Now there's a reason filmmakers keep making movies about this theme. There's a lot to say about it. The Weekend takes its time in revealing these relationships to us and illuminating the ways in which these people grieve. How and when to move on from a paralyzing loss? A dinner guest barges in on a delicately danced minuet of grief, and rattles some things loose. It's subtly written and acted, and the filming is beautiful. Gena Rowlands is masterful. You can't take your eyes off Deborah Kara Unger. All the other actors are wonderful. There are no car chases. I loved it.
7 Reviews
Okay drama with some solid performances
Red666 October 1999
The film is a little hard to follow at first, but gets better and more cohesive as it goes along. Gena Rowlands could read the phone book and be compelling and she rises above the material here. Deborah Kara Unger is particularly good and James Duval is well cast and charming. The only real let down is Brooke Shields. She has gotten so good over the past few years that it was dissapointing to see her uneven performance. The only time she shines is when she's putting the make on men or is on the verge of tears. Thankfully, word has it that her performance in "Black & White" is quite dynamic. Overall, the film is worth seeing for some strong performances. Good cinematography too.
works for the better.
mischam768 January 2005
Although i really enjoyed this film it was a little slow and tedious at times.Not so much with the story,but with the slow burning conversations that so annoyingly poured out of Deborah Kerr Ungers mouth.Thiis was the only let down.She didn't seem wooden so much,just annoying.I felt it was strange that she couldn't spit anything out at an adequate speed.Gena Rowlands was amazing as was the character she portrayed.Another great surprise was from Brooke shields.She really shines in this role and these two woman make the whole film from becoming a bore.Their banter was enjoyable from beginning to satisfying end.Brooke pulled off this dramatic role with gusto and looked great doing it.For those who want a fast paced,elaborate film,this is not for you.But for those who want a heart felt,character driven, deep film than this may be for you.
"The Weekend" is awful. I haven't a good word to say about it.
TalkToMe26 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
"The Weekend" is awful. I haven't a good word to say about it.
The plot is contrived and both the acting and the dialogue are wooden and uninteresting.
The movie is an adaptation of a book by Peter Cameron . Brian Skeet directed The Weekend and should not be allowed to make any more movies!
Here's a brief plot summary. Warning: Spoilers!
Tony (D.B. Sweeney) dies of AIDS while living with his brother,John, and sister- in-law, Marian (Jared Harris and Deborah Kara Unger), in their country home. One year later John and Marion invite Tony's former lover, Lyle (David Conrad), to visit their home on the first anniversary of Tony's death. Lyle surprises them by showing up with his current lover, Robert (James Duval). Surprised? Confused? I was totally confused.
Would you take your current lover to a memorial weekend for your former lover who died of AIDS? What was Lyle thinking when he invited his current lover, David, to accompany him? Perhaps he thought that it would be "cool" to eulogize Tony and then go upstairs with David and assuage his sadness with mutual oral sex? Were the screen writers, Cameron and Skeet, trying for new records in grossness and weirdness?
What was truly weird was that neither of the hosts, neither Marion nor John, seem surprised by the appearance of Lyle's new lover. They just took it in stride and remained nonplussed. All this happened at the beginning of the movie. From here the movie actually got worse as unbelievable as that may sound.
Next, the movie shifts to a neighbor's palatial house where the women get into eye-gouging and being super-bitches. The owner of the house is a 60ish women named Laura Ponti (Gina Rowlands) who has a surprise visit by her actress daughter Nina (Brooke Shields). Laura has been divorced 4 times and, Nina, the daughter, is an actress in grade B movies who shows up for the weekend with her married boy friend, Thierry (Gary Dourdan), who is supposed to be French. Dourdan disappoints with a sometimes-you-hear-it-sometimes- you-don't French accent.
Nina's whole objective is to aggravate her mother in any and all ways possible. For example, she and Thierry have passionate sex in the swimming pool while her mother watches. Then Nina banishes Thierry from the movie when she hears him talking with his wife. Neither Rowlands nor Shields nor Dourdan contribute anything to the movie. At this point I didn't think things could get worse. I was wrong.
Lyle, Tony's ex-lover, feels guilt at having started a new relationship after Tony's death and his guilt leads to a physical fight with David, his new lover. The result is that David leaves for Italy to restore Gina Rolands' frescoes in her Italian villa while Lyle goes back to the city. Did I say the plot was contrived?
The movie makes use of flashbacks to fill in the background. In one particularly weird flashback Marion and Tony lie on the pier after swimming. The water is cold and Marion's nipples are poking up like little soldiers and then Tony the gay brother-in-law and Marion are kissing passionately! Was he the father of Marion's baby notwithstanding his AIDS?
Tony's death is not shown. If the TV documentaries are accurate then dying from AIDS is a terrible ordeal. The body whithers away with more and more diseases attacking it. In "The Weekend" Tony's suffering is absent. There is also no mention of who infected him. Instead, there is a maudlin flashback where Tony and Lyle express their undying love for each other. It made me want to puke.
I'm not a great fan of movies about gays although there is one that I would recommend, even highly recommend. I'm referring to "Flawless" with Phillip Seymor Hoffman. See it!
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WATCHING "THE WEEKEND"!
The plot is contrived and both the acting and the dialogue are wooden and uninteresting.
The movie is an adaptation of a book by Peter Cameron . Brian Skeet directed The Weekend and should not be allowed to make any more movies!
