A Dangerous Woman
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A Dangerous Woman
Plot
Debra Winger's performance as a slow, mentally disturbed woman in A Dangerous Woman, raises the film far above its conventional, violence-ridden plot. Winger plays Martha, a quiet, lonely woman who has adjusted to a life without a man as she toils away at her small job at a dry cleaners in a small town. She lives in the guest cottage of the home of relative Frances (Barbara Hershey). Frances is a single woman who takes up with a variety of men as a cover for her loneliness and insecurity. When Anita (Laurie Metcalf) barrels her car into Frances' porch (thinking, correctly, that her husband is inside Frances' house), alcoholic handyman Mackey (Gabriel Byrne) appears on the scene and offers to fix Frances' porch. As Mackey works on the porch, Mackey becomes involved with both Frances and Martha. Into this melodramatic brew is added Getso (David Strathairn), a petty crook who works with Martha at the dry cleaners. When the four principles interact with each other, the disturbing results include an unwanted pregnancy, a murder, and some unsparing violence. ~ Paul Brenner, RoviCast
- Debra Winger - Martha Horgan
- Barbara Hershey - Frances
- Gabriel Byrne - Mackey
- David Strathairn - Getso
- Chloe Webb - Birdie
Credit
Ken Hardy - Art Director, Susie de Santo - Costume Designer, David Womark - First Assistant Director, Jeff Rafner - First Assistant Director, Stephen Gyllenhaal - Director, Harvey Rosenstock - Editor, Kathleen Kennedy - Executive Producer, Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score), Deborah Larsen - Makeup, Brad Wilder - Makeup, David Brisbin - Production Designer, Robert Elswit - Cinematographer, Naomi Foner - Producer, Patricia Whitcher - Producer, Margaret Goldsmith - Set Designer, Mary Finn - Set Designer, Larry Fioritto - Special Effects, Stephen Halbert - Sound/Sound Designer, Naomi Foner - Screenwriter, Norval D. Crutcher Jr. - Supervising Sound Editor, Norval D. Crutcher Jr. - Dialogue Editor, Mary McGarry Morris - Book Author| A Dangerous Woman (1929 Film), A Dangerous Profession (1949 Film) | |
| A Dark Adapted Eye (1994 Film), A Dark, Dark Tale (1983 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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A Dangerous Woman (1993 film)
| A Dangerous Woman | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Stephen Gyllenhaal |
| Produced by | Naomi Foner Kathleen Kennedy |
| Screenplay by | Naomi Foner |
| Based on | A Dangerous Woman by Mary McGarry Morris |
| Starring | Laurie Metcalf Debra Winger Barbara Hershey Gabriel Byrne |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
| Cinematography | Robert Elswit |
| Editing by | Angelo Corrao Harvey Rosenstock |
| Studio | Amblin Entertainment Rollercoaster Productions |
| Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures (USA) Island World (International) |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,497,222 (United States) |
A Dangerous Woman is a 1993 film directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal. The screenplay was written by his then wife Naomi Foner, loosely based on the award winning novel of the same name by Mary McGarry Morris. The feature was co-produced by Amblin Entertainment and Gramercy Pictures and stars Laurie Metcalf, Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey and Gyllenhaal and Foner's two children, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, both of whom would later go into acting.
Debra Winger was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance and also won Best Actress at the Tokyo International Film Festival.[1]
The movie has never been released on Region 1 DVD. The film was once released on video in the United Kingdom by First Independent Films.
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Contents
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Plot
Martha (Winger) struggles to have a normal life in spite of being mentally challenged. On a paying job, she gets fired for a string of accusations about something she did not do. Later, she returns to her aunt's (Hershey) home and starts to be attracted to the local handyman (Byrne).
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Laurie Metcalf | Anita Bell |
| Debra Winger | Martha Horgan |
| Barbara Hershey | Frances Beechum |
| John Terry | Steve Bell |
| Maggie Gyllenhaal | Patsy Bell |
| Jake Gyllenhaal | Edward (as Jacob Gyllenhaal) |
| Gabriel Byrne | Mackey |
| Chloe Webb | Birdie |
| David Strathairn | Getso |
Critical reception
Janet Maslin of The New York Times had praise for the film, especially Winger's acting and Gyllenhaal's direction but found the film to be more akin to melodrama than true drama:
| “ | A Dangerous Woman is soap opera... With Ms. Winger's eerily convincing performance as its centerpiece, the film creates a world of sexual chicanery that would do any television series proud... The film has been given an appealingly languid and intimate mood by the director, Stephen Gyllenhaal.[2] | ” |
References
- ^ Staff report (October 3, 1994). Winger wins with 'Dangerous Woman.' Buffalo News
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1993-12-03). "Movie Review - A Dangerous Woman - Review/Film; The Turning Point for a Plain Jane - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=2&res=9F0CE2DB1230F930A35751C1A965958260. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
External links
- A Dangerous Woman at the Internet Movie Database
- A Dangerous Woman at AllRovi
- Original New York Times Review
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