Sweet November | |
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Directed by | Pat O'Connor |
Screenplay by | Kurt Voelker |
Story by |
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Based on | Sweet November 1968 film by Herman Raucher |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Edward Lachman |
Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
Music by | Christopher Young |
Production companies | Bel Air Entertainment 3 Arts Entertainment |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 120 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $40 million [2] |
Box office | $65.8 million [2] |
Sweet November is a 2001 American romantic drama film based in San Francisco directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. The film is loosely based on the 1968 film Sweet November written by Herman Raucher, which starred Anthony Newley and Sandy Dennis; with some differences in plot. The film reunites Reeves and Theron, who starred in Devil’s Advocate.
Sweet November was released on February 16, 2001, and was panned by critics, who called it "schmaltzy and manipulative", while the plot and the lack of chemistry between Reeves and Theron were also criticized. The film was also a box office disappointment, grossing only $65.8 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million.
Nelson Moss is a workaholic advertising executive who meets Sara Deever, a woman very different from anyone he has met before. His attempt to get an answer from her on his driving test leads to her failing due to cheating.
Sara beguiles Nelson and continually asks him to spend a month with her on the promise that she will change his life for the better. On the first night of November, after he is fired and dumped on the same day, she sleeps with him, and the next day Chaz, a close friend of Sara's, arrives and refers to Nelson as Sara's "November".
Throughout November, the two experience happy times together and fall in love. Nelson examines his life and past, and befriends a 10-year-old fatherless child named Abner. Eventually, he realizes he is in love with Sara and asks her to marry him. It is revealed that Sara has terminal cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Because she cannot bear to have Nelson experience her death, she asks him to leave. Sara tells Chaz that Nelson proposed. When he says that it wasn't the first time that a man had proposed, implying Sara has had numerous "months" before. Sara confirms this but claims it was the first time she had wanted to say yes.
Sara decides she will not continue the relationship to protect Nelson from being hurt. He complies, but then stages a surprise return during the Thanksgiving holiday, giving her gifts that remind her of their happy times.
They stay together for one more day; he posts November calendars all over her apartment walls, saying it can always be November for them. They make love, but the next morning, Nelson finds Sara is dressed. She asks him to leave, and he sees she has taken down the calendars.
Sara runs out of her apartment with Nelson chasing her in the street until finally she stops along a foot bridge to the park entrance. There, she asks him to let her go so that he will always have happy memories of her, and explains that this is how she needs to be remembered. Sara will return home to her family (whom she had been avoiding) and face her last days.
Sara then blindfolds Nelson, leads him into the park, and gives him a last kiss. He takes off the blindfold and sees that he is alone in the park where they went on one of their first dates. His eyes fill with tears.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Cellophane" | Amanda Ghost, Sacha Skarbek, Ian Dench, Lucas Burton | Amanda Ghost | 3:33 |
2. | "Only Time (Original Version)" | Enya, Roma Ryan | Enya | 3:38 |
3. | "Shame" | Brian Transeau | BT | 3:21 |
4. | "Touched by an Angel" | Stevie Nicks | Stevie Nicks | 4:23 |
5. | "The Consequences of Falling (Lenny B Remix)" | Billy Steinberg, Rick Nowels, Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo | k.d. lang | 4:16 |
6. | "Heart Door (with Dolly Parton)" | Paula Cole | Paula Cole with Dolly Parton | 4:08 |
7. | "My Number" | Tegan Rain Quin, Sara Keirsten Quin | Tegan and Sara | 4:09 |
8. | "Off the Hook" | Steven Page, Ed Robertson | Barenaked Ladies | 4:34 |
9. | "Rock DJ" | Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers, Kelvin Andrews, Nelson Pigford, Ekundayo Paris | Robbie Williams | 4:16 |
10. | "Baby Work Out" | Jackie Wilson | Jackie Wilson, Alonzo Tucker | 3:00 |
11. | "You Deserve to Be Loved" | Dillon O'Brian | Tracy Dawn | 5:02 |
12. | "Wherever You Are" | Larry Klein, Tonio K | Celeste Prince | 4:17 |
13. | "The Other Half of Me" | S. Freeman, J. Lawrence | Bobby Darin | 2:27 |
14. | "Calafia" | Dave Ralicke | Jump with Joey | |
15. | "Middle of the Night" | Paul Brown, Roberto Vally, Rick Braun | Rick Braun | |
16. | "Time After Time" | Jules Styne, Sammy Cahn | Keanu Reeves |
The film opened at number 4 at the North American box office making $11,015,226 in its opening weekend behind Recess: School's Out , Down to Earth and Hannibal . It ultimately grossed $25.3 million domestically with an additional $40.5 million overseas to a total of $65.8 million worldwide. [3]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 15% based on 99 reviews, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Schmaltzy and manipulative, Sweet November suffers from an implausible plot and non-existent chemistry between its leads." [4] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. [6]
Todd McCarthy of Variety called it: "A contrived but entirely workable premise is given a well-tooled treatment in Sweet November, a femme-slanted doomed romance with a heavily calculated feel to it." [7] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 1 out of 4, and wrote: "Passes off pathological behavior as romantic bliss. It's about two sick and twisted people playing mind games and calling it love." [8] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone warned: "Beware all male viewers who enter here, you are in chick-movie hell." [9]
The film was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Remake or Sequel, Worst Actor (Keanu Reeves), and Worst Actress (Charlize Theron). It is listed on Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. [10]
Charlize Theron is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2016, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor and musician. He is the recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him as the fourth-greatest actor of the 21st century, and in 2022 Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Reeves is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public image, and his philanthropic efforts.
