Georgia (1995 film)
Encyclopedia
Georgia is a 1995 American independent film starring Jennifer Jason Leigh
and Mare Winningham
. In the film, Leigh played Sadie Flood, a punk
y barroom singer who has a complicated, jealous but loving relationship with her older sister, Georgia, played by Winningham. Georgia is a successful, talented and well-adjusted folk music
singer and a happily married mother of two. Sadie is passionate but self-destructive and untalented. While she seeks fame, she destroys herself through drug abuse. Although the movie focuses largely on Sadie, it was apparently titled Georgia because Sadie defines her own identity so much through her older sister.
John Doe
of the punk
band X played a supporting role and performed as a member of Sadie's band. The music in the film consisted of 13 songs which were recorded live and performed by the actors ("a risk that has paid off spectacularly in terms of emotional intensity", according to Los Angeles Times
critic Kenneth Turan). These included covers of songs by Lou Reed
, Elvis Costello
and, most famously, Van Morrison
: in the talked-about centrepiece of the film, Sadie drunkenly performs a raw, gruelling 8½-minute version of Morrison's "Take Me Back" in a ragged Janis Joplin
-style gut howl at an AIDS
benefit concert
. It's a scene that some viewers found mesmerizing while others found it insufferable.
The film was a very personal project for Jennifer Jason Leigh: it was written by her mother, Barbara Turner, Leigh and Turner co-produced it themselves, and she chose as her co-star her longtime real-life friend Mare Winningham
, whom she had known since the age of 13. It was directed by Ulu Grosbard
, a friend of her mother's.
section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
.
Georgia was released in the U.S. on December 8, 1995. It received a positive critical reception. Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today
described the film as "a painful though sadly humorous portrait of sisterhood," and Roger Ebert
said Georgia was "a complex, deeply knowledgeable story about a truly lost soul and her downward spiral" in his 3.5/4-star review. Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
said “Georgia is Leigh’s high-wire act, and her fierce, funny, exasperating and deeply affecting portrayal commands attention.” James Berardinelli
of Reel Views praised it as “a tour de force for Leigh... there are times when it's uncomfortable to watch this performance because it's so powerful”, adding “Georgia doesn't possess an amazingly original narrative, but what distinguishes this picture is the depth of the characters and the amazing power with which the two leads breathe life into them.” Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times
said “Leigh’s exceptional performance tears you apart… we’ve never seen anything like it before”, adding that "Georgia is not an easy film, but in the American independent arena, it outperforms everything in sight.” It was also voted one of 1995’s ten best films by Interview
, New York Post
, Detroit Free Press
, Los Angeles Daily News
and ABC Radio Network.
by the New York Film Critics Circle and at the Montreal World Film Festival
, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, and was widely predicted to receive her first Academy Award
nomination for the role. Surprisingly though, it was Mare Winningham who actually went on to receive an Oscar
nomination (as well as an Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actors Guild
nomination) as Best Supporting Actress, while Leigh was controversially overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
, much to the disappointment of critics and fans. Speaking to MetroActive magazine, Winningham said: “I felt incredibly honored and touched to be nominated… But it was hard to be separated from Jennifer, because she was the heart and soul of that film. While we were making the movie, I thought not only that she would get a nomination, but that she would win. I saw the kind of work she was doing. In my mind she will always be the greatest performance of that year, and a lot of other people thought so, too. Meryl Streep
grabbed me at the Academy Awards
. She said, 'Jennifer should be here!' and I said, 'I know!'” When Leaving Las Vegas
star Elisabeth Shue
won her Independent Spirit Award as Best Actress, she personally dedicated it to Leigh’s performance in Georgia.
For all its critical acclaim, Georgia was not as successful commercially, grossing only $2.9 million in the U.S. In the ten years since its release, however, it has picked up a small but devoted cult following.
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
and Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is...
. In the film, Leigh played Sadie Flood, a punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
y barroom singer who has a complicated, jealous but loving relationship with her older sister, Georgia, played by Winningham. Georgia is a successful, talented and well-adjusted folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer and a happily married mother of two. Sadie is passionate but self-destructive and untalented. While she seeks fame, she destroys herself through drug abuse. Although the movie focuses largely on Sadie, it was apparently titled Georgia because Sadie defines her own identity so much through her older sister.
John Doe
John Doe (musician)
John Doe is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span the rock, country and folk music genres...
of the punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band X played a supporting role and performed as a member of Sadie's band. The music in the film consisted of 13 songs which were recorded live and performed by the actors ("a risk that has paid off spectacularly in terms of emotional intensity", according to Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
critic Kenneth Turan). These included covers of songs by Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
and, most famously, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
: in the talked-about centrepiece of the film, Sadie drunkenly performs a raw, gruelling 8½-minute version of Morrison's "Take Me Back" in a ragged Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
-style gut howl at an AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
benefit concert
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
. It's a scene that some viewers found mesmerizing while others found it insufferable.
