One Way (film)
Encyclopedia
One Way is a crime drama/psychological thriller
, written and directed by Reto Salimbeni
and produced by Til Schweiger
. The film stars Schweiger, Michael Clarke Duncan
, Lauren Lee Smith
and Eric Roberts
. The international production was shot in Toronto
, New York City
, Vancouver
and Cologne
and was co-produced and distributed by Universal International Pictures.
) is a charismatic and successful creative director at a top advertising agency in New York. A master of communication, his pitching skills are legendary, and he never loses an account. Eddie is engaged to Judy Birk (Stephanie von Pfetten), the boss’s daughter. Eddie’s life looks perfect, but internally he battles an addiction to sex with no success. His addiction has led him into a life of lies and deceit. Although struggling with his dark side, Eddie thinks his infidelities are victimless crimes and justifies them with his business success.
After winning a huge pitch for the agency, Eddie discovers his co-worker and friend Angelina (Lauren Lee Smith
) has been raped by Judy’s brother Anthony (Sebastien Roberts
). The Birk family bring in their top lawyer to make sure Anthony is found innocent – but to ensure his freedom Anthony blackmails Eddie with evidence of Eddie’s countless affairs, demanding Eddie testifies in court on his behalf. To maintain his perfect life and upcoming marriage – Eddie helps Anthony get off the hook.
When Anthony is found not guilty, his victim Angelina is devastated and tries to commit suicide. At the last moment an army general (Michael Clarke Duncan) saves her life. Only Angelina sees The General – he is a powerful, revenging, guiding angel of heaven and hell. An ethereal force.
Judy finds out about Eddie’s affairs and breaks off the engagement; her father (Art Hindle
) fires him. Eddie is cut out of the world he created for himself.
Helped by her new guardian angel, The General, Angelina takes brutal revenge on Anthony and orchestrates the assault so that Eddie is the main suspect. With no support from former family and friends, Eddie finds himself in prison, facing trial with no way out.
Even after he’s exposed as an obsessive adulterer in court, Eddie refuses to testify against Angelina and he looks doomed to suffer a life-long jail sentence. In a heart-gripping climax Judy comes to Eddie’s rescue providing evidence to prove his innocence, but he has to face his inner demons.
Reto Salimbeni: "One Way is about emotional justice – it’s about knowledge that everybody carries inside – about what is right and wrong. Unfortunately being right doesn’t equal being given justice. Especially when it comes to women’s abuse, there is a huge discrepancy between what people feel the deserved punishment would be and what sentences the legal system gives."
Til Schweiger: "One Way is an intense film, that portrays betrayal, violence against woman and friendship. Taking this into consideration, it’s a miracle that at the end of the film there is positive hope for the protagonists that they’ll face a better future. An unpredictable story, that keeps the tension rising till the last shot."
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
, written and directed by Reto Salimbeni
Reto Salimbeni
Reto Salimbeni is a filmmaker and director known for his features and commercials. His films include Urban Safari, The Day I Was My Father and One Way....
and produced by Til Schweiger
Til Schweiger
Tilman Valentin "Til" Schweiger is a German actor, director, and producer.He is one of Germany’s most successful filmmakers. Since 1968, when the FFA started counting, no other German actor has drawn more people to the cinemas. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.-Early...
. The film stars Schweiger, Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
, Lauren Lee Smith
Lauren Lee Smith
-Early life:Lauren attended Henry James Cambie Secondary School. Smith was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The stepdaughter of a documentary filmmaker, Lauren travelled around the world with her family. When she was 14, her family moved to Los Angeles, California...
and Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
. The international production was shot in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and was co-produced and distributed by Universal International Pictures.
Synopsis
Eddie Schneider (Til SchweigerTil Schweiger
Tilman Valentin "Til" Schweiger is a German actor, director, and producer.He is one of Germany’s most successful filmmakers. Since 1968, when the FFA started counting, no other German actor has drawn more people to the cinemas. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin.-Early...
