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Inventing the Abbotts

 
Movies:

Inventing the Abbotts

  • Director: Pat O'Connor
  • AMG Rating: starstarstar
  • Genre: Romance
  • Movie Type: Americana, Coming-of-Age
  • Themes: Class Differences, First Love, Small-Town Life
  • Main Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Kathy Baker, Joanna Going
  • Release Year: 1997
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 110 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: R

Plot

The lives of two closely linked, small town Illinois families dangerously intersect in this domestic drama set in the 1950s, based on a short story by Sue Miller and directed by Pat O'Connor. Though they are from the wrong side of the tracks, the working class brothers Jacey (Billy Crudup) and Doug Holt (Joaquin Phoenix) are in love with the wealthy and beautiful Abbott sisters. Shy and quiet Doug, who worships his womanizing brother, has eyes for the iconoclastic Pam (Liv Tyler), but Jacey's affections are more calculating; he's interested in whichever Abbott sister is interested in him. At first, this is Eleanor (Jennifer Connelly), the "wild" sister, but eventually Jacey sets his sights on the divorced oldest sister, Alice (Joanna Going). For Jacey, his conquest of the Abbotts is a form of economic revenge, as he believes that the head of the family, Lloyd (Will Patton), stole a patent that made him rich from the Holts' late father. When he's eventually revealed as an embittered cad, Jacey's mistreatment of the Abbott girls makes the genuine affection between Doug and Pam impossible for either family to accept.

~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Review

In this romantic coming-of-age story, director Pat O'Connor returns to territory previously explored in his film Circle of Friends, this time moving the action from Ireland to Illinois. Focusing on two very different families in the same town, the film uses the characters to not only explore the romantic tendancies of young adults, but also class differences in the American 1950's. The story is simple, with no more twists and turns than it needs to establish the mood and get its point across. It's the cast that really makes the movie work though. Each of the principals -- Billy Crudup, Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, Joanna Going, Will Patton, and Kathy Baker -- is among Hollywood's most capable and subtle performers, and they do not disappoint, making Inventing the Abbotts an actors' film whether it wants to be or not. Deliberately paced, the film might turn off the impatient viewer, but for those willing to give it a chance, an affecting story and rich characters await. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Cast

Jennifer Connelly - Eleanor Abbott; Barbara Williams - Joan Abbott

Credit

William V. Ryder - Art Director, Aggie Guerard Rodgers - Costume Designer, Vincent Agostino - First Assistant Director, Pat O'Connor - Director, Ray Lovejoy - Editor, Jack Cummins - Executive Producer, Karen Kehela - Executive Producer, Michael Kamen - Songwriter, Gary Frutkoff - Production Designer, Kenneth MacMillan - Cinematographer, Brian Grazer - Producer, Ron Howard - Producer, Janet Meyers - Producer, Kathryn Peters - Set Designer, John Pritchett - Sound/Sound Designer, Ken Hixon - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Endless Love; Peyton Place; Racing with the Moon; Romeo and Juliet; Splendor in the Grass; A Summer Place; Splendor in the Grass; Circle of Friends; Mad Love; Going All the Way; Good Will Hunting; Snow Falling on Cedars; Here On Earth; crazy/beautiful; A Walk to Remember; The Notebook; Lover's Prayer; Evening
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Album Review: Inventing the Abbotts
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  • Artist: Michael Kamen
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: April 01, 1997
  • Type: Soundtrack
  • Genre: Soundtrack

Review

The soundtrack to the period romantic drama features music from the London Metropolitan Orchestra (conducted by Michael Kamen) along with recordings from Leadbelly, the Elegants, Tara MacLean and ex-Stray Cats members Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
On Springfield Mountain Michael Kamen, Tara MacLean, Traditional Tara MacLean (3:32)
Inventing the Abbotts Michael Kamen Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (1:46)
Little Star (Lyrics) Vito Picone, Arthur Venosa The Elegants (2:43)
Thunder and Lightning Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (3:43)
Jacey and Eleanor (In the Garage) Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (1:31)
Goodnight Irene Leadbelly, John A. Lomax Leadbelly (1:54)
Picnic Michael Kamen London Metropolitan Orchestra (2:00)
The Barn Michael Kamen London Metropolitan Orchestra (2:47)
Eleanor Leave Michael Kamen Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (1:37)
Falling Out of the Tree Michael Kamen Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (:55)
Boathouse Michael Kamen London Metropolitan Orchestra (2:35)
Re-Inventing the Abbotts Michael Kamen Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (7:03)
Toasted Pam Michael Kamen Jeff Baxter, Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker (2:16)
Mom's Death Michael Kamen London Metropolitan Orchestra (1:42)
Doug and Pam Michael Kamen London Metropolitan Orchestra (5:37)
Undecided Charlie Shavers, Sydney Robin Claire Martin, Ray Gelato (3:08)

