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Crazy in Alabama

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Crazy in Alabama
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAntonio Banderas
Written byMark Childress
Based onCrazy in Alabama
by Mark Childress
Produced byDebra Hill
Starring
CinematographyJulio Macat
Edited byRobert C. Jones
Music byMark Snow
Production
companies
Columbia Pictures
Green Moon Productions
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • September 9, 1999 (1999-09-09) (Venice)
  • October 22, 1999 (1999-10-22) (U.S.)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million
Box office$2 million

Crazy in Alabama is a 1999 American crime film directed by Antonio Banderas in his directorial debut and written by Mark Childress based on his novel. The film stars Melanie Griffith as an abused housewife who becomes an actress, while her nephew deals with a racially motivated murder involving a corrupt sheriff. It marked Dakota Johnson's film debut.

Plot

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In 1965 Alabama, Peter Joseph "Peejoe" Bullis lives in a small town at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. His eccentric aunt, Lucille Vinson, kills her husband Chester with poison, after suffering years of domestic violence. She decapitates him and brings his severed head with her en route to Hollywood, where she is convinced that television stardom awaits her. In New Orleans, Lucille buys a black hat box to store Chester's head. When a bartender on Bourbon Street insults her, she threatens him with a revolver, before stealing the car and money. Back in Alabama, Peejoe's uncle and Lucille's brother, Dove, a local funeral director, is notified of the incident. While traveling, Lucille becomes increasingly paranoid, convinced Chester's ghost is haunting her.

Meanwhile, Peejoe becomes involved with a group of black students protesting the town's racially segregated municipal swimming pool, leading to a violent protest. A young black boy, Taylor Jackson, is killed by the town sheriff, John Doggett. Peejoe, the only witness, is pressured by the sheriff to keep it quiet. While mowing the lawn, Peejoe is struck in the eye with a rock. The townspeople circulate a false story that he was shot in retaliation about Taylor. The black townspeople stage a protest honoring Taylor in which they enter the swimming pool. Peejoe and his brother, Wiley, join them in support, but the protest is interrupted by the police and white pro-Confederates.

Lucille wins $32,000 from playing roulette in Las Vegas, and subsequently pays for a personal driver, Norman, to bring her to Los Angeles. She arrives in Hollywood, taking the stage name Carolyn Clay, and manages to land a minor role on Bewitched. Back in Alabama, Peejoe and Wiley attend a speech by Martin Luther King Jr., and Peejoe's racist aunt Earline is infuriated over the publicity involving the family. That night, they discover Lucille appearing on television.

At the industry party in Hollywood Hills, hostess Joan Blake discovers Chester's head in Lucille's hat box. Lucille and Norman flee to San Francisco, and try to discard the head off the Golden Gate Bridge. However, the two policemen discover this and stop Lucille from attempting suicide. She is arrested and escorted back to Alabama for the trial, where she is met by a media circus. In the local jail, Lucille is incarcerated in a cell near Nehemiah Jackson, Taylor's father who has been jailed over the protest.

After being convicted of first-degree murder, Lucille is sentenced to twenty years in prison. However, the sentence is suspended when she earns the judge's sympathies after testifying to the abuse she received, and she is put on a five-year probation with the condition that she seek psychiatric help. Lucille, her children, and all her friends leave the courtroom, while the sheriff (through Peejoe's testimony) is put under arrest for Taylor's death.

Cast

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Production

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The film was shot in Houma, Louisiana, Schriever, Chackbay, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Reception

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The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, scoring a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 56 reviews, with the site's consensus stating: "Melanie Griffith gets kudos for her performance, but the movie just doesn't seem to come together."[1] The film holds a score of 46 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 27 reviews.[2]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "an ungainly fit of three stories that have no business being shoehorned into the same movie," awarding it two out of four stars.[3] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film "takes an antic tone. It presents Melanie Griffith as the kind of fanciful creature who looks flirty even on her Wanted poster, and whose escapades en route to Hollywood have a dizzy spin."[4] Paula Nechak of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer called the film "funny, eccentric, and touchingly just, combining a unique interpretation of the time with an offbeat sense of humor."[5]

Griffith was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performance in the film, but lost it to Heather Donahue for The Blair Witch Project.[6] However, her performance for the film and Another Day in Paradise earned her the Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actress. Lucas Black was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film and YoungStar Award for Best Young Actor/Performance in a Motion Picture Drama. Banderas won the 2000 ALMA Award for Outstanding Director of a Feature Film[7] and the European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema. He was nominated for a Golden Lion Award.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Crazy in Alabama (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "Crazy in Alabama". Metacritic. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Ebert, Roger (October 22, 1999). "Crazy in Alabama Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  4. ^ Maslin, Janet (October 22, 1999). "'Crazy in Alabama': Freedom Fighting in Dixie". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  5. ^ Nechak, Paula. "Banderas' fresh take on Old South". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Seattle, Washington: Eugene Register-Guard. p. 36 – via Google News.
  6. ^ "1999 Razzie Nominees and "Winners"". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  7. ^ Kim, Ellen A (April 16, 2000). "2000 ALMA Awards". Hollywood.com. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
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