The film was a very personal project for Jennifer Jason Leigh: it was written by her mother, Barbara Turner, Leigh and Turner co-produced it themselves, and she chose as her co-star her longtime real-life friend Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham
Mare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is...
, whom she had known since the age of 13. It was directed by Ulu Grosbard
Ulu Grosbard
Ulu Grosbard is a Belgian-born, naturalized American theatre and film director and film producer.Born in Antwerp, Grosbard emigrated to Havana with his family in 1942. In 1948, they moved to the United States, where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Chicago...
, a friend of her mother's.
Release
Georgia was screened in the Un Certain RegardUn Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
1995 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...
.
Georgia was released in the U.S. on December 8, 1995. It received a positive critical reception. Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
described the film as "a painful though sadly humorous portrait of sisterhood," and 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...
said Georgia was "a complex, deeply knowledgeable story about a truly lost soul and her downward spiral" in his 3.5/4-star review. Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said “Georgia is Leigh’s high-wire act, and her fierce, funny, exasperating and deeply affecting portrayal commands attention.” James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
of Reel Views praised it as “a tour de force for Leigh... there are times when it's uncomfortable to watch this performance because it's so powerful”, adding “Georgia doesn't possess an amazingly original narrative, but what distinguishes this picture is the depth of the characters and the amazing power with which the two leads breathe life into them.” Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
said “Leigh’s exceptional performance tears you apart… we’ve never seen anything like it before”, adding that "Georgia is not an easy film, but in the American independent arena, it outperforms everything in sight.” It was also voted one of 1995’s ten best films by Interview
Interview (magazine)
Interview is an American magazine which has the nickname The Crystal Ball Of Pop. It was founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol. The magazine features intimate conversations between some of the world's biggest celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers...
, New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
and ABC Radio Network.
Reception
Jennifer Jason Leigh was voted the year’s Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
by the New York Film Critics Circle and at the Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, and was widely predicted to receive her first Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for the role. Surprisingly though, it was Mare Winningham who actually went on to receive an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination (as well as an Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
nomination) as Best Supporting Actress, while Leigh was controversially overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
, much to the disappointment of critics and fans. Speaking to MetroActive magazine, Winningham said: “I felt incredibly honored and touched to be nominated… But it was hard to be separated from Jennifer, because she was the heart and soul of that film. While we were making the movie, I thought not only that she would get a nomination, but that she would win. I saw the kind of work she was doing. In my mind she will always be the greatest performance of that year, and a lot of other people thought so, too. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
grabbed me at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. She said, 'Jennifer should be here!' and I said, 'I know!'” When Leaving Las Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas...
star Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Shue
Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...
won her Independent Spirit Award as Best Actress, she personally dedicated it to Leigh’s performance in Georgia.
For all its critical acclaim, Georgia was not as successful commercially, grossing only $2.9 million in the U.S. In the ten years since its release, however, it has picked up a small but devoted cult following.
Cast
- Jennifer Jason LeighJennifer Jason LeighJennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
- Sadie Flood - Mare WinninghamMare WinninghamMare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is...
- Georgia Flood - Ted LevineTed LevineFrank Theodore "Ted" Levine is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series Monk.-Early life and career:...
- Jake - Max PerlichMax Perlich-Biography:He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was a teacher and his father, Martin Perlich, a writer and radio programming director and announcer, worked for a time with the Cleveland Orchestra. The Perlich family moved to Los Angeles, California when Max was four...
- Axel Goldman - John DoeJohn Doe (musician)John Doe is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span the rock, country and folk music genres...
- Bobby - John C. ReillyJohn C. ReillyJohn Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
- Herman - Jimmy WitherspoonJimmy WitherspoonJimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
- Trucker - Jason CarterJason Carter (actor)Jason Brian Carter is an English actor, best known for his role as Ranger Marcus Cole on the science fiction television series Babylon 5....
- Chasman - Tom BowerTom BowerTom Bower is a British writer, noted for his revelatory investigative work such as his unauthorized biographies.A former Panorama reporter, his books include unauthorised biographies of Tiny Rowland, Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Geoffrey Robinson, Gordon Brown and Richard Branson...
- Erwin Flood - Smokey Hormel - Leland
- Jimmy Z - Clay
- Tony Marsico - Paul
- Jamian Briar - Andrew Flood
- Rachel Rasco - Mish Flood
- Nicole Donahoo - Young Sadie Flood
Awards and nominations
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Mare Winningham, Best Actress in a Supporting Role (nomination) - New York Film Critics Circle: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Best Actress (won)
- Montreal World Film FestivalMontreal World Film FestivalThe Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
: Grand Prix of the Americas for Best Picture (won) - Montreal World Film FestivalMontreal World Film FestivalThe Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Best Actress (won) - Screen Actors GuildScreen Actors GuildThe Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
: Mare Winningham, Best Supporting Actress (nomination) - Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: Ulu Grosbard, Best Director (nomination) - Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: Mare Winningham, Best Supporting Female (won) - Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Best Female Lead (nomination) - Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
: Max Perlich, Best Supporting Male (nomination)