The Upside of Anger
Encyclopedia
The Upside of Anger is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Binder
and set in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
. It stars Joan Allen
, Kevin Costner
and Evan Rachel Wood
.
About three years earlier, a flashback reveals, Terry had told her daughters that she thought their father, Grey, had left the family to be with his former secretary in Sweden
. After sharing the news with neighbor Denny, a retired baseball player turned radio talkshow host and fellow alcoholic, Terry progressively grows close to the man, with whom she eventually begins an intimate relationship.
Keen to help where he can, Denny helps Terry's oldest daughter, Andi to become a production assistant at the radio station where he works, where she meets and starts a relationship with Shep, Denny's producer, a questionable character in his 40s. Meanwhile Popeye, who is attending a private high school, finds herself attracted to a classmate, whose attention she fails to grab even after clearly declaring her interest to him (the classmate purports to be gay).
Emily's original wishes to attend a performing arts school to study dancing are superseded by her mother's request that she pursue university studies, which she starts at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Hadley, for her part, announces immediately following her graduation that she is engaged to her boyfriend of three years, and pregnant.
When young Popeye asks Denny what his long-term intentions are concerning his relationship with her mother, Denny decides to broach the subject with Terry, only to be confronted by anger and accusations that he is trying to push her into a marriage for which she feels unready. Weary and tired of Terry's ever-shifting moods, Denny storms out of her house; the separation is only temporary, though, as the two reconcile a short while later.
When a real estate deal involving both Denny and Terry finally goes through, construction begins in the area surrounding their homes and, when a worker accidentally uncovers a well, Grey Wolfmeyer's body is found, revealing in fact that he had never abandoned his family. Rather, he had accidentally fallen in the well and drowned.
As the story returns to the initial scene, the Wolfmeyers and Denny, now part of the family, leave Grey's funeral
to reveal that Terry, while saddened and grieving, is coming to terms with her own and her daughters' life choices and, finally, finding some inner peace.
, London
. Part was filmed in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
, a wealthy suburb of Detroit.
based on 164 reviews (121 positive, 43 negative).
Mike Binder
Mike Binder is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor.-Life and career:A native of Detroit, Mike Binder grew up in Birmingham, one of the city's suburbs, and attended Camp Tamakwa, which formed the basis for his 1993 film Indian Summer...
and set in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
. It stars Joan Allen
Joan Allen
Joan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...
, Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
and Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again...
.
Cast
- Joan AllenJoan AllenJoan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...
as Terry Wolfmeyer - Kevin CostnerKevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
as Denny Davies, Terry's boyfriend. - Alicia WittAlicia WittAlicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.-Early life:Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her mother, Diane , is a junior high school reading teacher, and her father, Robert Witt, is a science teacher and photographer. She has a brother, Ian...
as Hadley Wolfmeyer, Terry's eldest daughter. - Keri RussellKeri RussellKeri Lynn Russell is an American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002, and for which she won a Golden Globe...
as Emily Wolfmeyer, Terry's second daughter. - Erika ChristensenErika ChristensenErika Jane Christensen is an American actress whose film appearances include Traffic , Swimfan , How to Rob a Bank , and The Perfect Score , among others. She also co-starred in the short-lived drama Six Degrees on ABC...
as Andy Wolfmeyer, Terry's third daughter. - Evan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel Wood is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again...
as Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer, Terry's youngest daughter. - Mike BinderMike BinderMike Binder is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor.-Life and career:A native of Detroit, Mike Binder grew up in Birmingham, one of the city's suburbs, and attended Camp Tamakwa, which formed the basis for his 1993 film Indian Summer...
as Adam "Shep" Goodman, producer. - Tom HarperTom Harper (actor)Tom Harper is a British film and television actor.-Career:Harper has appeared in over a dozen films and more than ten television productions....
as David Jr. - Dane Christensen as Gorden Reiner
- Danny WebbDanny Webb (actor)Danny Webb is a British television and film actor. He may be best known for his role as the prisoner Morse in Alien 3. He has appeared in many famous British television programmes including The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Emmerdale Farm, Our Friends in the North, A Touch of Frost, Agatha...
as Grey Wolfmeyer, Terry's husband. - Magdalena Manville as Darlene
- Suzanne BertishSuzanne BertishSuzanne C. Bertish is an English actress.A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bertish has appeared in many productions with them, including their marathon eight-and-a-half hour version of Charles Dickens's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, in which she played three roles...
