djdeathskiss writes: I was lucky enough to get tickets to the world premiere of Orlando’s new film ‘Haven’, at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 11th, and got a few photos too. Here is a synopsis of the film, from the TIFF site:
An absorbing crime drama, Haven marks an intrepid feature debut for writer-director Frank E. Flowers. The story takes place in the Cayman Islands and Flowers brings a strong sense of authenticity to the setting, being Caymanian himself. The film is woven from the interconnected stories of a group of Americans, Brits and Caymanians told at a dynamic pace through an inspired snarl of flashbacks and flashforwards.
After his home is swarmed by federal officers, disreputable Miami businessman Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton) flees to the Cayman Islands with his daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) and one million dollars in tow. Their path soon crosses those of Mr. Allen (Stephen Dillane), a shady British lawyer, and Fritz (Victor Rasuk), a local boy trying to avoid repaying a debt owed to a gangster. The emotional centre of the film, however, is the passionate, fraught relationship between Shy (Orlando Bloom), a British expat fisherman, and Andrea (Zoe Saldana), the daughter of a powerful local businessman. Their ill-fated affair meets first with the wrath of her brother, Hammer (Anthony Mackie), and subsequently with tragedy as long-smouldering anger, revenge and self-destruction flare up with the arrival of Carl and Pippa. Betrayals and desperate motivations ends in a terrible crime and, all too quickly, the tranquility of the island gives way to a traumatic, ominous sense that life there is changing forever.
Employing a docudrama style, Flowers deconstructs idealized island life to reveal drug problems, crime and subtle hypocrisies. Haven is vividly acted by its talented cast, including Paxton, who brilliantly balances the roles of underhanded businessman and doting father, and the young Rasuk, who confidently portrays the local boy on permanent vacation. Bloom in particular delivers a blazing performance, shedding his glamorous image in favour of a nasty and brooding turn as the vengeful, heartbroken lover. Flowers is in complete control every step of the way in this ambitious exploration of the loss of innocence of the films characters and of the Caymans themselves.
I don’t think this film has a distributer yet, but the director said he’s hoping for an early spring 2005 release date.
