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The Event

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The Event (2003)

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Reviews Counted: 47

Fresh: 20

Rotten:27

Average Rating: 5.2/10

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexual content, language and some drug use

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Oct 3, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: In the mid- to late 1980s, films such as AN EARLY FROST, PARTING GLANCES, and LONGTIME COMPANION began examining the growing AIDS crisis. Thom Fitzgerald's moving THE EVENT shows that AIDS is still... In the mid- to late 1980s, films such as AN EARLY FROST, PARTING GLANCES, and LONGTIME COMPANION began examining the growing AIDS crisis. Thom Fitzgerald's moving THE EVENT shows that AIDS is still a major epidemic that is misunderstood by much of the public. The movie opens with the death of Matt Shapiro (Don McKellar), who was suffering with the disease. An assistant DA, Nick DeVivo (Parker Posey), believes that his death may have been the result of assisted suicide, which is against the law, so she questions Matt's friends and family to get to the truth--without considering the emotional impact her investigation might have on the people involved. With THE EVENT, Fitzgerald has made more than just an AIDS film; he has delved into the very nature of death and choice. Olympia Dukakis is outstanding as Lila, Matt's mother, who first has to come to terms with her son's illness and then his death. Sarah Polley and Joanna P. Adler are excellent as Matt's sisters, who have very different feelings about his demise. The film was shot on location in Chelsea in New York City and includes an emotional scene on the Staten Island Ferry, with the Statue of Liberty in the background, as Lila tosses Matt's ashes into the ocean. Although the film is set in recent years, it has a 1980s look to it, harkening back to the days of the first AIDS-related films when the disease just started to become recognized by the society at large. [More]

Starring: Olympia Dukakis, Parker Posey, Sarah Polley, Don McKellar

Starring: Olympia Dukakis, Parker Posey, Sarah Polley, Don McKellar, Jane Leeves, Brent Carver, Cynthia Preston, Richard Latessa, Joanna P. Adler

Director: Thom Fitzgerald

Director: Thom Fitzgerald
Screenwriter: Thom Fitzgerald, Steven Hillyer, Tim Marback
Producer: Bryan Hofbauer
Composer: Christopher Beck
Studio: ThinkFilm

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 13, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Event

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The superb performances by Olympia Dukakis and Don McKellar are what make this film rise above its limited but well-meaning script.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/15/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Deals] with extremely serious themes in a frank, honest and often humorous way.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
03/22/04
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment Comment
12/19/03
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald

To make a movie in 2003, one that centers around AIDS but ignores the epidemic's current culprit, Africa, and toys melodramatically with scenarios steeped in the filmmakers' selfish nostalgia without any real point, is to ask us not to think at all.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/18/03
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
12/05/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The performances of Olympia Dukakis as Matt's mother and Sarah Polley as his sister elevate The Event from melodramatic claptrap to sensitive drama.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
11/25/03
Charles Ealy
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Parker Posey and Olympia Dukakis lend their talents to an AIDS suicide film – it has its moments, but the death rattle comes from the genre, not from the central character.

Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | comment Comment
11/24/03
David Foucher
EDGE Boston

A feminine hygiene commercial is by far the best thing here. Is that last item a curious thing to say about a film with such a weighty agenda? Exactly.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/21/03
Janice Page
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite its impeccable acting and subtle backdrop of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, The Event lets its message overwhelm its emotion.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
11/07/03
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Most of the characters have no real life beyond representing various viewpoints.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
11/06/03
Phoebe Flowers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The tedious film just plays out far too long with little new to say.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
10/24/03
Kim Morgan
Oregonian

The conversation about euthanasia is a good one to have, no argument here, so go have it instead.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/20/03
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

An obviously well-intended, brutally earnest work which nonetheless repeatedly shoots itself in the foot through sheer ineptitude.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
10/11/03
David Noh
Film Journal International

The intricate structure of the movie is well handled but its world is a stifling capsule. Dukakis is in a zone!

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
10/09/03
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Fails equally as lament and celebration.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
10/09/03
Bob Campbell
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Aggressively drab and granular, the movie feels like a late-'80s AIDS passion play given an ill-fitting post-Sept. 11 makeover.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/08/03
Scott Brown
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

content with its own limited horizons

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/06/03
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

Maybe part of the reason The Event works so well is that Fitzgerald doesn't have compassion only for people dying of AIDS; his compassion rings out for anyone who's dying, period, as well as for the families and friends who care for them.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
10/04/03
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Dukakis has never been better and once again Fitzgerald proves himself to be a filmmaker of unfailing sensitivity, capable of transforming what could have been distastefully flip or overly lachrymose into something humorous but deeply heartfelt.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/03/03
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
 
 
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