Plot
Sully is a rascally ne'er-do-well approaching retirement age. While he is pressing a worker's compensation suit for a bad knee...
Release Year: 1994
Rating: 7.2/10 (9,795 voted)
Director:
Robert Benton
Stars: Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Jessica Tandy
Storyline Sully is a rascally ne'er-do-well approaching retirement age. While he is pressing a worker's compensation suit for a bad knee, he secretly works for his nemesis, Carl, and flirts with Carl's young wife Toby. Sully's long- forgotten son and family have moved back to town, so Sully faces unfamiliar family responsibilities. Meanwhile, Sully's landlady's banker son plots to push through a new development and evict Sully from his mother's life.
Writers: Richard Russo, Robert Benton
Cast: Paul Newman
-
Sully Sullivan
Jessica Tandy
-
Beryl Peoples
Bruce Willis
-
Carl Roebuck
Melanie Griffith
-
Toby Roebuck
Dylan Walsh
-
Peter Sullivan
Pruitt Taylor Vince
-
Rub Squeers
Gene Saks
-
Wirf Wirfley
Josef Sommer
-
Clive Peoples Jr.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
-
Officer Raymer
Philip Bosco
-
Judge Flatt
Catherine Dent
-
Charlotte Sullivan
Alexander Goodwin
-
Will Sullivan
Carl J. Matusovich
-
Wacker Sullivan
(as Carl John Matusovich)
Jay Patterson
-
Jocko
Jerry Mayer
-
Ollie Quinn
Taglines:
In a town where nothing ever happens... everything is about to happen to Sully.
Release Date: 13 January 1995
Filming Locations: Beacon, New York, USA
Gross: $39,487,686
(USA)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Jessica Tandy's final role.
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
Peter Sullivan says he teaches at "the University of West Virginia." There is no such place. However, there is the fine West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Miss Beryl:
Mr. Sullivan.
[banging on ceiling]
Miss Beryl:
Mr. Sullivan. God just took out Mrs. Gruber's bird bath! Miss Beryl:
[to her husband's picture]
He's getting closer Clive. Last year it was the street light at the end of the block, now it's Mrs. Gruber's bird bath. I think God's zeroing in on me. I have the feeling this is the year he lowers the boom.
User Review
classic Newman
Rating: 7/10
Newman uses a lifetime of acting experience to give a burnished, affecting
portrayal of Sully, a dysfunctional father and husband who is basically
well-intentioned but has never been able to connect with anyone or live up
to his responsibilities. His family arrives back in town and he begins the
long-delayed process of reconnecting with his son and grandsons.
Like "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" of a few years back, this is a low-key,
slice-of-life drama, a type of film that can be deadly dull in the wrong
hands but which in this case, under director Robert Benton's guidance, and
aided by a fabulous script and wonderful cast, is totally
engrossing.
The script is spare and lean and all the more effective for that. It never
goes for heavy emotional effects, but makes its points in a powerfully
understated way. The many moments of humor stand out in high relief.
Excellent acting all around (this was one of Jessica Tandy's last films;
also in the
cast are Bruce Willis, a better actor than he is generally given credit
for,
and Melanie Griffith). The feeling of life in a down-at-the-heels
northeast
U.S. town in midwinter is superbly brought across; the movie has a real
'lived-in' atmosphere.
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