Bram Stoker's Dracula is a 1992 American gothic horror film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart, based on the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The film stars Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves, with Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, and Tom Waits in supporting roles. Set in 19th-century England and Romania, it follows the eponymous vampire (Oldman), who falls in love with Mina Murray (Ryder), the fiancée of his solicitor Jonathan Harker (Reeves). When Dracula begins terrorizing Mina's friends, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), an expert in vampirism, is summoned to bring an end to his reign of terror. Its closing credits theme "Love Song for a Vampire", was written and performed by Annie Lennox.
Monster is a 2003 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Patty Jenkins in her feature directorial debut. The film follows serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a street prostitute who murdered seven of her male clients between 1989 and 1990 and was executed in Florida in 2002. It stars Charlize Theron as Wuornos and Christina Ricci as her semi-fictionalized lover, Selby Wall.
The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 American supernatural horror film directed by Taylor Hackford, written by Jonathan Lemkin and Tony Gilroy, and starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. Based on Andrew Neiderman's 1990 novel, it is about a gifted young Florida lawyer invited to work for a major New York City law firm. As his wife becomes haunted by frightening visions, the lawyer slowly realizes that the firm's owner John Milton is the Devil.
Speed 2: Cruise Control is a 1997 American action thriller film produced and directed by Jan de Bont, and written by Randall McCormick and Jeff Nathanson. The sequel to Speed (1994), it tells the story of Annie Porter and Alex Shaw, a couple who go on vacation to the Caribbean aboard a luxury cruise ship, which is hijacked by a villain named John Geiger. While trapped aboard the ship, Annie and Alex work with the ship's first officer to try to stop it after they discover it is programmed to crash into an oil tanker.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a 2001 crime comedy film written and directed by and starring Woody Allen. The cast also features Dan Aykroyd, Helen Hunt, Brian Markinson, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, and Charlize Theron. The plot concerns an insurance investigator (Allen) and an efficiency expert (Hunt) who are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist (Stiers) into stealing jewels.
A Walk in the Clouds is a 1995 period romantic drama film directed by Alfonso Arau and starring Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Giancarlo Giannini, Angélica Aragón, Evangelina Elizondo, Debra Messing and Anthony Quinn. An American-Mexican co-production, the film is an English-language remake of the 1942 Italian film Four Steps in the Clouds.
The Razzie Award for Worst Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film(s) for which they were nominated.
Trapped is a 2002 crime thriller film directed by Luis Mandoki and starring Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Fanning and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Based on Greg Iles' bestselling novel 24 Hours, it follows a wealthy Portland, Oregon, couple whose daughter is kidnapped by a mysterious man and his wife who demand a ransom for unclear reasons.
Reindeer Games is a 2000 American action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer in his final feature directorial outing before his 2002 death. It stars Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, Dennis Farina, James Frain, Donal Logue, Danny Trejo, and Clarence Williams III. The film revolves around ex-convict Rudy Duncan, who is dragged into a situation against his will: he must help a group of thieves rob a casino in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, or he will be killed.
Sweet November may refer to:
Sweet November is a 1968 American romantic comedy film written by Herman Raucher and starring Sandy Dennis, Anthony Newley and Theodore Bikel. The film originally had been written as a stage play by Raucher, but before it was performed, Universal Pictures got wind of the project and paid Raucher $100,000 to stop work on the play and adapt it as a screenplay.
The Watcher is a 2000 American thriller film directed by Joe Charbanic and starring James Spader, Marisa Tomei, and Keanu Reeves. Set in Chicago, the film is about a retired FBI agent who is stalked and taunted by a serial killer.
The Huntsman: Winter's War is a 2016 American fantasy action-adventure film. Billed as both a prequel and sequel to Snow White & the Huntsman (2012), it marks the directorial debut of Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. It takes place before and after the events of the first film. The screenplay was written by Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopoulos and is based on characters created by Evan Daugherty. Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Nick Frost and Sam Claflin reprised their roles from the first film, with Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain and Rob Brydon joining.
Charlize Theron is a South African-American actress who made her film debut in an uncredited role as a follower of a cult in the 1995 horror film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Theron followed this with appearances as a hitman's girlfriend in 2 Days in the Valley, a waitress in the romantic comedy Trial and Error (1997), and a woman plagued with demonic visions in the mystery thriller The Devil's Advocate (1997) with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. She appeared in the science fiction thriller The Astronaut's Wife with Johnny Depp, and Lasse Hallström's The Cider House Rules. For her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the crime drama Monster (2003), Theron received the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The following year, she played Swedish entertainer Britt Ekland in the biographical film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
Atomic Blonde is a 2017 American action thriller film directed by David Leitch from a screenplay by Kurt Johnstad, based on the 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart. The film stars Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones. The story revolves around a spy who has to find a list of double agents that is being smuggled into the West on the eve of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Tully is a 2018 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and starring Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, and Ron Livingston. The film follows the friendship between a mother of three and her night nanny. It is the third collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, following the films Juno (2007) and Young Adult (2011), the latter of which also starred Theron.
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