michael Haneke

The Piano Teacher is a 2001 erotic psychological drama film written and directed by Michael Haneke, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Elfriede Jelinek. It tells the story of an unmarried piano teacher at a Vienna conservatory, living with her mother in a state of emotional and sexual disequilibrium, who enters into a sadomasochistic relationship with her student. A co-production of Austria and France, Haneke was given the opportunity to direct after previous attempts to adapt the novel by filmmakers Valie Export and Paulus Manker collapsed for financial reasons.

<i>Repulsion</i> (film) 1965 British film by Roman Polanski

Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological horror thriller film directed by Roman Polanski, and starring Catherine Deneuve. Based on a story written by Polanski and Gérard Brach, the plot follows Carol, a withdrawn, disturbed young woman who, when left alone in the apartment she shares with her sister, is subject to a number of nightmarish experiences. The film focuses on the point of view of Carol and her vivid hallucinations and nightmares as she comes into contact with men and their desires for her. Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Patrick Wymark, and Yvonne Furneaux appear in supporting roles.

<i>Something Wild</i> (1986 film) 1986 film by Jonathan Demme

Something Wild is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, written by E. Max Frye, and starring Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels and Ray Liotta. It was screened out of competition at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. The film has some elements of a road movie combined with screwball comedy.

<i>Eating Raoul</i> 1982 film by Paul Bartel

Eating Raoul is a 1982 American black comedy film written, directed by and starring Paul Bartel with Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, and Susan Saiger. It is about a prudish married couple who resort to killing and robbing affluent swingers to earn money for their dream restaurant.

<i>Girl 6</i> 1996 film by Spike Lee

Girl 6 is a 1996 American black comedy film produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, and Lee. Suzan-Lori Parks wrote the screenplay, making it the first film directed by Lee that he did not also write. Directors Quentin Tarantino and Ron Silver make cameo appearances as film directors at a pair of interesting auditions.

<i>Desperately Seeking Susan</i> 1985 film by Susan Seidelman

Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. Set in New York City, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housewife and a bohemian drifter – linked by various messages in the personals section of a newspaper.

No wave cinema was an underground filmmaking movement that flourished on the Lower East Side of New York City from about 1976 to 1985. Associated with the artists’ group Collaborative Projects, no wave cinema was a stripped-down style of guerrilla filmmaking that emphasized dark edgy mood and unrehearsed immediacy above many other artistic concerns – similar to the parallel no wave music movement in its raw and rapid style.

<i>3 Women</i> 1977 film by Robert Altman

3 Women is a 1977 American psychological drama film written, produced and directed by Robert Altman and starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. Set in a dusty California desert town, it depicts the increasingly bizarre relationship between a woman (Duvall), her roommate and co-worker (Spacek) and an older pregnant woman (Rule).

George Lee Quiñones is a Puerto Rican artist and actor. Quiñones rose to prominence by creating massive New York City subway car graffiti that carried his moniker "LEE". His style is rooted in popular culture and often with political messages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Seidelman</span> American film director, producer and writer

Susan Seidelman is an American film director, producer, and writer. She first came to notice with Smithereens (1982), the earliest American independent feature to be screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Her next feature, Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), co-starred Madonna in her first film, and was named as one of 100 greatest films directed by women by the BBC; it resulted in a Cesar Award nomination. She-Devil (1989) starred Meryl Streep in her first starring comedic film role and Roseanne Barr in her first feature-film role. Her work on the short film The Dutch Master resulted in an Academy Award nomination. Seidelman's subsequent films mix comedy with drama, blending genres and pop-cultural references with a focus on women protagonists, particularly outsiders. She also works in television and directed the pilot episode of Sex and the City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Nyswaner</span> American screenwriter and film director (born 1956)

Ronald L. Nyswaner is an American screenwriter and film director. He has been nominated for numerous awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Berman</span> American journalist and author (1945–2000)

Susan Jane Berman was an American journalist and author. The daughter of mobster David Berman, she wrote about her late-in-life realization of her father's role in organized crime.

<i>Every Man for Himself</i> (1980 film) 1980 French film

Every Man for Himself is a 1980 drama film directed, co-written and co-produced by Jean-Luc Godard that is set in and was filmed in Switzerland. It stars Jacques Dutronc, Isabelle Huppert, and Nathalie Baye, with a score by Gabriel Yared. Nathalie Baye won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress. It also was submitted as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 53rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

<i>Girlfriends</i> (1978 film) Film by Claudia Weill

Girlfriends is a 1978 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Claudia Weill and written by Vicki Polon. The film stars Melanie Mayron as Susan Weinblatt, a Jewish photographer who experiences loneliness once her roommate Anne moves out of their apartment in New York City. It was the first American independent film to be funded with grants, but private investors helped complete the film.

<i>My Brilliant Career</i> (film) 1979 Australian film

My Brilliant Career is a 1979 Australian period drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong, and starring Judy Davis, Sam Neill, and Wendy Hughes. Based on the 1901 novel of the same name by Miles Franklin, it follows a young woman in rural, late-19th-century Australia whose aspirations to become a writer are impeded first by her social circumstance, and later by a budding romance.

<i>Verboten!</i> 1959 film by Samuel Fuller

Verboten! is a 1959 American romantic war drama film written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller and starring James Best, Susan Cummings, Tom Pittman, and Harold Daye. It was the last film of the influential but troubled RKO Radio Pictures studio, which co-produced it with Fuller's own Globe Enterprises. It was filmed at the RKO Forty Acres backlot. Distribution was handled by Columbia Pictures.

References

  1. AllMovie
  2. Bengal, Rebecca (July 27, 2016). "Famous for Being Famous in Downtown '80s New York: Susan Seidelman on Smithereens". Vogue. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  3. "A Time Capsule of a Gritty, Long-Gone New York- The Current- The Criterion Collection". criterion.com. August 26, 2018.
  4. "Criterion Collection: Susan Seidelman". criterion.com.
  5. "Festival de Cannes: Smithereens". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  6. Maslin, Janet (November 19, 1982). "SMITHEREENS". The New York Times.
  7. Kehr, Dave (March 22, 1985). "Smithereens". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  8. Erbland, Kate (July 28, 2016). "Susan Seidelman Looks Back: How 'Smithereens' Defined Her Career – Girl Talk". IndieWire.
  9. Smithereens (1982) trailer by The Duke Mitchell Film Club on YouTube