''Rage'' is a 2009

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

mystery

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

written and directed by Sally Potter, starring

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

and

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...

. The filmmakers said that the film created a new

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

, called "naked cinema".

Premise

A young, ambitious

blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

working at a prestigious

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

fashion house becomes an unlikely investigative journalist when he begins documenting the behind-the-scenes chaos of the fashion industry through candid interviews shot on his cell phone. Initially intending to create simple promotional content for the company's website, his project quickly evolves into something far more complex and dangerous as he gains unprecedented access to the inner workings of this exclusive world. As he navigates the glamorous yet cutthroat environment of high fashion, the blogger finds himself caught between competing loyalties and conflicting agendas. The fashion house, with its towering glass offices and pristine showrooms, serves as a microcosm of corporate America, where creativity clashes with commerce and artistic vision battles bottom-line pressures. His amateur documentary project transforms into a gripping exposé as he captures intimate confessions, bitter rivalries, and shocking revelations from the eccentric cast of characters who populate this exclusive world. Through his handheld camera, the blogger interviews a diverse array of fashion industry insiders: from narcissistic designers and ruthless executives to vulnerable models and hardworking seamstresses. Each conversation reveals another layer of the industry's complex social hierarchy and moral compromises. As his investigation deepens, he uncovers dark secrets about labor practices, financial irregularities, and personal scandals that threaten to destroy careers and lives.

Cast

as Minx * Steve Buscemi as Frank *

as Mona Carvell *

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

as Jed * Dianne Wiest as Miss Roth * Eddie Izzard as Tiny Diamonds * Riz Ahmed as Vijay * Bob Balaban as Mr. White * Lily Cole as Lettuce Leaf * Patrick J. Adams as Dwight Angel * David Oyelowo as Homer * Adriana Barraza as Anita de Los Angeles * Simon Abkarian as Merlin * Jakob Cedergren as Otto

Release

The film premiered at the 2009

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

and was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear. The DVD was released on September 22, 2009, in the US, and September 28, 2009, in the UK. A special edition version of the DVD was released through the official ''Rage'' website.

Babelgum Babelgum was a free-to-view Internet television platform supported by advertising. The project was set up in 2005 by Italian media and telecommunications entrepreneur Silvio Scaglia (one of the founders of Italian TelCo Fastweb (telecommunication ...

premiered the film on mobile phones and internet at the same time as the cinema and DVD release. Babelgum released ''Rage'' in the UK, North America, Australia, Italy, France, Germany and Spain. ''Rage'' is the world’s first feature film to debut on mobile phones. The movie was to be shown in seven episodes, beginning on September 21, 2009. The online screening began on September 28, 2009. ''Rage'' had its New York screen premiere on September 21, 2009, at “The Box”.

Reception

The film was widely panned by critics, with criticism mostly focusing on its acting, direction, plot, script and length, as well as that it did not achieve its satirical intentions. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

it has an approval rating of 29% based on reviews from 7 critics. It has been described as 'lame' and an 'indignant annoyance' by Leslie Felperin of ''Variety'' and 'claustrophobic, repetitive and mostly ludicrous' by Richard Mowe of ''Boxoffice Magazine''. In a rare positive review, Caryn James of ''Newsweek'' said 'you see how pertinent Potter is to the topsy-turvy world of filmmaking today, how smoothly she blends the cutting edge and the mainstream, how underappreciated she has been.'

References

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 ...

, accessed November 4, 2008.
''POLL: Which Actor Makes the Best Lady?''
''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'', originally posted February 4, 2009, accessed April 9, 2009. * Kevin Maher
''Sally Potter explains why her new film will go direct to our mobile phones''
timesonline.co.uk, September 19, 2009. * Melissa Silverstein

huffingtonpost.com, September 29, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rage 2009 films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Sally Potter 2009 comedy films British comedy films British satirical films Films set in New York City 2000s British films

Premise

Cast

Release

Reception

References

External links