Passionada
Encyclopedia
Passionada is a 2002 romantic comedy
film
. It is directed by Dan Ireland
and stars Jason Isaacs
, Sofia Milos
and Emmy Rossum
, co-starring Seymour Cassel
and Theresa Russell
. The story is by David Bakalar, and the screenplay
is by Jim Jermanok and Steve Jermanok. The film is set in New Bedford, Massachusetts
, a formerly wealthy port town with a sizable population of Portuguese
descent.
) is a Portuguese American
widow
who lives in New Bedford, Massachusetts
with her daughter Vicky (Emmy Rossum
). The broke British card counter
Charles "Charlie" Beck (Jason Isaacs
) arrives in town to stay with and mooch off some wealthy friends and gamble at the local casino
. The friends are Daniel Vargas (Seymour Cassel
) and his wife Lois Vargas (Theresa Russell
). One night, dining at a Portuguese restaurant with Lois, Charlie sees Celia singing fado
, a haunting Portuguese form of song. He is enchanted with her, approaches her, and is rebuffed. Charlie later finds Celia's address in the phone book and goes to her house, where he encounters Vicky, whom he had met at the casino before. Vicky agrees to help Charlie woo her mother in exchange for lessons on card counting. This proves difficult, as Celia still longs for her deceased husband and has not dated since his death.
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. It is directed by Dan Ireland
Dan Ireland
Dan Ireland is a film director, producer and co-founder of the Seattle International Film Festival.-Filmography:*Living Proof *Jolene *Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont *Passionada...
and stars Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
, Sofia Milos
Sofia Milos
Sofia Milos is an Italian/Greek actress. She is best known for her role as Yelina Salas on CSI: Miami.Milos was born in Zurich, Switzerland, to an Italian father and a Greek mother. In her teens she entered a local beauty pageant, and after winning first prize went on to win the provincial,...
and Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher , An American Rhapsody, and Passionada . However, it was her role in Mystic River that garnered her wider recognition...
, co-starring Seymour Cassel
Seymour Cassel
Seymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...
and Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell is an American actress.-Biography:Russell was born Theresa Paup in San Diego, California, the daughter of Carole Platt and Jerry Russell Paup. She attended Burbank High School, but did not graduate. She married English film director Nicolas Roeg , in 1982...
. The story is by David Bakalar, and the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
is by Jim Jermanok and Steve Jermanok. The film is set in New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, a formerly wealthy port town with a sizable population of Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
descent.
Plot summary
Celia Amonte (Sofia MilosSofia Milos
Sofia Milos is an Italian/Greek actress. She is best known for her role as Yelina Salas on CSI: Miami.Milos was born in Zurich, Switzerland, to an Italian father and a Greek mother. In her teens she entered a local beauty pageant, and after winning first prize went on to win the provincial,...
) is a Portuguese American
Portuguese American
Portuguese Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the southwest European nation of Portugal, including the offshore island groups of the Azores and Madeira....
widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
who lives in New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
with her daughter Vicky (Emmy Rossum
Emmy Rossum
Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies including Songcatcher , An American Rhapsody, and Passionada . However, it was her role in Mystic River that garnered her wider recognition...
). The broke British card counter
Card counting
Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...
Charles "Charlie" Beck (Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
) arrives in town to stay with and mooch off some wealthy friends and gamble at the local casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
. The friends are Daniel Vargas (Seymour Cassel
Seymour Cassel
Seymour Joseph Cassel is an American actor.He first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering independent films of writer/directorJohn Cassavetes...
) and his wife Lois Vargas (Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell
Theresa Russell is an American actress.-Biography:Russell was born Theresa Paup in San Diego, California, the daughter of Carole Platt and Jerry Russell Paup. She attended Burbank High School, but did not graduate. She married English film director Nicolas Roeg , in 1982...
). One night, dining at a Portuguese restaurant with Lois, Charlie sees Celia singing fado
Fado
Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
, a haunting Portuguese form of song. He is enchanted with her, approaches her, and is rebuffed. Charlie later finds Celia's address in the phone book and goes to her house, where he encounters Vicky, whom he had met at the casino before. Vicky agrees to help Charlie woo her mother in exchange for lessons on card counting. This proves difficult, as Celia still longs for her deceased husband and has not dated since his death.