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''Margaret'' ( ) is a 2011 American
epic psychological drama film written and directed by
Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...
. The film stars
Anna Paquin
Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film '' The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the ...
,
Jean Reno
Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French actor. He has worked in American, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian movie productions; Reno appeared in films such as '' Crimson Rivers'', ''Godzilla'', '' The Da Vinci Code'', '' Mission ...
,
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...
,
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
,
J. Smith-Cameron
Jean Isabel Smith (born September 7, 1957), credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She spent a majority of her career in theatre but began transitioning to film and television later in life. She is known for her suppo ...
,
Jeannie Berlin,
Kieran Culkin
Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. The brother of actors Macaulay and Rory, he began his career as a child actor in the films ''Home Alone'' (1990), ''Father of the Bride'' (1991)'', The Mighty'' (1998), and ''Th ...
,
Olivia Thirlby
Olivia Jo Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film ''Juno'' (2007),Louie, Rebecca (June 28, 2008).Olivia Thirlby is smoking in 'The Wackness'". '' Daily News, location ...
, and
Rosemarie DeWitt. ''Margaret'' was filmed in 2005 and originally scheduled for release that year by
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...
, but was repeatedly delayed while Lonergan struggled to create a final cut he was satisfied with, resulting in multiple lawsuits. The litigation ended in 2014.
While the studio insisted the film's running time could not exceed 150 minutes, Lonergan's preferred version was closer to three hours.
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
and
Thelma Schoonmaker
Thelma Schoonmaker (; born January 3, 1940) is an American film editor, known for her over five decades of work with frequent director Martin Scorsese. She started working with Scorsese on his debut feature film '' Who's That Knocking at My Doo ...
contributed to editing a 165-minute version that Lonergan approved; the cut was never released because producer
Gary Gilbert
Gary Gilbert (born 1965) is an American film producer and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Gilbert Films, a media production and financing company based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a co-founder of Rocket Mortgage, as well ...
refused to approve it. Eventually,
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...
released the 150-minute film in a
limited release in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on September 30, 2011, to moderately positive reviews from critics. Some considered it overlong, but it was praised for its acting and later appeared in several publications' lists of the year's best films. Critical praise has grown over time, and ''Margaret'' is now regarded as one of the best films of its decade and of the new century, and was ranked 31st in a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
critics poll of the 21st century's 100 greatest films.
Lonergan completed a three-hour extended version incorporating extra footage with a revised score and sound mix, which was released on DVD in July 2012.
The film's title is drawn from
Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "Spring and Fall: to a young child", which is discussed in Lisa's English class.
Plot
A 17-year-old Manhattan student, Lisa Cohen, shopping on the
Upper West Side, interacts with bus driver Gerald Maretti as she runs alongside his moving bus; he allows himself to become distracted, leading to a fatal accident by missing a red light, in which a pedestrian, Monica Patterson, is hit by the bus and subsequently dies in Lisa's arms. Initially, Lisa reports to the police that the driver had a green traffic signal, but later, out of remorse, changes her story. She confronts Maretti, who first pretends to have forgotten the details of the accident, and then reveals to her in anger that he does remember them, but believes he did nothing wrong, causing Lisa to pursue his firing from the company with passion. In collaboration with Monica's best friend, Emily, and cousin, Abigail, Lisa ultimately becomes involved in a
wrongful death
Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, ...
lawsuit against the
Metropolitan Transit Authority, seeking the dismissal of the driver (who is revealed to have caused two previous accidents), as well as monetary damages, which would be awarded to Abigail as the victim's next of kin. Meanwhile, Lisa's life takes various turns, including a flirtation with her math teacher, Aaron Caije, her decision to lose her virginity to a classmate, Paul Hirsch, and various vehement debates with classmates about politics and terrorism.
Lisa and her actress mother have a rocky relationship, with sporadic fighting and Lisa expressing ambivalence toward her mother's boyfriend Ramon. An after-show dinner, attended by Lisa, her mother, Emily and Ramon, ends with Ramon making a remark perceived as
anti-Semitic toward Emily. Ramon dies of a heart attack not long after. Lisa has sex with Caije, then later confronts Caije, telling him, in the presence of another teacher, that she has had an abortion. She expresses doubt about who the father was and mentions that there are several possibilities.
The lawsuit reaches a conclusion, with an award of $350,000, but the MTA refuses to fire Maretti, out of concern that it would inflame a labor dispute. Abigail claims the settlement offer, revealing the monetary settlement to have been her primary motivation; this causes Lisa to become very upset and disillusioned with the outcome of the case.
Lisa and her mother plan to attend an opera that Ramon and she were to see before his death. On the way, Lisa sees Maretti driving the same bus that had killed the pedestrian and there is a brief moment where the two see each other. During the opera performance, Lisa's accumulated emotion from the sequence of events bursts out and she and her mother affectionately reconnect, crying together and holding each other as the opera goes on.
