Themes: Class Differences, Mothers and Sons, Dysfunctional Families
Main Cast: Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, Anton Yelchin, Chris Evans, Kristen Stewart
Release Year: 2006
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Actor-turned-director and producer Griffin Dunne (Practical Magic, Addicted to Love) teams up with scenarist Dirk Wittenborn for the slice-of-life ensemble drama Fierce People. As summer encroaches, 16-year-old Manhattanite Finn Earl (Anton Yelchin) would love nothing more than to trek off to South America and spend the year's sun-drenched months near the equator, embarking on thrilling adventures with his estranged archaeologist father, whom he's never met. Alas, the bonds of family rein in tight when Finn's booze- and coke-addled mother, the masseuse Liz (Diane Lane), cries out for help -- and, in the process, unwittingly gets Finn arrested. In a dramatic attempt to reverse circumstances and sort out the complications in both of their lives, Liz insists on taking custody of Finn for the summer. Both, she insists, will live in the home of one of her former massage clients, the aging billionaire Ogden C. Osborne (Donald Sutherland) -- with whom she may be amorously involved. Though Finn agrees begrudgingly at first, in time he finds the environment welcoming -- as he develops a crush on Ogden's gorgeous granddaughter (Kristen Stewart) and befriends Ogden's grandson. But when an unforeseen and shocking act of violence erupts, it estranges Finn and Liz from their posh surroundings and provides a sobering, harrowing reminder of the socioeconomic differences between the Earls and their new friends. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Elizabeth Perkins - Mrs. Langley; Paz de la Huerta - Jilly; Christopher Shyer - Dr. Leffler; Blu Mankuma - Gates; Will Lyman - Documentary Narrator; Garry Chalk - McCallum; Ryan McDonald - Ian; Dexter Bell - Marcus Gates; Robert Clarke - Herbert the Butler; Dirk Wittenborn - Fox Blanchard; Kaleigh Dey - Paige; Aaron Brooks - Giacomo; Jeff Westmoreland - Whitney; Teach Grant - Dwayne; Chris Shields - Cop; Alan Giles - Dignified Old Man; Sibel Thrasher - Creamsicle; Eddie Rosales - Iskanani Shaman
Credit
Anand Nunnally - Animator, David Friend - Animator, Franklin Zitter - Associate Producer, Dave Griffiths - Boom Operator, Lynne Carrow - Casting, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Susan Brouse - Casting, Wendy Weidman - Casting, Cathy Sandrich Gelfond - Casting, Sig De Miguel - Casting, Monique Prudhomme - Costume Designer, Lou Rawlins - Costume Designer, Roberta Duylend - Costume Designer, Craig Matheson - First Assistant Director, Griffin Dunne - Director, Allyson C. Johnson - Editor, Michael Burns - Executive Producer, Michael Paseornek - Executive Producer, Keith Addis - Executive Producer, Tom Ortenberg - Executive Producer, Dirk Wittenborn - Executive Producer, Ogden Gavanski - Executive Producer, Tammy Walters - Executive Producer, Sandy Monesmith - Hair Styles, S. Steve Sach - Location Manager, Nick Laird-Clowes - Composer (Music Score), Tracy McKnight - Musical Direction/Supervision, Joel C. High - Musical Direction/Supervision, Brian Pearson - Camera Operator, David Crone - Camera Operator, Marco Ciccone - Camera Operator, Willie Heslup - Production Designer, Mark Ricker - Production Designer, William Rexer II - Cinematographer, Padi Mills - Production Manager, Griffin Dunne - Producer, Nick Wechsler - Producer, Keith Addis - Producer, Patrick Ramsay - Sound Mixer, Coll Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Ed Anders - Stunts, Mike Crestejo - Stunts, Paul Wu - Stunts, Steve McMichael - Stunts, Darryl Scheeler - Stunts, Kimani Ray Smith - Stunts, Brad Kelly - Stunts, Ann Villeseche - Stunts, Don Lew - Stunts, Dirk Wittenborn - Screenwriter, Zoe Nash - Production Assistant, Louise Bourassa - Production Assistant, Jitka Dermiskova - Production Assistant, Cameron Boutin - Production Assistant, Izabella Zubek - Production Assistant, Collin House - Production Assistant, Doug Winningham - Sound Effects Editor, Rod May - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Dale Kipling - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Creative Animal Talent - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Kevin Schartner - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Bill Vigars - Unit Publicist, Thomas C. Ryan - First Assistant Camera, Sandes Ashe - First Assistant Camera, Owen K. Taylor - Gaffer, Cliff Gladden - Grip, Anthony M. Thorpe - Grip, Steve Woodley - Head Animal Trainer, Darcy Woodley - Head Animal Trainer, John Westerlaken - Key Grip, Nancy Allen - Music Editor, Philip Stilman - Post Production Supervisor, Carl Pedregal - Post Production Supervisor, Erica Maletz - Production Coordinator, Graham Coutts - Properties Master, Reilly Steele - Re-Recording Mixer, Helga Ungurait - Script Supervisor, Darius Matheson - Second Assistant Director, Bobby Price - Special Effects Assistant, Gord