Themes: Death of a Partner, Starting Over, Gambling
Main Cast: Jason Isaacs, Sofia Milos, Emmy Rossum, Theresa Russell, Lupe Ontiveros, Seymour Cassel
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A woman learning to trust men again finds herself falling for a man who may not be trustworthy in this romantic comedy. Celia Amonte (Sofia Milos) is a beautiful woman of Portuguese-American heritage who lost her husband, a fisherman, to an accident at sea. Eight years after his death, Celia remains loyal to her late husband's memory, even though her equally lovely teenage daughter, Vicky (Emmy Rossum), frequently encourages her to start dating again, and has even tried fixing Celia up with eligible men. Unknown to her mother, Vicky has become a frequent visitor to a local gambling casino, where she meets a handsome Englishman named Charlie Beck (Jason Isaacs), who gambles for a living. Vicky urges Charlie to see Celia perform at a local nightclub, where she sings the passionate Portuguese songs of the fado style. Charlie is immediately taken with her, but Celia isn't especially interested in him. Vicky makes a deal with Charlie -- if he'll show her how to cheat at blackjack, she'll persuade Celia to go out with him. In time, Charlie's charm eventually conquers Celia's reservations, and a romance begins to bloom, However, Charlie has made the mistake of telling Celia he's a fisherman, and he's not sure how much longer he can keep up the charade. Passionada also features Theresa Russell, Seymour Cassel, and Lupe Ontiveros. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Chris Tardio - Gianni Martinez; Marion Eaton - Betsy; Luis Colina - Anthony; Robert Montano - Father Emmanuel; Russ Vigilante - Roberto; Anthero Montenegro - Joseph Amonte
Credit
Nathalie Samanon - Associate Producer, Lori Keith Douglas - Associate Producer, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Cathy Sandrich Gelfond - Casting, Rudy Dillon - Costume Designer, Paul Bernard - First Assistant Director, Dan Ireland - Director, Luis Colina - Editor, James Scura - Executive Producer, Paul Bernard - Executive Producer, Jim Jermanok - Executive Producer, Harry Gregson-Williams - Composer (Music Score), John Frick - Production Designer, Claudio Rocha - Cinematographer, David Bakalar - Producer, Sophie Carlhian - Set Designer, Lance Brown - Sound/Sound Designer, David Bakalar - Screen Story, Stephen Jermanok - Screenwriter, Jim Jermanok - Screenwriter
Celia Amonte (Sofia Milos) is a Portuguese Americanwidow who lives in New Bedford, Massachusetts with her daughter Vicky (Emmy Rossum). The broke British card counter Charles "Charlie" Beck (Jason Isaacs) arrives in town to stay with and mooch off some wealthy friends and gamble at the local casino. The friends are Daniel Vargas (Seymour Cassel) and his wife Lois Vargas (Theresa Russell). One night, dining at a Portuguese restaurant with Lois, Charlie sees Celia singing fado, a haunting Portuguese form of song. He is enchanted with her, approaches her, and is rebuffed. Charlie later finds Celia's address in the phone book and goes to her house, where he encounters Vicky, whom he had met at the casino before. Vicky agrees to help Charlie woo her mother in exchange for lessons on card counting. This proves difficult, as Celia still longs for her deceased husband and has not dated since his death.