Cast
*
Anna Paquin
Anna Hélène Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, Paquin made her acting debut portraying Flora McGrath in the romantic drama film '' The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the ...
as Lisa Cohen
*
J. Smith-Cameron
Jean Isabel Smith (born September 7, 1957), credited professionally as J. Smith-Cameron, is an American actress. She spent a majority of her career in theatre but began transitioning to film and television later in life. She is known for her suppo ...
as Joan Cohen
*
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
as Gerald Maretti
*
Jeannie Berlin as Emily Smith
*
Jean Reno
Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French actor. He has worked in American, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian movie productions; Reno appeared in films such as '' Crimson Rivers'', ''Godzilla'', '' The Da Vinci Code'', '' Mission ...
as Ramon Cameron
*
John Gallagher Jr. as Darren Rodifer
*
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...
as Monica Patterson
*
Kieran Culkin
Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. The brother of actors Macaulay and Rory, he began his career as a child actor in the films ''Home Alone'' (1990), ''Father of the Bride'' (1991)'', The Mighty'' (1998), and ''Th ...
as Paul Hirsch
*
Adam LeFevre as Rob
*
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...
as Aaron Caije
*
Stephen Adly Guirgis
Stephen Adly Guirgis is a Pulitzer Prize Winning American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company.Blake, Leslie (Hoban)"Comin' Uptown" ''Theater ...
as Mitchell
*
Matt Bush as Kurt
*
Rosemarie DeWitt as Mrs. Maretti
*
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...
as John Andrew Van Tassel
*
Olivia Thirlby
Olivia Jo Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film ''Juno'' (2007),Louie, Rebecca (June 28, 2008).Olivia Thirlby is smoking in 'The Wackness'". '' Daily News, location ...
as Monica Sloane
*
Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...
as Karl
*
Josh Hamilton
Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...
as Victor
*
Michael Ealy as Dave
*
Krysten Ritter
Krysten Alyce Ritter (born December 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She came to prominence when she appeared as Jane Margolis in the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2010) and its spinoff film '' El Camino'' (2019). She th ...
as Salesgirl
*
Sarah Steele
Sarah Jane Steele (born September 16, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Marissa Gold on the CBS legal drama series ''The Good Wife'' (2011–2016) and its CBS All Access spinoff series ''The Good Fight'' (2017–2 ...
as Becky
*
Betsy Aidem
Betsy Aidem (born October 28, 1957) is an American actress who plays for film, television and stage. Her film work includes ''The Bleeding House'', '' See You in the Morning'', '' A Vigilante'' and '' Aeris''. Her television work includes '' The ...
as Abigail
Production
Filmed in 2005, the film's lengthy post-production sparked multiple lawsuits, which were scheduled to be tried in 2009.
In July 2010,
Fox Searchlight stated that Lonergan finally completed work on the film, and that it would be released in 2011.
Themes and Analysis
''Margaret'' has an unusual digressive structure, with the plot only one part of a wider mosaic that explores a teenage girl's emerging consciousness and realization of the world's indifference to her anger and grief. While protagonist Lisa tries to make sense of the tragedy by variably acting out sexually, clashing with her mother, arguing about politics with classmates, and getting involved in issues that concern her only peripherally, she comes up against a city unmoved by her plight. This feeling of insignificance is enhanced by film's sound design (in the extended cut), which emphasizes other people's conversations intruding on Lisa's experiences, rendering her emotional states insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Lonergan contrasts these difficulties with scenes of Lisa's mother acting on stage as well as opera performances which provide dramatically satisfying experiences far removed from Lisa's messy real world experience. In essence, Lisa's teenage narcissism and "emotional, physical, and maturational limitations" prevent her from seeing that the adults around her are not supporting characters in her life, but part of a wider humanity that grieves and suffers. The film also incorporates numerous shots of the Manhattan skyline as well as ground level footage of people walking in real time and in slow motion, emphasizing the varied topography of the city and accentuating the gulf between Lisa's personal troubles and those of the people around her, as they all live in the mournful shadow of 9/11.
Reception
Critical response
''Margaret'' received mostly positive reviews from critics. , the film holds a 74% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes, based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 7.15 out of 10. The critical consensus states, "A surfeit of ideas contributes to ''Margaret''s excessive run time, but Anna Paquin does an admirable job of guiding viewers through emotional hell." The film also holds a score of 61 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
(based on 27 critics), indicating "generally favorable reviews."
For her role as Lisa Cohen, Paquin shared the 2011 Best Actress Award from the
London Film Critics Circle and received a nomination for Best Actress from the
Chicago Film Critics Association. She placed first in critics’ polls from the ''
LA Weekly'', the ''
Village Voice'', and the International Cinephile Society.
On December 23, 2011, Fox Searchlight sent screeners of the film to
AMPAS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
members.
''Margaret'' earned five-star reviews from ''
Time Out'', ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'', and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.
It also ranked 31st in a 2016
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
poll of the 21st century's greatest films.