Davis - Special Effects Assistant, Bill Mills - Special Effects Coordinator, David Crone - Steadicam Operator, Bob Akester - Still Photographer, Robert Hein - Supervising Sound Editor, Alan Freedman - ADR Mixer, Bobby Johanson - ADR Recordist, Brian Gallagher - ADR Recordist, Cricket Price - Assistant Art Director, Christine Coutts - Assistant Costumer Designer, Lise Hachi - Assistant Costumer Designer, Julie McHaffie - Assistant Hair, Susan Boyd - Assistant Hair, Donna Biss - Assistant Hair, Linda Kathleen James - Assistant Hair, M. Brando Pero - Assistant Hair, Dan Kuzmenko - Assistant Location Manager, Julie Anne Slater - Assistant Location Manager, Jennifer Powell - Assistant Makeup, Leslie J. Graham - Assistant Makeup, Don Anderson - Assistant Properties, Saubrie Mohamed - Best Boy Electric, Bill Tennant - Best Boy Electric, Jay Rupert - Best Boy Grip, James Smith - Best Boy Grip, Gail Irvine - Buyer, Lisa Lee Mitchell - Buyer, Della Mae Johnston - Buyer, Larkin MacKenzie-Ast - Casting Assistant, Debbie Forbes - Casting Assistant, Samantha Finkler - Casting Associate, Derick McLeod - Construction Coordinator, Brian Bowles - Dialogue Editor, Jean-Francois "JF" Raymond - Electrician, Sandra Ken Freeman - Extra Casting, Jay Peck - Foley Artist, Marilyn Teorey - Foley Editor, Glenn Foerster - Greensman, Kevin Clark - Greensman, Kyle Moore - Greensman, Edward Daniels - Greensman, Shawn McArthur - Greensman, Sherry Gygli - Key Hairstylist, Jayne Dancose - Key Make-up, Bree Bailey - Personal Assistant, Erik Hodge - Personal Assistant, Bill Barclay - Personal Assistant, Emily Rice - Post Production Accountant, Michael Grigsby - Production Accountant, Stephan McKnight - Second Assistant Camera, Daniel "DVNY" Volonino - Second Assistant Camera, Scott Holburn - Set Dresser, David Manske - Set Dresser, Shannon Mcfarlane - Set Dresser, G. Andrew Hussey - Set Dresser, John Bayntun - Set Dresser, Anthony Chruszcz - Set Dresser, Mike Marston - Set Dresser, John Lund - Storyboard Artist, Rod May - Transportation Captain, Greg Lansink - Transportation Captain, Mark Gould - Transportation Coordinator, Dominique Fauquet-Lemaitre - Set Decorator, Dirk Wittenborn - Book Author, Naan Spiess - Cable Person, T.J. Gunderson - Craft Service/Catering, Simply Divine Catering Limited - Craft Service/Catering, Barbara Foster - Craft Service/Catering, Tracey MacLeod - Craft Service/Catering, Matt Towstyka - Craft Service/Catering, Ian "Moss" Urquhart - Driver, Dave McDonald - Driver, Jack Kraehling - Driver, Stephen Carr - Driver, Glenn Steer - Driver, Phil Parker - Driver, Brad Buskey - Driver, Neil Massey - Driver, Roger A. Mara - Driver, Robert A. Smith - Driver, Atle Dykstra - Driver, Barry Chapman - Driver, Gordon Heibein - Driver, Terry Storey - Driver, Kemy Loree Derlago - Driver, William E. Fox - Driver, Ryan Collison - Foley Recordist, Kevin O'Leary - Generator Operator, Gil Restiaux - Pilot, Dick Powell - Pilot, Russ Barber - Pilot, T.J. Gunderson - Set Medic/First Aid, Mark Bunting - Third Assistant Director, Julie Hemmerling - Third Assistant Director, Andrew Emde - Art Department Coordinator, David A. Smith - Assistant Editor, Donna Donato - Assistant Editor, Chris Rae - Carpenter, Frank Hanuska - Carpenter, Brian Holden - Carpenter, Marlow Pederson - Scenic Carpenter, Ron Vreeken - Painter, Michael Watson - Painter, Jack Ahnert - Painter, Linda Chiz - Painter, Randy Lohin - Painter, Sheri Hunter - Assistant Set Decorator
Trapped in his mother's Lower East Side apartment, sixteen-year-old Finn (Anton Yelchin) wants nothing more than to escape New York and spend the summer in South America studying the Iskanani Indians, or "Fierce People," with the anthropologist father he's never met. But Finn's dreams are shattered when he is arrested in a desperate effort to help his drug-dependent mother, Liz (Diane Lane), who scrapes by working as a masseuse. Determined to get their lives back on track, Liz moves the two of them into a guesthouse on the vast country estate of her ex-client, the aging aristocratic billionaire, Ogden C. Osbourne (Donald Sutherland). In Osbourne's close world of privilege and power, Finn and Liz encounter a tribe fiercer and more mysterious than anything they might find in the South American jungle: the super rich. (Like Finn, the author of the novel on which the film is based, Dirk Wittenborn, grew up a poor outsider among the super rich in an upper crust New Jersey enclave.[1]) While Liz battles her substance abuse and struggles to win back her son's love and trust, Finn falls in love with Osbourne's beautiful granddaughter, Maya (Kristen Stewart), befriends her charismatic older brother, Bryce (Chris Evans), and even wins the favor of Osbourne himself. But when a shocking act of rape shatters Finn's ascension within the Osbourne clan, the golden promises of this lush world quickly sour. And both Finn and Liz, caught in a harrowing struggle for their dignity, discover that membership always comes at a price.
