The Magic of Belle Isle | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rob Reiner |
Written by | Guy Thomas Rob Reiner Andrew Scheinman |
Produced by | Jared Ian Goldman Salli Newman David Valdes Rob Reiner Alan Greisman Lori McCreary |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Reed Morano |
Edited by | Dorian Harris |
Music by | Marc Shaiman |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million[ citation needed ] |
Box office | $102,388 [1] |
The Magic of Belle Isle (released in the United Kingdom as Once More) is a 2012 comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner and written by Guy Thomas. The film stars Morgan Freeman, Virginia Madsen, Emma Fuhrmann, Madeline Carroll, Kenan Thompson, Nicolette Pierini, Kevin Pollak and Fred Willard. The film was released on July 6, 2012, by Magnolia Pictures.
Grumpy Monte Wildhorn is brought to spend the summer at a lakeside cabin in Belle Isle by his nephew Henry, who's friends with the owner. He is a famous Western novelist. Struggling with the loss of his wife to cancer six years earlier has sapped his passion for writing and driven him to drink heavily.
Monte eventually befriends the family next door, attractive single mother Charlotte O'Neil and her three young daughters, teen Willow, middle child Finn and Flor. Willow, the eldest, is constantly on her cell, Finn is mischievous and Flor is naïve.
Shortly after arriving, a resident drops dead. Another neighbor asks Monte to read the pre-prepared eulogy. Afterwards, he meets Finn, who asks him to teach her three new words for her mom, then how to write as her mentor. He teaches her through example, making up a story on the spot, which she bought.
When Monte is invited to the O'Neils for dinner, Finn shows she has learned well the vocabulary he taught her. Charlotte indirectly asks him about love, and he basically says his wife was the love of his life. Later Monte has a dream about dancing with Charlotte.
Not only does the writer subtly influence people in town, but they help him find inspiration again. Finn spontaneously coming up with a story stimulates him to write a story for Flor, and then another.
One day in late August, Charlotte asks Monte to watch the girls while she finalizes her divorce in NYC. They bond, and he tells Finn how he ended up in a wheelchair, how he met the love of his life, and how he started writing. Shortly thereafter he says his goodbyes.
Months pass and Monte has returned to Belle Isle. After selling the movie rights to his Western books, he is able to buy the house next door, and the O'Neils welcome his return.
The Magic of Belle Isle was filmed in the village of Greenwood Lake, New York in July 2011.
The Magic of Belle Isle received negative reviews from critics according to Rotten Tomatoes where the film has a rating of 30%, based on 33 reviews, with a rating of 4.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Neither Rob Reiner nor Morgan Freeman are able to conjure up their old magic in this dull trifle, with both director and star appearing content to tread through the paces of the saccharine script." [2] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [3]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 18, 2012. [4]
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final years of the Russian Empire.
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, producer, and narrator. Throughout a career spanning five decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. He was honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in 2008, an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2011, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012, and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2018. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.
Robert Reiner is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Greenwood Lake is a village in Orange County, New York, United States, in the southern part of the town of Warwick. As of the 2020 census, the population of the village was 2,994. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport Combined Statistical Area.
Willow is a 1988 American epic dark fantasy adventure film directed by Ron Howard and produced by Nigel Wooll. The film was executive produced by George Lucas and written by Bob Dolman from a story by Lucas. The film stars Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, and Jean Marsh. Davis portrays the title character, an aspiring magician who teams up with a disaffected warrior (Kilmer) to protect a young baby princess from an evil queen (Marsh).
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 90 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's A Few Good Men, Jacob Goldman in Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men; Todd Hockney in The Usual Suspects, Phillip Green in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and Bobby Chicago in End of Days.
Frank Wildhorn is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical Jekyll & Hyde ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whitney Houston.
Revelations Entertainment is an independent movie production company founded by actor Morgan Freeman and business partner Lori McCreary in 1996. Its mission statement, to "reveal truth," drives to company produce thought-provoking entertainment with artistic integrity and "soul."
The Magic Toyshop (1967) is a British novel by Angela Carter. It follows the development of the heroine, Melanie, as she becomes aware of herself, her environment, and her own sexuality.
Lori McCreary is an American film producer. She is CEO of the production company Revelations Entertainment, which she co-founded with actor Morgan Freeman.
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress is a 1944 documentary film which provides an account of the final mission of the crew of the Memphis Belle, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. In May 1943 it became the third U.S. Army Air Forces heavy bomber to complete 25 missions over Europe, but the first to return to the United States.
Madeline Carroll is an American actress known for starring as Juli Baker in Flipped, as Molly Johnson in Swing Vote, as Farren in The Spy Next Door, and as Willow O'Neil in The Magic of Belle Isle.
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure drama television programme, loosely based on the Arthurian legends regarding the close relations of Merlin and King Arthur. Created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy for the BBC, it was broadcast for five series on BBC One between 20 September 2008 and 24 December 2012. The programme starred Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Katie McGrath, Angel Coulby, Richard Wilson, Anthony Head, and John Hurt.
Emma Cate Fuhrmann is an American actress known for her work as Finnegan O'Neil in The Magic of Belle Isle (2012), Espn Friedman in Blended (2014), and Cassie Lang in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten is the sequel to the Season Nine comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is published by Dark Horse Comics and ran from March 2014 to August 2016.
Padlocked is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Rex Beach, Becky Gardiner, and James Shelley Hamilton. The film stars Lois Moran, Noah Beery Sr., Louise Dresser, Helen Jerome Eddy, Allan Simpson, Florence Turner, and Richard Arlen. The film was released on August 2, 1926, by Paramount Pictures.
Nicolette Pierini is an American former child actress. She was first noticed for her role in The Magic of Belle Isle (2012), opposite Morgan Freeman, and is known for the 2014 film adaptation of the musical Annie, where she played Mia Putnam.
Jared Ian Goldman is an American film and television producer. He is known for his work on the Justin Timberlake starrer Palmer, Antonio Campos' adaptation of The Devil All the Time starring Tom Holland, the film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's masterpiece, We Have Always Lived in the Castle starring Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, Sebastian Stan and Crispin Glover, Craig Johnson's Alex Strangelove, the Sundance hit Ingrid Goes West, the Sundance hit The Skeleton Twins, and the Academy Award-nominated Loving. He also produced the second season of The Punisher for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other projects include Craig Johnson's adaptation of Daniel Clowes Wilson, Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe, Solitary Man starring Michael Douglas, Rob Reiner's And So It Goes starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, The Wackness, and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary Manda Bala .