SONNY
Released: January 10, 2003
It's New Orleans, 1981. Sonny Phillips (James Franco), just discharged from the Army, returns home. The only life he's known is as a gigolo, working for his mother(Brenda Blethyn), but he wants to leave that behind. However, the job his Army buddy (Scott Caan) promised doesn't materialize, and he can't escape his past. This is Nicolas Cage's first movie in the director's chair and it's actually quite a very well executed debut. To get the film financed, Cage had to appear in it but rather than taking the lead role of Sonny, he chose a totally weird character named Acid Yellow. Cage also managed to get Harry Dean Stanton in his film, as well as Mena Suvari in her most effecting work to date. Also appearing are Seymour Cassel and Brenda Vaccaro, whom hasn't had much of a mainstream profile since her 80s tampon commercials.
110 Minutes
Saturn/Samuel Goldwyn Films