Starring Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, Bill Murray, Kelly Lynch, Rhys Ifans and Jerry Sawyer, “Passion Play” premiered at the 2010 Toronto International film festival to very critical reviews.
Written and directed by Mitch Glazer, “Passion Play” is the story of Nate (Mickey Rourke), a second-string jazz musician who is clearly in need of a break. After being caught breaking into a car, he is taken into the desert where his aggressor puts a gun to his head. Do you think that’s the end? Not quite. Stumbling into an odd circus set amidst the southwest desert, Nate finds himself drawn to the incalculable alluring beauty of Lily (Megan Fox), the Bird Woman. Lily is cold, dismissive and does not like to interact with the circus’s customers. She comes to realize that this kind stranger may well be her way out of this life of aberrant manipulation. Nate is protective and understanding, and to him her aquiline beauty is a magic part of her individuality. As their relationship grows, Nate finds that his dreams of happiness are about to be thwarted by Happy Shannon (Bill Murray), a creepy businessman with deep pockets and an eye for the bizarre.
Personally, this trailer did absolutely nothing to pique my interest in the film. I do like Rourke and have really enjoyed many of his performances. Fox, however, has yet to prove her ability to do more onscreen then just give us men a bit of titillation. Murray is a unique choice for the villain as he generally isn’t perceived by film-goers to be a bad guy.
I looked up some reviews of this film from people who saw it at the film festival. While most talk about the disdain they have for the film, there are a few that praise Megan Fox and say this is the first movie where she actually shows some acting chops. So color me intrigued on that front.
“Passion Play” is set for a very limited theatrical release starting May 6 in New York and Los Angeles. Its current rating is R for language, some sexuality/nudity, violence and drug use. This will probably go into my “see it when it comes on DVD” list.
Passion Play Trailer by teasertrailer
. . .
Follow Adam Poynter on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CCWGGuy.
And don’t forget to “Like” It’s Just Movies on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies.
Why did Bill Murray agree to do this?
Apparently his royalty checks from “Groundhogs Day” run-out this year! 🙂