) is a charismatic and successful creative director at a top advertising agency in New York. A master of communication, his pitching skills are legendary, and he never loses an account. Eddie is engaged to Judy Birk (Stephanie von Pfetten), the boss’s daughter. Eddie’s life looks perfect, but internally he battles an addiction to sex with no success. His addiction has led him into a life of lies and deceit. Although struggling with his dark side, Eddie thinks his infidelities are victimless crimes and justifies them with his business success.
After winning a huge pitch for the agency, Eddie discovers his co-worker and friend Angelina (Lauren Lee Smith
Lauren Lee Smith
-Early life:Lauren attended Henry James Cambie Secondary School. Smith was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The stepdaughter of a documentary filmmaker, Lauren travelled around the world with her family. When she was 14, her family moved to Los Angeles, California...
) has been raped by Judy’s brother Anthony (Sebastien Roberts
Sebastien Roberts
Sebastien Roberts is a French-Canadian actor of television and film, working in both French and English since the mid 1990s....
). The Birk family bring in their top lawyer to make sure Anthony is found innocent – but to ensure his freedom Anthony blackmails Eddie with evidence of Eddie’s countless affairs, demanding Eddie testifies in court on his behalf. To maintain his perfect life and upcoming marriage – Eddie helps Anthony get off the hook.
When Anthony is found not guilty, his victim Angelina is devastated and tries to commit suicide. At the last moment an army general (Michael Clarke Duncan) saves her life. Only Angelina sees The General – he is a powerful, revenging, guiding angel of heaven and hell. An ethereal force.
Judy finds out about Eddie’s affairs and breaks off the engagement; her father (Art Hindle
Art Hindle
Arthur Hindle is a Canadian actor and director.Hindle was born in Halifax. His family moved to Toronto while he was a child. Although shy as a youngster, he grew to be a rebellious and independent teenager...
) fires him. Eddie is cut out of the world he created for himself.
Helped by her new guardian angel, The General, Angelina takes brutal revenge on Anthony and orchestrates the assault so that Eddie is the main suspect. With no support from former family and friends, Eddie finds himself in prison, facing trial with no way out.
Even after he’s exposed as an obsessive adulterer in court, Eddie refuses to testify against Angelina and he looks doomed to suffer a life-long jail sentence. In a heart-gripping climax Judy comes to Eddie’s rescue providing evidence to prove his innocence, but he has to face his inner demons.
Emotional Justice
Reto Salimbeni and Til Schweiger about One Way (Extracted from the publicity booklet)Reto Salimbeni: "One Way is about emotional justice – it’s about knowledge that everybody carries inside – about what is right and wrong. Unfortunately being right doesn’t equal being given justice. Especially when it comes to women’s abuse, there is a huge discrepancy between what people feel the deserved punishment would be and what sentences the legal system gives."
Til Schweiger: "One Way is an intense film, that portrays betrayal, violence against woman and friendship. Taking this into consideration, it’s a miracle that at the end of the film there is positive hope for the protagonists that they’ll face a better future. An unpredictable story, that keeps the tension rising till the last shot."
Awards and nominations
Til Schweiger (best male actor) and Reto Salimbeni (best screenplay) were nominated in the pre-selection for the German Film Award.Releases
- USA: October 21, 2006 (Hollywood Film FestivalHollywood Film FestivalThe Hollywood Film Festival is an annual Film festival which is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Festival was established in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington....
) - Germany: January 25, 2007
- Austria: January 26, 2007
- Switzerland: February 1, 2007
- France: May 17, 2007 (Cannes Film Market)
- Netherlands: October 23, 2007 (DVD premiere)
- Bulgaria: January 22, 2007 (DVD premiere)
- Hungary: February 19, 2008
- Turkey: April 4, 2008
- Argentina: May 14, 2008 (DVD premiere)
- Japan: August 2008 (DVD premiere)
Also Known As (AKA)
- Blaze - Germany
- Ikili oyun - Turkey (Turkish title)
- Pacto Quebrado - Brazil
- Pacto quebrado - Argentina (DVD title)
- Stoiheio eglimatos - Greece (DVD title)
- The Fixer - Japan (DVD title) (English title)
- Zsákutca - Hungary