Patty Hearst (film)
Encyclopedia
Patty Hearst is a 1988 biographical film
directed by Paul Schrader
and stars Natasha Richardson
as Hearst Corporation
heiress Patricia Hearst
and Ving Rhames
as Symbionese Liberation Army
leader Cinque
. It is based on Hearst's 1982 autobiography
Every Secret Thing (co-written with Alvin Moscow), which was later rereleased as Patty Hearst – Her Own Story.
The film depicts the kidnapping of student Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army, her transformation into an active follower of the SLA after a long-lasting imprisonment and process of brainwashing, and her final arrest after a series of armed robberies.
on May 13 in the feature film competition. The film opened on September 23, 1988 in the US and grossed $601,680 in its opening weekend. It made a total domestic gross of $1,223,326.
Schrader has said that he made Patty Hearst on a low budget and for a small salary to recover from the commercial and artistic failure of Light of Day
. The film has a very distinctive visual style, not least because it is made almost entirely from Patty Hearst's point of view and therefore the first part is set largely in a dark closet with occasional blinding shafts of light when the captors open the door.
The ending, like those of Schrader's American Gigolo
and Light Sleeper
, echoes that of Robert Bresson
's Pickpocket
, showing the central character physically imprisoned but beginning to think hopefully about a new phase in her life.
, with 8 reviews counted. Writing in the New York Times, Vincent Canby
praised the film "Patty Hearst is a beautifully produced movie, seen entirely from Patty's limited point of view. It is stylized at times, utterly direct and both shocking and grimly funny." Roger Ebert
writing for the Chicago Sun-Times
praised Richardson's performance; "The entire film centers on the remarkable performance by Natasha Richardson as Hearst." but concluded that "This whole story seemed so much more exciting from the outside."
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
directed by Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
and stars Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
as Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
heiress Patricia Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
and Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
as Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
leader Cinque
Donald DeFreeze
Donald David DeFreeze , also known as Cinque Mtume, was the leader of the American guerilla group Symbionese Liberation Army, a group operating in the mid-1970s, under the nom de guerre "Field Marshal Cinque."...
. It is based on Hearst's 1982 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Every Secret Thing (co-written with Alvin Moscow), which was later rereleased as Patty Hearst – Her Own Story.
The film depicts the kidnapping of student Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army, her transformation into an active follower of the SLA after a long-lasting imprisonment and process of brainwashing, and her final arrest after a series of armed robberies.
Cast
- Natasha RichardsonNatasha RichardsonNatasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
– Patricia Hearst - William ForsytheWilliam Forsythe (actor)William Forsythe is an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" roles. He is also a writer, and has several short stories that are set to be published.-Early life:...
– Teko - Ving RhamesVing RhamesIrving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
– Cinque - Frances FisherFrances FisherFrances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born...
– Yolanda - Jodi LongJodi LongJodi Long is an American actress.She was raised in Queens, New York. Her parents are Kimiye , a showgirl performer of Japanese American descent, and Lawrence K...
– Wendy Yoshimura - Olivia BarashOlivia BarashOlivia Barash is an American actress. She has appeared in many films, including the cult film Repo Man, as well as television series in her career, including Little House on the Prairie, Charlie's Angels, Soap, Fame, and St. Elsewhere...
– Fahizah - Dana DelanyDana DelanyDana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
– Gelina - Marek Johnson – Zoya
- Kitty SwinkKitty SwinkKitty Swink is an American actress. She is married to Armin Shimerman. She guest starred in her husband's series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine twice, although the two did not share any scenes...
– Gabi - Peter Kowanko – Cujo (as Pete Kowanko)
- Tom O'Rourke – Jim Browning
- Scott KraftScott KraftScott Kraft is an Emmy Award winning American television writer and executive producer.-Early life and career:Kraft obtained his Bachelors of Arts from University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from Antioch. Kraft co-wrote the 1992 action-drama 'The Silencer' with Amy Goldstein...
– Steven Weed - Jeff ImadaJeff ImadaJeff Imada is an American marital artist, stuntman, actor and director. He has performed stunts in over 100 films and television programs and authored one of the first books published in the US about the balisong knife.-Life and career:...
– Neighbor - Ermal Williamson – Randolph A. Hearst
- Elaine Revard – Catherine Hearst
Production
Patty Hearst premiered at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival1988 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Ettore Scola*Claude Berri*David Robinson*Yelena Safonova*George Miller*Hector Olivera*Nastassja Kinski*Philippe Sarde*Robby Muller*William Goldman-Feature film competition:* A World Apart by Chris Menges...
on May 13 in the feature film competition. The film opened on September 23, 1988 in the US and grossed $601,680 in its opening weekend. It made a total domestic gross of $1,223,326.
Schrader has said that he made Patty Hearst on a low budget and for a small salary to recover from the commercial and artistic failure of Light of Day
Light of Day
The soundtrack to the film was released in 1987. As a single, "Light of Day" reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received additional album-oriented rock airplay due to the connection of Joan Jett and Bruce Springsteen....
. The film has a very distinctive visual style, not least because it is made almost entirely from Patty Hearst's point of view and therefore the first part is set largely in a dark closet with occasional blinding shafts of light when the captors open the door.
The ending, like those of Schrader's American Gigolo
American Gigolo
American Gigolo is a 1980 crime drama film, written and directed by Paul Schrader. It is informally considered the second installment in his "lonely man" trilogy, following the Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver and preceding Light Sleeper .-Plot:Julian Kaye is a male prostitute in Los Angeles...
and Light Sleeper
Light Sleeper
Light Sleeper is an US-american drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader in 1992. It stars Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and Dana Delany....
, echoes that of Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
's Pickpocket
Pickpocket (film)
Pickpocket is a 1959 film by the French director Robert Bresson. It starred Martin LaSalle, who was a nonprofessional actor at the time, in the title role, with Marika Green as the ingénue...
, showing the central character physically imprisoned but beginning to think hopefully about a new phase in her life.
Reception
The film garnered a generally mixed critical response, although Richardson's performance was applauded by most critics. Amongst credited critics, the film has a rating of 50% positive reactions on rotten tomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with 8 reviews counted. Writing in the New York Times, Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
praised the film "Patty Hearst is a beautifully produced movie, seen entirely from Patty's limited point of view. It is stylized at times, utterly direct and both shocking and grimly funny." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
writing for the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
praised Richardson's performance; "The entire film centers on the remarkable performance by Natasha Richardson as Hearst." but concluded that "This whole story seemed so much more exciting from the outside."