My Own Love Song
Encyclopedia
My Own Love Song is a 2010 road movie
directed and written by Olivier Dahan
and starring Renée Zellweger
, Forest Whitaker
, Madeline Zima
and Nick Nolte
. It premiered in Dahan's native France on April 7, 2010 and in the United States at the Tribeca Film Festival
between April 21 to May 2, 2010.
The soundtrack contains music written by Bob Dylan
, including "Life is Hard" from his 2009 album Together Through Life
.
, a paralyzed
former singer, Jane, argues with her stuttering friend Joey about his belief that he can talk to the invisible world. One day, as she's out for some physiotherapy treatment, he messes up her house while searching for a book about angel
s that he has lent her but that she has not read. Frightening the neighbors, he is taken by the police to a hospital, where an angry Jane briefly visits.
The following night, Joey escapes from his room and comes back to his friend's house in order to tidy it as she sleeps. While he cleans everything up, he finds a letter from her young son inviting her to his upcoming communion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, where he lives with his adoptive family. Later on, as she has woken up, he asks her if he can spend the night on the couch.
In the morning, the police knock on Jane's door and ask her if the escapee is in her house. She hesitates but eventually tells them that he's left. Decided not to go back to the psychiatric hospital nor to prison, Joey then begs Jane to join him on a planned trip to New Orleans, where a celebrated author writing about angels is due to hold a conference.
Soon after they start driving, problems begin. Their engine heats up and their car explodes. They buy a new one but this one is stolen. They then board a coach and, while Jane sleeps, Joey meets a young lady called Billie by helping her find her wedding ring on the floor. She tells him her husband has disappeared without giving an address.
Later on, the three passengers dine at Billie's sister with her friends. A romantic night follows and ends with fireworks. The next morning, Joey, Jane and Billie are driven to a restaurant by a relative, but Jane forgets her purse in the car. As nobody has enough money for the bill, Joey elaborates a plan to get them to the bus without paying. The plan does not work but they eventually get into the bus, where they argue about what they've just done. The bus driver abandons them on a road in the middle of nowhere. Jane decides to go back home and Joey has to reveal the existence of her son's letter.
At night, the three hear music and meet Caldwell, an old musician with whom they share some cake enhanced with drugs. The following day, Caldwell gives them a lift, as Jane reluctantly agrees to replace a singer who was due to sing two songs in a restaurant. In town, shortly before her planned show, Jane argues with Joey about his mothering her. She leaves the group and meets fellow travelers going to Iowa
. The woman of the couple is ill and they are going their on their last trip to their children. This inspiring meeting persuades Jane to perform the show she was supposed to be at. She arrives on stage while Joey prays angels for her to come back. She sings "This Land Is Your Land
" accompanied by Caldwell on electric guitar
, to applause from the public in the club.
After the concert, as they drive towards New Orleans, they notice their stolen car on the road and chase the thief. An accident ensues and everybody is arrested and subsequently freed except Caldwell who is taken to prison. Jane manages to give him a song written for him, where she stresses the beauty of birds.
In New Orleans, Joey attends the conference about angels but discovers, while in the toilet, that the author is both a racist and a liar. He does not believe in what he writes and hates his Black and Mexican readership. Joey punches him in the face and the three travelers are expelled from the conference.
They get to the train station and are bound to Baton Rouge when Billie receives a call. Her husband is on the phone and seems ready to come back home. She leaves Jane and Joey just before their train departs.
In Baton Rouge, as they reach Jane's son's communion, she hesitates to get in, afraid that she will not recognize him seven years after her accident and subsequent coma. Joey tells her to sing, so that he will find her. She listens to his advice, and just like Joey had predicted, her son, who was just about to leave the place with his adoptive family, stops in front of her as he hears her sing.
The final scene is set later back in Kansas. Joey and Jane are sitting in front of a lake, talking. Her son and his adoptive parents arrive for a visit. Jane and Joey hold their hands as the three approach.
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:...
directed and written by Olivier Dahan
Olivier Dahan
Olivier Dahan is a French film director and screenwriter. His third directed film, La Vie En Rose, was the first French cinema film ever to win two Academy Awards, including its first acting Oscar in the French language.-Biography:...
and starring Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
, Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
, Madeline Zima
Madeline Zima
Madeline Rose Zima is an American actress. She is mostly known for her six years as Grace Sheffield on the TV series The Nanny or more recently as Mia Lewis on the Showtime dramedy Californication and as Gretchen Berg on Heroes.-Early life:Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Marie and...
and Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
. It premiered in Dahan's native France on April 7, 2010 and in the United States at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
between April 21 to May 2, 2010.
