Leaving Normal (film)
Encyclopedia
Leaving Normal was a 1992
American
road movie
which featured two female leads. Directed by Edward Zwick
and written by Ed Solomon
, the film's plot resembled the more commercially-lucrative 1991
film Thelma & Louise. It starred Meg Tilly as Marianne Johnson and Christine Lahti
as Darly Peters, and co-starred an iconic cast fitting to the rugged geography of remote Canada and Alaska.
star in this female buddy story where Tilly plays a child-like 20-something who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly is fleeing a life as a waitress and stripper and is on her way to Alaska to claim a home and family she abandoned eighteen years earlier after giving birth. The two run into each other on the road and Darly welcomes the company as they head north from Wyoming. Their journey is spotted with whom they meet and their insightful dialogue on how their lives compare.
The women finally make it to Alaska, where Darly finds that the house she was expecting to find has never been built. The two set up in a house trailer Darly is towing and start living on the outskirts of the fictional Palmer Valley. The film ends with both accepting the location as a home fate has drawn them to.
gave Leaving Normal 29% out of 100. As of 2010, Leaving Normal was never released on DVD.
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
which featured two female leads. Directed by Edward Zwick
Edward Zwick
Edward M. Zwick is an American filmmaker and film producer noted for his epic films about social and racial issues. He has been described as a "throwback to an earlier era, an extremely cerebral director whose movies consistently feature fully rounded characters, difficult moral issues, and plots...
and written by Ed Solomon
Ed Solomon
Ed Solomon is an American writer, producer and director. After graduating from Saratoga High School and UCLA, Solomon came to fame as one half of the writing duo that created the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its sequel.Solomon was born in Saratoga, California...
, the film's plot resembled the more commercially-lucrative 1991
1991 in film
The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
film Thelma & Louise. It starred Meg Tilly as Marianne Johnson and Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
as Darly Peters, and co-starred an iconic cast fitting to the rugged geography of remote Canada and Alaska.
Plot
Tilly and LahtiChristine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
star in this female buddy story where Tilly plays a child-like 20-something who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly is fleeing a life as a waitress and stripper and is on her way to Alaska to claim a home and family she abandoned eighteen years earlier after giving birth. The two run into each other on the road and Darly welcomes the company as they head north from Wyoming. Their journey is spotted with whom they meet and their insightful dialogue on how their lives compare.
The women finally make it to Alaska, where Darly finds that the house she was expecting to find has never been built. The two set up in a house trailer Darly is towing and start living on the outskirts of the fictional Palmer Valley. The film ends with both accepting the location as a home fate has drawn them to.
Filming
The primary filming locations for the movie were in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as well as in Yoho National Park, British Columbia.Cast
- Christine LahtiChristine LahtiChristine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
- Darly Peters - Meg Tilly - Marianne Johnson
- Lenny Von DohlenLenny Von DohlenLenny Von Dohlen is an American film and stage actor, best known for his performance as the agoraphobic Harold Smith in Twin Peaks and the architect Miles Harding in the film Electric Dreams. Von Dohlen currently resides in New York and Los Angeles.-Early years:Lenny Von Dohlen was born in...
- Harry Rainey - Maury ChaykinMaury ChaykinMaury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...
- Leon "Crazy-As" Pendleton - Patrika DarboPatrika DarboPatrika Darbo is an American actress.-Early life:Born Patricia Davidson in Jacksonville, Florida, Darbo grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She studied theater at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, graduating in 1970, and undertook further study at the Atlanta School of Drama...
- 66 - Eve Gordon - Emily Singer
- James EckhouseJames EckhouseJames Hays Eckhouse is an American actor known for playing Jim Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995. He also directed three episodes of the show...
- Rich Singer - Brett CullenBrett CullenPeter Brett Cullen is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures and television programs. Early in 2007, he was cast as the role of an estranged father to one of the American football players, Tim Riggins , in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights.Cullen was born in Houston,...
- Kurt - James GammonJames GammonJames Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
- Walt - Lachlan Murdoch - Marshall
- Robyn Simons - Sarah
- Ken Angel - Nuqaq
- Darrell DennisDarrell DennisDarrell Dennis is a native Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality.He has appeared in various Canadian television series including Northwood and The Rez...
- Clyde - Barbara RussellBarbara RussellBarbra Russell is an American stage actor, singer, and Broadway producer. She is a classically trained vocalist majoring in Music Performance at the College of Saint Elizabeth at Covent Station, New Jersey where she won first place in the prestigious Florence Boughton Young Artist Competition...
- Izuzu Mother - Ahnee Boyce - Izuzu Judy
Critical reception
The film received mixed-to-negative reviews. 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...
gave Leaving Normal 29% out of 100. As of 2010, Leaving Normal was never released on DVD.
External links
- Leaving Normal at Film.com