The Greatest (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
The Greatest is a 2009 American drama film
written and directed by Shana Feste and starring Pierce Brosnan
(also an executive producer), Susan Sarandon
, Carey Mulligan
, and Michael Shannon
.
) dies, his family feel like they can not go on. His mother Grace (Sarandon
) and his father Allen (Brosnan
) get an unexpected visitor knocking at their door; it turns out to be a young woman called Rose (Mulligan
), who is pregnant with Bennett's child. As the story develops Bennett's younger brother Ryan is introduced and he is grieving the fact he did not say a final good bye to his brother. One sees the true relationships of the family as the story comes together, Grace waits at the bed of Jordan Walker, the man driving the truck which collided with Bennett's car in the crash. She is waiting for his wake so she can ask him what her son's final 17 minutes were. After a while, she finds out the truth but is disappointed in what she hears. In the last moments, Bennett was not calling his mothers name, he was calling to Rose asking the other wounded passenger Walker to make sure that she was safe.
Allen hires a cleaner to clean the house, but when Grace finds out she is terribly angry, claiming their son has been washed away. Allen then appears to be having a heart attack whilst Grace carries on shouting until she realises whats the matter. At the hospital bed, shortly after Grace returns from finding out the truth about Bennett, Allen breaks down crying claiming to be holding in all his grief and upset, he claims he could have done something to prevent the crash and later his son's death.
Rose, meanwhile, has overheard Grace saying she should have died and not Bennett and so she leaves and seeks the help of her mother. She soon realises that all her mother is bothered about was trying to get money from the Brewers, claiming it will help her. The Brewers try to find Rose and they find her in labour and persuade her to go to the hospital and, while in the car on the way, she demands to know everything about Bennett she did not already know.
When the film draws to a close, one see's Rose and the baby, a girl called Ruby, Grace's favourite girl's name. The film ends with the moment Bennett spoke to Rose earlier on the day he died.
. Another film starring Mulligan, the Oscar-nominated An Education
, also screened at the festival. The film ranking website Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 52% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 56.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Shana Feste and starring Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
(also an executive producer), Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
, Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
, and Michael Shannon
Michael Shannon (actor)
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
.
Plot
When Bennett Brewer (Aaron JohnsonAaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson is a professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League .-Playing career:...
) dies, his family feel like they can not go on. His mother Grace (Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
) and his father Allen (Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
) get an unexpected visitor knocking at their door; it turns out to be a young woman called Rose (Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
), who is pregnant with Bennett's child. As the story develops Bennett's younger brother Ryan is introduced and he is grieving the fact he did not say a final good bye to his brother. One sees the true relationships of the family as the story comes together, Grace waits at the bed of Jordan Walker, the man driving the truck which collided with Bennett's car in the crash. She is waiting for his wake so she can ask him what her son's final 17 minutes were. After a while, she finds out the truth but is disappointed in what she hears. In the last moments, Bennett was not calling his mothers name, he was calling to Rose asking the other wounded passenger Walker to make sure that she was safe.
Allen hires a cleaner to clean the house, but when Grace finds out she is terribly angry, claiming their son has been washed away. Allen then appears to be having a heart attack whilst Grace carries on shouting until she realises whats the matter. At the hospital bed, shortly after Grace returns from finding out the truth about Bennett, Allen breaks down crying claiming to be holding in all his grief and upset, he claims he could have done something to prevent the crash and later his son's death.
Rose, meanwhile, has overheard Grace saying she should have died and not Bennett and so she leaves and seeks the help of her mother. She soon realises that all her mother is bothered about was trying to get money from the Brewers, claiming it will help her. The Brewers try to find Rose and they find her in labour and persuade her to go to the hospital and, while in the car on the way, she demands to know everything about Bennett she did not already know.
When the film draws to a close, one see's Rose and the baby, a girl called Ruby, Grace's favourite girl's name. The film ends with the moment Bennett spoke to Rose earlier on the day he died.
Reception
The film screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival2009 Sundance Film Festival
The 2009 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival.-Award winners:*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - We Live in Public...
. Another film starring Mulligan, the Oscar-nominated An Education
An Education
An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
, also screened at the festival. The film ranking website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 52% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 56.