Credits

Leadbelly (Performer), Michael Kamen (Arranger), Michael Kamen (Conductor), Michael Kamen (Producer), Michael Kamen (Orchestration), Michael Kamen (Adaptation), Robert Kraft (Music Supervisor), The Elegants (Performer), Jeff Baxter (Guitar), Jeff Baxter (Performer), Christopher S. Brooks (Producer), Christopher S. Brooks (Music Supervisor), Michael Connell (Editing), Jesse Levy (Orchestration), Stephen McLaughlin (Producer), Stephen McLaughlin (Engineer), Stephen McLaughlin (Mixing), Slim Jim Phantom (Drums), Slim Jim Phantom (Performer), Lee Rocker (Bass), Lee Rocker (Performer), David Sabee (Music Contractor), Claire Martin (Performer), Tara MacLean (Performer), Graham Sutton (Editing), Vic Fraser (Music Preparation), Steve Lotwis (Editing), Jeff Pollack (Music Consultant), Sacha Putnam (Orchestration), Ed Schearmur (Orchestration), Pat Takahashi (Music Preparation), Ralph Alfonso (Cover Design), Ray Gelato (Performer), Andy Brown (Music Contractor), London Metropolitan Orchestra (Performer)
Wikipedia: Inventing the Abbotts
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Inventing the Abbotts

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Pat O'Connor
Produced by Brian Grazer
Ron Howard
Written by Ken Hixon (screenplay)
Sue Miller (short story)
Starring Joaquin Phoenix
Billy Crudup
Liv Tyler
Jennifer Connelly
Will Patton
Michael Keaton
Music by Michael Kamen
Cinematography Kenneth MacMillan
Editing by Ray Lovejoy
Studio Imagine Entertainment
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) April 4, 1997
Running time 110 min.
Country United States
Language English

Inventing the Abbotts is a 1997 drama film and romance film directed by Pat O'Connor, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, and Michael Keaton. The screenplay by Ken Hixon is based on a short story by Sue Miller. The original music score is composed by Michael Kamen. The film is marketed with the tagline "When you want it all but can't have it, there's only one way to handle life... invent it."

Contents

Plot summary

The lives of two closely linked families dangerously intersect in a small Illinois town in the 1950s. Basic plot is about two brothers--Jacey and Doug Holt--growing up in Haley, Illinois, sons of a working single mother. As the movie progresses, we find out that their father, a reckless risk-taker, has lost his life via a bet with Lloyd Abbott, his business partner. Abbott eventually becomes the town's foremost, wealthiest and most-admired citizen. The lives of the Holts and the Abbotts are intertwined through various entanglements which we discover later in the film. Lloyd Abbott and his distant wife, Joan, are the parents of three beautiful daughters, Alice, Eleanor and Pamela.

Because of a misunderstanding of the circumstances surrounding his father's death (a supposed bet with Abbott that took the elder Holt's life), Jacey (Billy Crudup) seeks revenge on the Abbotts through the calculated seduction of the Abbott daughters. At first, Jacey cannot wait to escape the suffocating life in Haley; later in the film, however, he is pulled back as he idolizes the Abbott family, and obsesses about the oldest daughter, Alice, thus seeking to jockey his way into the Abbott family. Joaquin Phoenix plays Doug, the younger brother, at first admiring and worshiping his brother's libertine lifestyle. However, as he matures, he discovers that all that glitters is not gold. He eventually falls in love with the youngest, virginal Abbott, Pamela (Liv Tyler), who protests his early, fumbling sexual advances, and she forces him to appreciate her for who she is, not what she may offer up to him.

After two years of being apart from each other, Doug and Pamela meet again by chance while they are in college in Philadelphia. However, Doug and Jacey are brought back to Haley after their mother's death. They also find a letter from their late father that says he has sold their patent for a 1937 DeSoto Coupe convertible. Despite the obstacles that Lloyd Abbott places in the way of any of the Holt brothers ever seeing his daughters again, Doug convinces Abbott at the end of the story of his true love for Pamela and receives his blessing on a future relationship.

Main cast

Actor Role
Joaquin Phoenix Doug Holt
Billy Crudup Jacey Holt
Liv Tyler Pamela Abbott
Jennifer Connelly Eleanor Abbott
Will Patton Lloyd Abbott
Kathy Baker Helen Holt
Joanna Going Alice Abbott
Barbara Williams Joan Abbott
Alessandro Nivola Peter Vanlaningham
Michael Keaton Narrator/Older Doug

DVD details

  • Release date: March 13, 2001
  • Anamorphic Widescreen
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Audio tracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1
English Dolby Digital Surround
French Dolby Digital Surround
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Special Features: Theatrical trailer, Featurette
  • Running time: 110 minutes

External links


 
 
Learn More
Sue Miller (Author)
Alessandro Nivola (Actor, Drama/Comedy Drama)
Grind (1996 Crime Film)

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