An American Affair Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
What can you do for your country?
Set in 1963, in the swirl of glamour and intrigue that turned President John F. Kennedy's Washington into Camelot, the movie traces the coming of age of a lonely 13-year-old Catholic school boy.
| Gretchen Mol | Catherine Caswell |
| James Rebhorn | Lucian Carver |
| Cameron Bright | Adam Stafford |
| Perrey Reeves | Adrienne Stafford |
| Mark Pellegrino | Graham Caswell |
| Noah Wyle | Mike Stafford |
| J.P. Aaron | White House Sentry |
| Kris Arnold | Charlie |
| Jimmy Bellinger | Jimmy |
| Christopher Clawson | Neighbor |
| Jermaine Crawford | Andre |
| Jerry Hart | Carl |
| Sam Navarro | JFK |
| Gerry Paradiso | Del Valle |
| Jerry Whiddon | Jacques |
| William Olsson |
5.20 out of 10 (65 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Okay coming of age tale
posted on 30 Aug 200913 year old boy strikes up a relationship with a blond divorce artist who is a friend of JFK. As he tries to survive life in Catholic school she tries to survive before her past and connection to the president come back to haunt her. Okay coming of age film is the sort of thing that has too much on its mind. The provocative art for the film has Gretchen Mol semi nude, looking like Marilyn Monroe and seems to portend a film different then the coming of age drama that is on the screen. Perhaps had I known that this was more of a coming of age Tale I might have liked it more than I did. As it is its an okay film about two people coming together to form a friendship. Worth a shot if you run across it.
Unconvincing and unrealistic.
posted on 31 Jul 2009Apart from how boring this was, it was also historically inaccurate (apart from Kennedy's assassination), but even still, setting this during that time frame is somewhat distracting.The main plot is generic, recycled and unrealistic to say the least. What are the chances of this kid actually coming across all the events that happen in this story? Not bloody likely.Still, though, there were a couple good scenes (the ending was surprisingly good), but just not enough to save a mediocre film. Mediocre, but watchable at least. I'd be more willing to give this a three and a half, but unfortunately I have to pick either three or four here on IMDb...so I'm leaning more towards a three.
Have Your Cake and Eat it Too
posted on 25 Jun 2009Some of the reviewers here obviously have never heard of, or read a book of, historical fiction. This movie did not begin with "True Story". Hence why expect it to be? Indeed, if a film about historical events was 100% accurate it would be so boring we'd then complain about that. Gretchen Mol did a superb job as usual. I first saw her in "Forever Mine". If she gets the right part she always delivers. The part of the young man was also well done. It is difficult to give much info without spoiling the plot. It has drama, romance and tragedy. All well done; the components of good movies. So watch it for yourself. And don't try to make historical comparisons as you do. That's not what this movie is about.Most of the bad reviews here come from those who did not see the typical Hollywood template film they expected. There are no Quentin Tarantino type influences here. It's not the typical American type template that has won the US only 5 Palm D Ors in drama at Cannes in the last 25 years even though we've put out tens of thousands of films! Yes if you expect the usual steamy sex, filthy talk, things blowing up, chase scenes, gun battles and bloody gore-filled murder scenes you will be disappointed. Sadly, there are few American made movies worth the time or expense at a cinema these days but this is one of them. You get to have your cake and eat it too.
A young boy yearns forbidden fruit.
posted on 09 Jun 2009The scene is 1963 Washington D.C.; the Cuban Missile Crisis is barely old news, Americans still fear the attitudes of the Russians, and the John F. Kennedy administration is still young. The Cold War is still frigid and the dreams of Camelot still in bloom. Thirteen-year-old Adam Stafford(Cameron Bright)endures the plight of bullies, nuns and girls at his Catholic school. His life finds a purpose when he spies on the naked body of his new neighbor across the street. She's blond, she's beautiful and young Adam is overcome with curiosity. Catherine Caswell(Gretchen Mol)is a divorcée, an artist and a woman with a past. Young Adam clicks pictures from his bedroom window and one night makes a startling discovery...Catherine is having a relationship with JFK. Against his parent's wishes, Adam and Catherine nurture a friendship and before long find themselves in a whirling vortex of confusion and mystery leading to the assassination of the nation's youngest President.Captivating intrigue. Witty and poignant. Pasionate awaking. Also in the cast: James Rebhorn, Mark Pellegrino, Perrey Reeves and Noah Wyle. Do yourself a favor and get involved.