The soundtrack contains music written by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, including "Life is Hard" from his 2009 album Together Through Life
Together Through Life
Together Through Life is the 33rd studio album by Bob Dylan, released on April 28, 2009, on Columbia Records. The album debuted at number one in several countries, including the U.S. and the UK...
.
Plot
In Marysville, KansasMarysville, Kansas
Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,294.-History:...
, a paralyzed
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
former singer, Jane, argues with her stuttering friend Joey about his belief that he can talk to the invisible world. One day, as she's out for some physiotherapy treatment, he messes up her house while searching for a book about angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s that he has lent her but that she has not read. Frightening the neighbors, he is taken by the police to a hospital, where an angry Jane briefly visits.
The following night, Joey escapes from his room and comes back to his friend's house in order to tidy it as she sleeps. While he cleans everything up, he finds a letter from her young son inviting her to his upcoming communion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, where he lives with his adoptive family. Later on, as she has woken up, he asks her if he can spend the night on the couch.
In the morning, the police knock on Jane's door and ask her if the escapee is in her house. She hesitates but eventually tells them that he's left. Decided not to go back to the psychiatric hospital nor to prison, Joey then begs Jane to join him on a planned trip to New Orleans, where a celebrated author writing about angels is due to hold a conference.
Soon after they start driving, problems begin. Their engine heats up and their car explodes. They buy a new one but this one is stolen. They then board a coach and, while Jane sleeps, Joey meets a young lady called Billie by helping her find her wedding ring on the floor. She tells him her husband has disappeared without giving an address.
Later on, the three passengers dine at Billie's sister with her friends. A romantic night follows and ends with fireworks. The next morning, Joey, Jane and Billie are driven to a restaurant by a relative, but Jane forgets her purse in the car. As nobody has enough money for the bill, Joey elaborates a plan to get them to the bus without paying. The plan does not work but they eventually get into the bus, where they argue about what they've just done. The bus driver abandons them on a road in the middle of nowhere. Jane decides to go back home and Joey has to reveal the existence of her son's letter.
At night, the three hear music and meet Caldwell, an old musician with whom they share some cake enhanced with drugs. The following day, Caldwell gives them a lift, as Jane reluctantly agrees to replace a singer who was due to sing two songs in a restaurant. In town, shortly before her planned show, Jane argues with Joey about his mothering her. She leaves the group and meets fellow travelers going to Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. The woman of the couple is ill and they are going their on their last trip to their children. This inspiring meeting persuades Jane to perform the show she was supposed to be at. She arrives on stage while Joey prays angels for her to come back. She sings "This Land Is Your Land
This Land Is Your Land
"This Land Is Your Land" is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie in 1940 based on an existing melody, in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America", which Guthrie considered unrealistic and complacent. Tired of hearing Kate Smith sing it on...
" accompanied by Caldwell on electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, to applause from the public in the club.
After the concert, as they drive towards New Orleans, they notice their stolen car on the road and chase the thief. An accident ensues and everybody is arrested and subsequently freed except Caldwell who is taken to prison. Jane manages to give him a song written for him, where she stresses the beauty of birds.
In New Orleans, Joey attends the conference about angels but discovers, while in the toilet, that the author is both a racist and a liar. He does not believe in what he writes and hates his Black and Mexican readership. Joey punches him in the face and the three travelers are expelled from the conference.
They get to the train station and are bound to Baton Rouge when Billie receives a call. Her husband is on the phone and seems ready to come back home. She leaves Jane and Joey just before their train departs.
In Baton Rouge, as they reach Jane's son's communion, she hesitates to get in, afraid that she will not recognize him seven years after her accident and subsequent coma. Joey tells her to sing, so that he will find her. She listens to his advice, and just like Joey had predicted, her son, who was just about to leave the place with his adoptive family, stops in front of her as he hears her sing.
The final scene is set later back in Kansas. Joey and Jane are sitting in front of a lake, talking. Her son and his adoptive parents arrive for a visit. Jane and Joey hold their hands as the three approach.
Cast
- Renée ZellwegerRenée ZellwegerRenée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
, as Jane - Forest WhitakerForest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
, as Joey - Madeline ZimaMadeline ZimaMadeline Rose Zima is an American actress. She is mostly known for her six years as Grace Sheffield on the TV series The Nanny or more recently as Mia Lewis on the Showtime dramedy Californication and as Gretchen Berg on Heroes.-Early life:Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Marie and...
, as Billie - Nick NolteNick NolteNicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
, as Caldwell