Here's a brief plot summary. Warning: Spoilers!
Tony (D.B. Sweeney) dies of AIDS while living with his brother,John, and sister- in-law, Marian (Jared Harris and Deborah Kara Unger), in their country home. One year later John and Marion invite Tony's former lover, Lyle (David Conrad), to visit their home on the first anniversary of Tony's death. Lyle surprises them by showing up with his current lover, Robert (James Duval). Surprised? Confused? I was totally confused.
Would you take your current lover to a memorial weekend for your former lover who died of AIDS? What was Lyle thinking when he invited his current lover, David, to accompany him? Perhaps he thought that it would be "cool" to eulogize Tony and then go upstairs with David and assuage his sadness with mutual oral sex? Were the screen writers, Cameron and Skeet, trying for new records in grossness and weirdness?
What was truly weird was that neither of the hosts, neither Marion nor John, seem surprised by the appearance of Lyle's new lover. They just took it in stride and remained nonplussed. All this happened at the beginning of the movie. From here the movie actually got worse as unbelievable as that may sound.
Next, the movie shifts to a neighbor's palatial house where the women get into eye-gouging and being super-bitches. The owner of the house is a 60ish women named Laura Ponti (Gina Rowlands) who has a surprise visit by her actress daughter Nina (Brooke Shields). Laura has been divorced 4 times and, Nina, the daughter, is an actress in grade B movies who shows up for the weekend with her married boy friend, Thierry (Gary Dourdan), who is supposed to be French. Dourdan disappoints with a sometimes-you-hear-it-sometimes- you-don't French accent.
Nina's whole objective is to aggravate her mother in any and all ways possible. For example, she and Thierry have passionate sex in the swimming pool while her mother watches. Then Nina banishes Thierry from the movie when she hears him talking with his wife. Neither Rowlands nor Shields nor Dourdan contribute anything to the movie. At this point I didn't think things could get worse. I was wrong.
Lyle, Tony's ex-lover, feels guilt at having started a new relationship after Tony's death and his guilt leads to a physical fight with David, his new lover. The result is that David leaves for Italy to restore Gina Rolands' frescoes in her Italian villa while Lyle goes back to the city. Did I say the plot was contrived?
The movie makes use of flashbacks to fill in the background. In one particularly weird flashback Marion and Tony lie on the pier after swimming. The water is cold and Marion's nipples are poking up like little soldiers and then Tony the gay brother-in-law and Marion are kissing passionately! Was he the father of Marion's baby notwithstanding his AIDS?
Tony's death is not shown. If the TV documentaries are accurate then dying from AIDS is a terrible ordeal. The body whithers away with more and more diseases attacking it. In "The Weekend" Tony's suffering is absent. There is also no mention of who infected him. Instead, there is a maudlin flashback where Tony and Lyle express their undying love for each other. It made me want to puke.
I'm not a great fan of movies about gays although there is one that I would recommend, even highly recommend. I'm referring to "Flawless" with Phillip Seymor Hoffman. See it!
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WATCHING "THE WEEKEND"!
Escaping the past
spizz200019 May 2000
A weekend in the country provokes crises in the lives of a couple and their houseguests as past relationships intrude into the present, and new alliances are formed. Sharp, witty performances from Gena Rowlands, Brooke Shields, Jared Harris, Deborah Unger, D.B. Sweeney et al. Lushly filmed to evoke the languor of a summer weekend, and the haunting and disruptive presence of the past.
Best of the Fest!
Kiki-725 October 1999
Saw this film at the Hamptons Film Festival recently and it was the best of the lot. This had potential for being lumped in with the endless number of films with similar set-ups (Family and friends gather for a weekend together, tensions erupt, secrets come out, etc...) However, being beautifully shot, written, directed and acted, it makes leaps ahead of the pack. The characters were very compelling and touching, with Gena Rowlands effortlessly playing the grande dame to the hilt. The rest of the cast was, in varying degrees, hovering around that caliber, with excellent work from Brooke Shields, as Rowlands' spoiled daughter. Fantastic chemistry between the cast, which is a testament to the director's abilities.
No idea when or if it has a release scheduled, but I recommend seeking it out. Look forward to the next!
No idea when or if it has a release scheduled, but I recommend seeking it out. Look forward to the next!
Bitter Sweet and Mesmerising
n-b-international20104 February 2008
This film will certainly be understood and appreciated more by people who have some true experience of life, relationships, film and those who have faced their own demons and unabashedly know themselves. For others it can be a view into a profound life event.
The dialogue and narrations are pregnant with a wealth of meaning at and below the surface of the words.
The acting is splendid. What can one say about Gena Rowlands that has not been said. She is a consummate thespian. All performances are striking, subtle and yet powerful and so very real.
Beautifully filmed. The musical score is appropriate and never distracting but actually enhances the moments. These are real people dealing with real life circumstances, present and past. It is truly a Motion Picture. A priceless painting in movement.
The dialogue and narrations are pregnant with a wealth of meaning at and below the surface of the words.
The acting is splendid. What can one say about Gena Rowlands that has not been said. She is a consummate thespian. All performances are striking, subtle and yet powerful and so very real.
Beautifully filmed. The musical score is appropriate and never distracting but actually enhances the moments. These are real people dealing with real life circumstances, present and past. It is truly a Motion Picture. A priceless painting in movement.
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