''A Woman, a Part'' is a 2016
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film, written and directed by
Elisabeth Subrin
Elisabeth Subrin is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker, screenwriter, and visual artist. She is known for her interdisciplinary practice in the contemporary art and independent film worlds. She is a professor in Temple University's Department of Film and ...
. The story concerns Anna Baskin (
Maggie Siff
Maggie Siff (born June 21, 1974) is an American actress. Her most notable television roles have included department store heiress List of Mad Men characters#Rachel Menken, Rachel Menken Katz on the AMC (TV channel), AMC drama ''Mad Men'', Dr. Tar ...
), a successful yet burnt out actress who absconds from a mind-numbing television role in
LA to reinvent herself in
NYC, confronting the past and the people she left behind in the process.
Cast
*
Maggie Siff
Maggie Siff (born June 21, 1974) is an American actress. Her most notable television roles have included department store heiress List of Mad Men characters#Rachel Menken, Rachel Menken Katz on the AMC (TV channel), AMC drama ''Mad Men'', Dr. Tar ...
as Anna Baskin
*
Cara Seymour
Cara Seymour (born 6 January 1964) is a British actress from Essex, England. She has appeared in films such as '' You've Got Mail'', ''American Psycho'', ''Adaptation'', ''Dancer in the Dark'', ''Gangs of New York'', ''Hotel Rwanda'', '' The S ...
as Kate
*
John Ortiz
John Augustin Ortiz (born May 23, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his antagonist role as Arturo Braga in '' Fast & Furious'' (2009) and ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013), and Clyde in '' Jack Goes Boating'' (2010), which earned him a nom ...
as Isaac
*
Khandi Alexander
Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s, and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992.
During the 19 ...
as Leslie
*
Dagmara Domińczyk
Dagmara Domińczyk ( , ; born 17 July 1976) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''Rock Star (2001 film), Rock Star'' (2001), ''The Count of Monte Cristo (2002 film), The Count of Monte Cristo'' (2002), ''Kinsey (film), Kinsey'' ...
as Nadia
*
Sophie Von Haselberg
Sophie von Haselberg (born November 14, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for co-starring in Woody Allen's 2015 film ''Irrational Man (film), Irrational Man'', alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone. Other notable roles have bee ...
as Alex
*
Eszter Balint
Eszter Balint (born 7 July 1966) is a Hungarian-American singer, songwriter, violinist, and actress. She made her film debut in Jim Jarmusch's ''Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984). She went on to received a Independent Spirit Award for Best Female L ...
as Heidi
* Lucas Near-Verbrugghe as Sam
*
Laila Robins
Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' An Innocent Man'' (1989), '' Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), ...
as Bernadette
Release
The film premiered at the 2016
International Film Festival Rotterdam
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...
.
Strand Releasing
Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong W ...
acquired all rights to US distribution. The film was released on March 22, 2017 on limited screens.
Reception
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' lauded Siff's performance, noting "It’s also got a fascinating actress. Maggie Siff...has a distinctive brainy sensuality, with hints of neurotic anger."
Jeannette Catsoulis of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised the filmmaking, stating, "Ms. Subrin, an accomplished visual artist and filmmaker, sifts addiction, celebrity and the plight of the aging actress into something rarefied yet real."
Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny (born August 8, 1959) is an American film critic and journalist. He writes for ''The New York Times'' and '' RogerEbert.com''.
Biography
Kenny attended William Paterson University, where he majored in English literature.[RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...]
awarded the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing that the film "mixes passion and ambivalence to create a work with ambiguities that seem earned, and lived in."
Neil Young of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' was less impressed with the film itself, finding the "conventional, even familiar nature all the more puzzling" given Subrin's past work. Nevertheless, Young reserved particular praise for Seymour's "nuanced supporting turn", further stating that, "Seymour has somehow never quite attained the household-name status her talents deserve." He commended Ortiz as well, noting that "it's always a delight to see Ortiz flex acting muscles that he doesn't often get to deploy in his more lucrative Hollywood outings". Kristen Yoonsoo Kim of ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' found the film "impressive" yet "stylistically conventional", but commended Siff's "modest but poignant performance that rings true for women of a certain age and career."
References
External links
*
*
A Woman, a Part' at
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was ...
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman A Part
2016 films
2016 drama films
2016 independent films
American drama films
Films about actors
Films set in New York City
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
English-language independent films