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Movies / On DVD / Sonny
Sonny

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Sonny (2002)

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23 %
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Reviews Counted: 26

Fresh: 6

Rotten:20

Average Rating: 4.2/10

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong sexuality, language, some drug use and violence

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 27, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his... Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), is one of small-time prostitution: mom is a madam, and Sonny has been in the brothel all his life. His brief excursion into the broader world makes Sonny want a different life, but he finds that his old habits--as well as the pull of young call girl Carol (Mena Suvari), and the bond with his mother's companion Henry (Harry Dean Stanton)--make leaving nearly impossible. For his first shot at directing, Cage chose a particularly gritty, knotted story in SONNY. Barry Markowitz's rich cinematography is nearly tactile, and Cage makes the interesting choice of having the colorful (in more ways than one) city of New Orleans mostly push through the edges of the movie, which is primarily shot in close-up. Those tight shots reveal the simmering rage in Franco's character, as well as the strange Oedipal twist of the hustling son who tries to please his mother by having sex with other women. [More]

Starring: James Franco, Mena Suvari, Brenda Blethyn, Harry Dean Stanton

Starring: James Franco, Mena Suvari, Brenda Blethyn, Harry Dean Stanton, Scott Caan

Director: Nicolas Cage

Director: Nicolas Cage
Screenwriter: John Carlen
Producer: Nicolas Cage, Norm Golightly, Paul Brooks
Composer: Clint Mansell
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Aug 19, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Sonny

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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This overlooked drama by Nic Cage packs an emotional wallop.

comment Comment
02/20/06
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
10/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
08/29/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Back to the housewives with ya, and now that Cage has the vanity project out of his system, he can go back to making more movies with Spike Jonze.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/07/04
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Too defensive and earnest about its topic to be either fun or illuminating.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
09/17/03
Glenn Kenny
Premiere Magazine

Sunk by way too much indulgence of scene-chewing, teeth-gnashing actorliness.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/06/03
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

It's just plain lurid when it isn't downright silly.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/27/02
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Actors generally make good actor's directors, but Sonny is a mixed bag in that department.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
12/27/02
Jan Stuart
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enchanted with low-life tragedy and liberally seasoned with emotional outbursts ... What is sorely missing, however, is the edge of wild, lunatic invention that we associate with Cage's best acting.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
12/27/02
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

There's too much forced drama in this wildly uneven movie, about a young man’s battle with his inescapable past and uncertain future in a very shapable but largely unfulfilling present.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
12/27/02
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

Keep your day job, Nicolas Cage. This shockingly inept directorial debut reveals the brooding actor to be a hackneyed helmer.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/27/02
E! Online

Author John Carlen has abstrusely captured that struggle of one man simply trying to be human in nonhuman, vile, circumstances.

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
12/27/02
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

An instant candidate for worst movie of the year.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/27/02
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nicolas Cage isn't the first actor to lead a group of talented friends astray, and this movie won't create a ruffle in what is already an erratic career.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
12/27/02
Michael Agger
Slate

Earnest and tentative even when it aims to shock.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
12/26/02
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Franco is an excellent choice for the walled-off but combustible hustler, but he does not give the transcendent performance SONNY needs to overcome gaps in character development and story logic.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
12/26/02
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

It is as uncompromising as it is nonjudgmental, and makes clear that a prostitute can be as lonely and needy as any of the clients.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
12/26/02
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Preposterous and tedious, Sonny is spiked with unintentional laughter that, unfortunately, occurs too infrequently to make the film even a guilty pleasure.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
12/25/02
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

Amid the cliché and foreshadowing, Cage manages a degree of casual realism ... that is routinely dynamited by Blethyn.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/25/02
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John Carlen’s script is full of unhappy, two-dimensional characters who are anything but compelling.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/24/02
Bruce Feld
Film Journal International
 
 
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