"Friendly Enemies"

Author(s): Anwar
Location: IL

"Friendly Enemies"

Director: Alan Parker
Writer: Alan Parker and Eric Roth
Producer(s): Alan Parker
Cinematography: Owen Roizman
Art Direction: Teresa Carriker- Thayer
Set Decoration: Leslie E. Rollins
Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
Score: James Newton Howard

Main Cast

Anton Yelchin ..... Daniel "Danny" Yorke
Ellen Burstyn ...... Joanna Yorke
Julia Stiles..... Angela Matthews
Mark Ruffalo..... Richard "Rick" Matthews
Kristen Stewart..... Ava
Mykelti Wiulliamson..... Mr. Larry Johnson. (The English Teacher)

Tagline: "The Worst Suffering Comes From Within"

Synopsis: Joanna had been diagnosed with cancer 4 years ago and she knows she is dying. Her son Danny, 16, takes care of her day and night. They live alone. Joanna's pain is getting much worse and doctors fear it might the end. Danny does drugs . Joanna knows of this but doesn't seem to care. It will never be revealed if Danny does drugs as a grievance or if he just does. Mr. Johnson is a well meaning African American man and teacher. He sees a lot of potential in Danny . As a grand gesture, he sets Danny up on a project with a smart, beautiful girl named Ava. Ava is revealed to have a drug problem herself and is sexually promiscuous. We never find out if Mr. Johnson knew of her behavior. Joanna has a daughter. Angela lives not too far away from Joanna. Angela is married to Richard Matthews. Richard is in charge of sales at a BBQ restaurant franchise. Angela and Richard want a baby but for different reasons. Richard wants one to try to be a good man while Angela wants one for the perfect image. Angela spends most of her time trying to be perfect. Angela can't seem to get pregnant and in 2 years of trying she has had two miscarriages. Doctors tell her she has endometriosis. She is hurt by this. Angela isn't very close to her family and in some aspects she comes off as jealous of her younger brother and hateful towards her mother. The death of their father is used as a possibility but nothing is revealed.

Joanna is becoming more depressed. She flips through her photo albums and we notice that there a no pictures of Danny in them. This is where we learn that Joanna may care more for Angela than Danny. She is becoming more reclusive. Danny has now developed friendship with Ava. They Share their drug habits but have grown closer in a more intellectual way as well. Ava reveals that her family isn't perfect either and that her parents are on the verge of divorce. She says " I rather being ignored and needed than just ignored". Angela is becoming strange to Rick. Rick brings her along with him visit his family and she sports a fake smile and starts imitating the family instead of being herself. When they get back, Joanna calls. Joanna wants Angela and Rick to come and stay in the house with her and Danny. Angela is not up to it but is convinced by Rick. While in the house Angela starts getting Joanna to do things she never would have done before like go out to a restuarant or sit outside. Danny soon feels jealousy becuase he has already tried to get his mother to do these things. He is also still the one helping with medications and doctor appointments. Angela is only doing these things to get away from the house herself. Danny brings Ava to meet his family and Angela becomes strangely distant and makes Ava uncomfortable. When Rick becomes fed up with Angela's behavior and hate for her family, he decided to move back into their own house. Angela soon finds this out through a phone message left by him. When Joanna screams in pain. Angela hesitates and slowly walks into the room. When Joanna needs a pill and Danny is not home, Angela doesn't know how to give it to her. Joanna eventually helps herself and then tries to reminesce with Angela. Angela can't remember what her mother is talking about. Angela is so distant in this conversation it's mind boggling. Joanna in this moment realizes that her daughter is not that loving. She asks what about Danny? Angela has no answer.

Danny invites Ava to listen to music at his house. Joanna is in pain and reveals that she is out of pills. Ava stays while Danny goes and gets them. Ava and Joanna have a touching conversation that reveals how much Joanna loves Danny. Joanna says Ava is good for Danny. She means it in a deeper way that what is said. Ava puts her head on Joanna's shoulder like she is her mother, something Ava is lacking. Joanna picks up her bed pan and reveals her pills are in it to show Ava she just wanted to talk alone. Danny is walking home and Angela picks him up. Angela tries to be friendly but it doesn't work. She pulls over and starts crying. Danny just looks at her. Angela comes home the next day and has great news. She is pregnant. She creeps up to her mother's room and finds her dead. She sits on the bed with no emotion and is frozen. In the last scenes we see Rick moving boxes into a house and we pan over to Danny looking out of a window. It reveals a pregnant Angela standing and looking out in the air. Danny walks to Ava's house. They walk together and sit at a pond. She puts her head on his shoulder and says, "She loved you". She says in a way that can only be genuine.

What the Press would say:

You may not know much about Alan Parker. He's made tons of films (e.g. Mississippi Burning, Midnight Express) that were popular. Yet, He's never become a big time director. A lot of people say his films are flawed and I have to admit A LOT are. However, you would be looking too hard if you found any flaws in his next film " Friendly Enemies". This is a tale that isn't afraid to show the world the way it is. It's haunting. Yet it's one of the year's best and Alan Parker's best. One of the reasons I cherish this film so, is the fact that the film has universal themes we all understand. Coming to terms with losing one's parents, sibling rivalry, first loves, fearing your parents don't love you, are all real things we all have felt at one time or another. Strangely the film never dives into the pool of melodrama. It keeps a grip and won't delve in such territory. It has a raw quality to it that most films today could use. Ellen Burstyn gives her most heart wrenching performance to date as a dying mother who may love her daughter more than her son. Her children are played by Anton Yelchin and Julia Stiles. Both play characters they have never played before and in a different type of film as well and Julia Stiles has never been better. Julia Stiles plays Angela and she is so hateful that we can't stand to look at her yet Julia makes her so real and beautiful it's hard to look away. The film would not have been nearly as effective had Anton yelchin not been so good. I felt while watching that this is a real family. The Director of Photography Owen Roizman came out of retirement for this film. He gives the film a eerie Ingmar Bergman vibe. Sunny days have a murky shadow in the trees in this film that helps establish the mood. Art direction has never been so detailed in cotemporary film before notice how Angela always stands out by either color or size. I wanted to save a spot for a special performance in the film. Kristen Stewart plays Ava, the intelligent and beautiful but drug abuser girlfriend of Danny. Her scenes are so powerful that if you don't cry while watching her scene, you'll know what scene I 'm talking about, your tear ducts must be damaged. Beautiful and haunting, Friendly Enemies is what we all need to see this year. One of the Best Films I've Ever Seen.

For Your Consideration:

Best Picture
Best Director(Alan Parker)
Best Original Screenplay (Alan Parker & Eric Roth)
Best Actor (Anton Yelchin)
Best Actress(Julia Stiles)
Best Supporting Actress(Kristen Stewart)
Best Supporting Actress(Ellen Burstyn)
Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker)
Best Cinematography(Owen Roizman)
Best Art Direction(Teresa Carriker-Thayer)
Best Score(James Newton Howard)