Compulsion (2013 film)
| Compulsion | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Egidio Coccimiglio |
| Written by | Floyd Byars |
| Based on | 301, 302 1995 film by Park Chul-soo |
| Produced by | Gary Howsam Bill Marks |
| Starring | Heather Graham Carrie-Anne Moss Kevin Dillon Joe Mantegna |
| Cinematography | Vilmos Zsigmond |
| Edited by | D. Gillian Truster |
| Music by | Jonathan Goldsmith |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million (estimated)[1] |
Compulsion is a 2013 Canadian psychological thriller film directed by Egidio Coccimiglio and starring Heather Graham, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Dillon, and Joe Mantegna.[2] The movie is a remake of the South Korean film 301, 302 directed by Park Chul-soo. It focuses on two women occupying neighboring apartments, each one grappling with psychological disorders that begin to overtake their lives.[3] According to the film’s press release: "With images of sumptuous food and sensual enjoyment, the film explores the intimacy between the two through their connection with food, eating disorders and sex. In a battle of wills, one woman overflows with illusions and fearlessly faces life while the other withdraws from everything and fearlessly faces death."[4]
The movie opened for limited release on June 21, 2013.[5]
Plot
Amy (Heather Graham), an obsessive chef, befriends a bulimic former child star Saffron (Carrie-Anne Moss) living in the apartment next door, sparking a fiery battle of wills. Unstable Amy wields a spatula like a samurai, and dreams of the day she'll have her own cooking show. As a young girl, Amy was infatuated with a television show starring Saffron, who subsequently vanished into obscurity. The damaged daughter of a tyrannical stage mother, Saffron has struggled with an eating disorder ever since she was a little girl. Plagued by deep-rooted intimacy issues, she spends most of her time alone until the day she crosses paths with Amy. At first, Amy can't believe her luck at having her childhood idol living right next door, and at first the two women even sense an ethereal connection that bonds them. Later, as their true colors begin to emerge, both Amy and Saffron discover just how toxic their chemistry may be.
Cast
- Heather Graham as Amy
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Saffron
- Kevin Dillon as Fred
- Joe Mantegna as Detective Reynolds
- James McGowan as Bob
- Natalie Brown as Rebecca
- Jean Yoon as Leslie
Production
Although the film takes place in New York City, principal photography took place in Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto, Ontario.
Reception
Charlie Schmidlin of IndieWire stated "Sustaining a post-child-star career seems a difficult enough labyrinth to manage by itself, but combine that challenge with a bubbly, incessant neighbor intent on stardom, as a new film exploring the toll of celebrity aims to do, and you have an interesting dark vehicle for two talented actresses as a result."[6] Chuck Wilson of the Miami New Times commented "The game of wills [...] between the two women isn't terribly interesting, much less suspenseful, and in fact, it's not clear that director Egidio Coccimiglio and screenwriter Floyd Byars ever settled on whether they were making a thriller or a satire about food and celebrity. The ever-vibrant Graham has fun with Amy's slyly embittered patter to her imaginary TV audience, while Moss valiantly commits herself to Saffron's psychological pain."[7]
See also
- 301, 302, the original, released in 1995.
- Girl, Interrupted, a 1999 drama film.
References
- ^ "Compulsion (Review)". influxmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ "Compulsion". MovieWeb. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ "Dimension Films Acquires Psychological Thriller Compulsion". ComingSoon.net. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
- ^ "WATCH: Heather Graham's Steamy Lesbian Love Scene In 'Compulsion'". HuffPost. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "'Compulsion' Heather Graham new trailer". Digitalspy.co.uk. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ Schmidlin, Charlie (26 April 2012). "Heather Graham, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Dillon & Joe Mantegna Have 'Compulsion'; Vilmos Zsigmond Lensing". IndieWire. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ Wilson, ChuckChuck (18 July 2013). "Compulsion: Thriller or Satire?". Miami New Times. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
External links
- Compulsion at IMDb
- Compulsion at Metacritic
- Compulsion at AllMovie
- Compulsion at the TCM Movie Database
- Compulsion at Rotten Tomatoes