as Gina - David FirthDavid FirthDavid Firth is an English animator, video artist, amateur filmmaker, and musician. As a cartoonist Firth's work is largely distributed via the Internet...
as David Sr. - Rod Woodruff as Dean Reiner
- Stephen GreifStephen GreifStephen Greif is an award-winning English actor.His television appearances include Waking the Dead , Spooks , Mistresses 2 , He Kills Coppers , Holby City , The Last Days of Pompeii as Sporus, Judge John Deed , Space Race , EastEnders , The Bill and...
as Emily's doctor. - Arthur PenhallowArthur PenhallowArthur Penhallow is a radio presenter in Detroit, Michigan who hosted afternoons on active rock station WRIF from 1970-2009. On March 30, 2009, WRIF owner Greater Media announced that the station and Penhallow had been unable to come to terms on a new contract. Penhallow was born in Honolulu, Hawaii...
as Himself
Plot
The opening scene presents Terry and her daughters, with Denny, attending a funeral.About three years earlier, a flashback reveals, Terry had told her daughters that she thought their father, Grey, had left the family to be with his former secretary in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. After sharing the news with neighbor Denny, a retired baseball player turned radio talkshow host and fellow alcoholic, Terry progressively grows close to the man, with whom she eventually begins an intimate relationship.
Keen to help where he can, Denny helps Terry's oldest daughter, Andi to become a production assistant at the radio station where he works, where she meets and starts a relationship with Shep, Denny's producer, a questionable character in his 40s. Meanwhile Popeye, who is attending a private high school, finds herself attracted to a classmate, whose attention she fails to grab even after clearly declaring her interest to him (the classmate purports to be gay).
Emily's original wishes to attend a performing arts school to study dancing are superseded by her mother's request that she pursue university studies, which she starts at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Hadley, for her part, announces immediately following her graduation that she is engaged to her boyfriend of three years, and pregnant.
When young Popeye asks Denny what his long-term intentions are concerning his relationship with her mother, Denny decides to broach the subject with Terry, only to be confronted by anger and accusations that he is trying to push her into a marriage for which she feels unready. Weary and tired of Terry's ever-shifting moods, Denny storms out of her house; the separation is only temporary, though, as the two reconcile a short while later.
When a real estate deal involving both Denny and Terry finally goes through, construction begins in the area surrounding their homes and, when a worker accidentally uncovers a well, Grey Wolfmeyer's body is found, revealing in fact that he had never abandoned his family. Rather, he had accidentally fallen in the well and drowned.
As the story returns to the initial scene, the Wolfmeyers and Denny, now part of the family, leave Grey's funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
to reveal that Terry, while saddened and grieving, is coming to terms with her own and her daughters' life choices and, finally, finding some inner peace.
Production
According to the closing credits and the special features section of the DVD, much of the film was shot at Ealing StudiosEaling Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Part was filmed in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, a wealthy suburb of Detroit.
Reception
The film holds a 74% approval rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten 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...
based on 164 reviews (121 positive, 43 negative).
Awards won
- Chicago Film Critics AssociationChicago Film Critics Association Awards 2005----Best Film: Crash The 18th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, given by the CFCA on 9 January 2006 honored the best in film for 2005.- Best Actor : Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote* Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow...
: (1) Best Actress - Joan Allen - San Francisco Film Critics CircleSan Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2005The 4th San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in film for 2005, were given on 12 December 2005.-Winners:*Best Picture:**Brokeback Mountain*Best Director:**Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain...
: (1) Best Supporting Actor - Kevin Costner
Nominations
- Online Film Critics SocietyOnline Film Critics Society Awards 2005The 9th Online Film Critics Society Awards, honoring the best in film for 2005, were given on 16 January 2006.-Best Picture:A History of Violence*Brokeback Mountain*Crash*Good Night, and Good Luck.*Munich-Best Director:...
: (1) Best Actress - Joan Allen - Satellite AwardsSatellite Awards 2005The 10th Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film- and television making in 2005, were given on 17 December 2005.-Best Actor - Drama: Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote*Jake Gyllenhaal - Jarhead...
: (2) Best Musical or Comedy Actor - Kevin Costner, Best Musical or Comedy Actress - Joan Allen