Themes: Romantic Betrayal, Love Triangles, Immigrant Life
Main Cast: Rip Torn, Dina Korzun, Darren E. Burrows, Paprika Steen, Red West
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
Plot
A woman who has drifted away from her boyfriend's affections finds love in the arms of his son in this independent drama. Laura (Dina Korzun) is an attractive woman in her early thirties who was living in her native Russia when she met Alan James (Rip Torn), a legendary music producer from Memphis. Alan brought Laura back to the United States and moved in with her, but now that the couple have a three-year-old son, Laura finds herself a stranger in the city she now calls home and is growing increasingly distant from the philandering Alan. After a testimonial tribute to Alan, Laura meets his grown son Michael (Darren E. Burrows) for the first time; Michael has a difficult and sometimes combative relationship with Alan and prefers to keep a distance from him and his life, but Michael and Laura find they quickly develop a strong rapport. Laura and Michael's friendship soon grows into an affair, but as Laura considers her unhappiness with Alan, she also feels guilty about betraying a man who has given her a life she would hardly have dared to dream of when she was younger. Forty Shades of Blue was helmed by Ira Sachs (who earned enthusiastic reviews for his 1997 debut feature The Delta), from a script he co-wrote with Michael Rohatyn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jenny O'Hara - Celia; Andrew Henderson - Sam James; Liz Morton - Cindy; Joanne Pankow - Aunt Betty; Arielle Kight - Teenage Singer; J. Blackfoot - J. Blackfoot; Jerry Chipman - Shel; Mary Jean McAdams - Gena; Charly Kayle - Karin; J. Alan Scott - Press Photographer; Earl Randle - Old Timer; Charles Skip Pitts - Charles Skip Pitts; Don Pirl - Man at Peabody Bar; Stuart Greer - Tom Skolnick; Jennifer LaCapra - Woman With Tom; Lillie White - Minnie; Mimmye Goode - Nursery School Parent; Forest Pruett - Studio Engineer; Todd Malta - Waiter; Charles Ingram - Ronnie; John Boyd West - Barry; Howard Keltner - Salesman; Claude Phillips - Tennis Club Valet; Emily McKenna Cox - April; Stan Prachniak - Lake Party Bartender; Archie Mitchell - Lake Party Reveller; Steve Potts - Banquet Musician; David Smith - Banquet Musician; Ronnie Williams - Banquet Musician; Michael Toles - Banquet Musician; Jim Spake - Banquet Musician; Scott Thompson - Banquet Musician; Jim Dickinson - Lake Party Musician; Sid Selvidge - Lake Party Musician; Sam Shoup - Lake Party Musician; Tommy Burroughs - Lake Party Musician
Credit
Michael Rohatyn - Associate Producer, Adam Hoehenberg - Associate Producer, Heather Parks - Associate Producer, Avy Kaufman - Casting, Jordan Beswick - Casting, Eric Daman - Costume Designer, Curtis Smith - First Assistant Director, Ira Sachs - Director, Affonso Goncalves - Editor, Geoff Stier - Executive Producer, Diane Von Furstenberg - Executive Producer, Payton Dunham - Location Manager, Mike S. Ryan - Line Producer, Dickon Hinchliffe - Composer (Music Score), Susan Jacobs - Musical Direction/Supervision, Gloria Belz - Makeup, Teresa Mastropiero - Production Designer, Eric Daman - Production Designer, Julian Whatley - Cinematographer, Donald Rosenfeld - Producer, Margot Bridger - Producer, Ira Sachs - Producer, Mary Bing - Producer, Jawal Nga - Producer, Antonio Arroyo - Sound Mixer, Dominick Tavella - Sound Mixer, Chris Edwards - Supervisor/Manager, Michael Rohatyn - Screenwriter, Ira Sachs - Screenwriter, Mike Adler - Gaffer, Robert Oliva - Gaffer, Darian Corley - Properties Master, Dominick Tavella - Re-Recording Mixer, Veronica Lupu - Script Supervisor, Ketih C.A. Jones - Second Assistant Director, Damien Volpe - Supervising Sound Editor, Kelly Anne Ross - Costumes Supervisor, Barbara Ann Sanders - Key Hairstylist, Mylene Santos - Set Decorator, Bert Russell - Featured Music, Jinnie Pak - Title Design
Forty Shades of Blue is a 2005 independent film directed by Ira Sachs. It tells the story of Alan James (Rip Torn), an aging music producer who lives in Memphis, Tennessee with his much younger Russian girlfriend, Laura (Dina Korzun). Their life together is complicated by the presence of Alan's adult son Michael (Darren E. Burrows) from a previous marriage, who forces Laura to reflect on the nature of her impending marriage and her future prospects.