COA + CIA + Mol = Muddle
posted on 18 Apr 2009COA=Coming of Age. It's a set and somewhat stilted genre by now, and _An American Affair_ does little to change that. Young Adam Stafford is isolated in the all-too-predictable World He Never Made: parochial school, iconic period parents cloaked in gray clothes and rote emotions, and females constantly pushing him away for no clear reason. We get the sense Adam's supposed to be Somehow Special - maybe because he's an only child, maybe because he's the big-eyed, callow, Pure Boy - but he's really just inert, a force to be acted upon by the grown-up world.Gretchen Mol's Catherine is really the only flame of real humanity in the film, the only one not acting out a role of someone acting out a role. The actor who brought Betty Page back to life a few years ago had matured fascinatingly since her days as a pretty bauble. Now we see her without the black wig and fetish gear, and she's a real presence. Her role as Sexy Bourgeoise Bohemienne is contrived - cool jazz, drugs, and a patently silly finger-paint ballet with Adam - but she has a genuine emotional vulnerability that most of the film lacks. The subplot of neighbor Catherine's involvement with Jack Kennedy - who apparently will talk to the CIA only through her - is not well integrated. As a result, it feels obligatory, as if it's there to beef up the COA story (and perhaps add a little commercial zing). It does provide a counter-irritant to Catherine's sensuality in Lucien and Catherine's ex Graham, the Agency men easily reduced to masculine role-icons. Lucien is so buttoned up he seems almost deliberately awkward, and Graham taking what we're supposed to believe are the only outlets from his masculine role - drinking and rage towards Catherine. Director Olsson is, of course, working with archetypes - Cold War Washington folk - but he never lets them get beyond their icon status. Particularly telling is his handling of the JFK assassination moment - the parochial school kids left to stand pointlessly in line as all the sisters gather at the television. The news is spread only by Adam, the special boy, who whispers to the pupils - and a silent overhead shot as they scatter like birds in a Paris park. Again, a dance of roles and distance, too stylized by half. Here's a hint, Mr. Olsson: Camelot wasn't so long ago that you have to play it as somber as a medieval allegory. (What does it say that _The Tudors_ had more men in crew cuts than your vision of 1963?) People - CIA men maybe excepted - did approach one another as people, and European directors often miss that American ease. Ironically, that same ease was what made John Fitzgerald Kennedy so irresistible - not just to his many feminine liaisons, but to his country and the world.
Captivating ... sexy ... moody ... original ... superbly made film with truly memorable performances
posted on 27 Feb 2009These days it's rare to come across a finely crafted film that plays every character -- and literally every moment of every scene -- with an uncompromising integrity. Instead of the usual attempt to make a marketable product that pulls the right demographic -- or pushes everyone's buttons -- or simply puts as many of the masses into the seats as possible, writer Alex Metcalf and director William Olsson follow their very resonant characters into the story generated quite naturally by these delicately entangled lives. Yes, there are elements of "coming of age", of "cloak and dagger", of "erotic thriller", etc. -- but it isn't really any of those. Like all really outstanding motion pictures, this film belongs to itself -- is its own category.Setting fictional characters into a piece of well-known history is in itself a major film-making challenge and not without its pitfalls. But there isn't a single false step here as Olsson juggles fact and fiction with seamless precision, managing to keep all the balls in the air. "An American Affair' is a quiet movie ... taking its time ... allowing you savor every sweet and sour moment. The music is minimal -- yet superbly appropriate and authentic to period. Never showy, the thoughtful camera work serves the characters and content very, very well.The performances are uniformly excellent -- with Gretchen Mol turning in a truly memorable tour-de-force portrayal of this complex, conflicted young woman. The erotic scenes are never overplayed -- they're tangible -- real. This is genuine eroticism -- not the showbiz kind. She plays the total woman at all times and yet retains that elusive air ... a lingering mystique. Can we -- can anyone -- really know her? We savor each tiny revelation that emerges through her many moods -- playful, seductive, cynical, childlike, creative, materialistic, conscientious, free-spirited, controlling, generous, vulnerable, self-serving. Mol plays every resonant note to absolute perfection and it's the key to making this film so unforgettable.This is the kind of movie that stays with you long after the lights come up. Hard to believe it's Olsson's first feature length film -- and it's made in the English language for North America's convenience! We have a lot to look forward to from this wonderful new addition to the world's motion picture auteurs.
Set in 1963, Washington D.C., right before Kennedy was killed.
posted on 17 Feb 2009In 1963 I was a senior in high school. Later in 1963 I was a freshman in college. It was there, on my way to or from the cafeteria that I learned our President was shot.This movie, set in that time, brings back good memories for me, not that things were necessarily great in 1963, but because none of us will ever see 1963 again, time passes so quickly.In this fictitious account Gretchen Mol is Catherine Caswell, 30-something and divorced from her CIA husband. Catherine knows John Kennedy, she really "knows" him, and at times he comes to visit her during the night.Cameron Bright, about 15 during filming, is teen Adam Stafford, going through the raging hormone stage. Adam's bedroom window happens to be right across from Catherine's windows, and at night he often catches a glimpse of her. One night after quite a nice, partially nude glimpse, he takes to being very nosy. As in intercepting her mail, steaming it open, to find out more about this mysterious woman who seems to delight in that she can turn on a teenager.All this leads to Adam getting a job taking care of Catherine's yard, with a fringe benefit of becoming her friend. Overall the movie is more about Adam's coming of age (although he never gets close to sleeping with Catherine) than of Catherine's alleged affair with the President. In addition there is a subplot to get and destroy her diary which certainly would have sensitive matter in it.Good movie, better than the IMDb rating would indicate, in my judgement. Mol is an under-appreciated actress, beautiful and always delivers a memorable performance.
real story is better than the movie
posted on 31 Aug 2009This movie, clearly and transparently based on the last year in the life of Mary Pinchot Meyer, is, unfortunately, not as good as it could have been. All the real characters are here and very thinly disguised: Ms. Meyer, Cord Meyer, James Angleton, JFK, with the addition of a fictional nice teen-age boy who happens to live next door. This character is the problem. Though well-acted, the role is poorly conceived, and the boy's various shadowings and spyings look absurd. Plus there's some tiresome material set at his Catholic day school. Gretchen Mol is wonderful, as is the actor who plays the Angleton character. But this could have been so much better if the filmmakers had taken a tougher position. Left out are Ben and Tony Bradlee and their role in the destruction of Mary Pinchot Meyer's (possibly inflammatory) diary. On the plus side, the LSD scene is nicely done. Bottom line: a fascinating tale receives a mediocre treatment. What a shame!