Movie Type: Crime Thriller, Post-Noir (Modern Noir)
Themes: Criminal's Revenge, Love Triangles, Cons and Scams
Main Cast: Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting, Sean Bean, James Cosmo, Prunella Gee
Release Year: 1988
Country: UK
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Stormy Monday is a four-person character study in which style is all that matters. This tautly constructed, deftly executed crime thriller is set in economically depressed Newcastle England. Sting plays Finney, a relatively honest Newcastle jazz-club owner who crosses the path of crass American gangster Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones). Flaunting his wealth at every opportunity, Cosmo wants to involve Finney in a land development deal -- if only he'll give up his club. Both men are enamored of Kate (Melanie Griffith), who becomes a pawn in their ongoing one-upsmanship. Kate and her lover (Sean Bean) try to prevent Finney from corrupting his own sense of values by wallowing in the gutter with Cosmo. Stormy Monday, the first feature-length directorial effort of former jazz musician Mike Figgis, who also wrote the script and composed the score, tells its story using subtle shadings of character and a vivid evocation of its Newcastle setting rather than through violent action. Figgis's moody direction of his excellent screenplay is quietly effective and brimming with visual nuance and irony -- particularly in its perceptive take on love, money, jazz, and economic necessity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Mike Figgis' visually striking first feature is a noir tale on the dangers of seduction. With his flair for imbuing his characters' every glance or gesture with electric portent, Figgis has created an enticingly elliptical cinematic universe powered by an undercurrent of sexual tension. Most of the action here centers on a jazz club owned by Finney (Sting) in the rundown British city of Newcastle, which is located in an area vital to the future plans of American gangster/developer Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones). These two engage in a fierce battle of wills while Cosmo's escort/arm candy (Melanie Griffith) becomes involved with the club's young factotum (Sean Bean), and the tension level quietly ratchets up. If nothing is finally resolved in the manner of more linear narratives, the final effect is that much more unsettling. Jones is perfectly cast as the swaggering businessman and Sting is impressive as the laconic, tough-minded Brit. Roger Deakins' camera transmutes the crumbling former coal-mining center into a landscape of dark, enigmatic beauty, as the film laments its loss in the inevitable onrush of the global economy. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Mark Long - Patrick; Alison Steadman - Mayor; Brian Lewis - Jim; Derek Hoxby - Bob; Heathcote Williams - Peter Reed; Guy Manning - Hotel Waiter; Caroline Hutchison; Fiona Sloman - Hotel Receptionist; Tony Bluto - Chef; Andrzej Borkowski - Andrej; Catherine Chevalier - Cosmo's Secretary; Keith Edwards - Barman; Roderic Leigh - Counciller Perry; Elizabeth Mason - Waitress; Al Matthews - Radio DJ; Terry Day - The Krakow Jazz Emsemble; Czeslaw Grocholski - Old Polish Man; Mick Hamer - Pianist; Dulice Liecier - Carol; John Tong Ying; Pam Rack; Deborah Brown; Mary Selway; Clive Curtis - Cosmo's Bodyguard; Richard Hawley - Weegee's Manager
Credit
Charmian Adams - Art Director, Alan J. Wands - Associate Producer, Deborah Brown - Casting, Mary Selway - Casting, Pamela Rack - Casting, Sandy Powell - Costume Designer, Jonathan Watson - First Assistant Director, Mike Figgis - Director, Dave Martin - Editor, Mike Figgis - Composer (Music Score), Jenny Shircore - Makeup, Andrew McAlpine - Production Designer, Roger Deakins - Cinematographer, Nigel Stafford-Clark - Producer, Tony Jackson - Sound/Sound Designer, Tom Lucy - Stunts, Denise Ryan - Stunts, Jason White - Stunts, Denise Ryan - Stunts Coordinator, Mike Figgis - Screenwriter, Kev Robertson - Second Unit Director Of Photography
A young man, Brendan (Sean Bean), seeks work in a jazz club owned by Finney (Sting). There is some suggestion that Finney has past connections with organized crime but is attempting to leave these behind. Two gangsters arrive to make Finney an offer he cannot refuse for his Club but Brendan overhears them and warns Finney who then turns the tables on them. At the same time Newcastle is preparing to host a visit from a group of American investors that it hopes to engage in a grandiose regeneration project. Kate (Melanie Griffith) a waitress has been recruited to service the delegation. Kate and Brendan meet and fall in love. Amongst the visiting group is Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones) a corrupt business man who we learn uses Kate as a prostitute to secure business deals. It is Cosmo who has been putting the pressure on Finney as the Club stands in the way of his plans for the city leading to an eventual conflict.
A subplot involves an avant-garde jazz group called the "Kraków Jazz Ensemble" who visit Newcastle to perform and become entangled in the conflict. One of the film's longest scenes is a celebration to which the group is invited; this takes place among members of Newcastle's Polish community.
Production
The production was initially a low budget project funded by Channel 4 and British Screen. When the film attracted American financing it was suggested that the film be recast with American actors. Both Melanie Griffith's and Tommy Lee Jones' careers were in a dip at the time and agreed to take parts at a lower fee. Between the time of the film being shot and its release Working Girl was released and Griffith became an Oscar-nominated star. This secured Stormy Monday greater attention on its US release helping revive interest in Jones and propel Figgis and Bean to Hollywood.
Television series
The film was followed by the ITV series Finney in 1994, starring David Morrissey as Finney in the years before Stormy Monday is set. Finney was also produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark.
