Shy People
Shy People is a 1987 American drama about two branches of a family that reunite, with tragic results. It stars Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh, and Martha Plimpton. It was directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, written by Konchalovsky, Marjorie David and Gerard Brach, and features music by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream.
Shy People | |
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Directed by | Andrei Konchalovsky |
Produced by | Yoram Globus Menahem Golan |
Written by | Andrei Konchalovsky Gerard Brach Marjorie David |
Starring | Barbara Hershey Jill Clayburgh Martha Plimpton |
Music by | Tangerine Dream |
Cinematography | Chris Menges |
Edited by | Alain Jakubowicz |
Distributed by | Golan-Globus |
Release date |
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Running time | 118 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $769,119[1] |
Hershey won the Best Actress award at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival for her performance.[2] It was one of the last movie roles for actor Merritt Butrick, who died from AIDS in 1989. It was filmed by the bayous of South Louisiana.
Plot summary
Diana Sullivan is a successful Manhattan writer and photojournalist, seemingly oblivious to the serious cocaine addiction that her wild child daughter, Grace, has developed. A commission by Cosmopolitan magazine to write an article about a lost branch of Diana's family leads them deep into the bayous of Louisiana, where they encounter Diana's distant cousin, Ruth. Married at 12 to an abusive man whose current whereabouts are an increasingly troubling cipher, Ruth rules over her three adult sons, all less than perfectly cogent, with equal parts protectiveness and ferocity, while a fourth, disowned son adds to the volatility of the situation. As the fascinated Diana and wary Ruth circle one another, Grace, bored and in grip of her addiction, toys with her naive cousins with devastating consequences.
Cast
- Jill Clayburgh as Diana Sullivan
- Barbara Hershey as Ruth
- Martha Plimpton as Grace Sullivan
- Merritt Butrick as Mike
- John Philbin as Tommy
- Don Swayze as Mark
- Pruitt Taylor Vince as Paul
- Mare Winningham as Candy
Soundtrack
Shy People | ||||
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![]() 1988 LP album cover | ||||
Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 1988 | |||
Recorded | 1987 | |||
Genre | Electronic music | |||
Length | 36:06 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Producer | Tangerine Dream | |||
Tangerine Dream chronology | ||||
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Shy People is the thirty-third major release and eleventh soundtrack album by Tangerine Dream. It is the soundtrack to the 1988 movie of the same name.[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Paul Haslinger.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Shy People" (vocal version) | 7:50 |
2. | "Joe's Place" | 2:10 |
3. | "The Harbor" | 4:00 |
4. | "Nightfall" | 4:00 |
5. | "Dancing on a White Moon" | 3:03 |
6. | "Civilized Illusions" | 3:50 |
7. | "Swamp Voices" | 3:13 |
8. | "Transparent Days" | 3:00 |
9. | "Shy People" (Instrumental version) | 5:00 |
Total length: | 36:06 |
Personnel
- Edgar Froese
- Chris Franke
- Paul Haslinger
- Jacquie Virgil — vocals on "Shy People" and "Dancing On A White Moon"
- Diamond Ross — vocals on "The Harbor"
The movie's actual sound track uses different versions of "Shy People" and "The Harbor" with different sets of lyrics, sung by Michael Bishop.
Cinematography
Shy People was shot by two-time Academy Award-winner Chris Menges, who also worked on A World Apart, a film for which Barbara Hershey was recognized at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.
Reception
Critical response
Shy People has an approval rating of 64% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 6.18/10.[4]
Awards and nominations
- Winner: 1987 Cannes Film Festival - Best Actress - Barbara Hershey[2]
- Nominee: 1987 Cannes Film Festival - Golden Palm
- Nominee: 1988 Independent Spirit Awards - Best Supporting Actress - Martha Plimpton
References
- "Shy People". The Numbers.
- "Festival de Cannes: Shy People". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- Berling, Michael (29 September 2016). "Shy People". Voices in the Net.
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shy_people