Based on a play by Dalton Younger, "Anacardium" is mostly a two-man movie that alternates between being a convincing psychodrama and a turgid verbal slugfest.
Director Scott Thomas, with many TV and indie film credits, and leads Frank John Hughes ("Band of Brothers") and Richard Ruccolo ("All Over the Guy") are savvy enough to stretch out the material for 90 minutes, but the low-budget project (which opened Tuesday in one Los Angeles theater for an Oscar-qualifying run) has minimal commercial potential.
Answering a newspaper ad for a female roommate, young attorney Chris (Ruccolo) talks his way into the good graces of blue-collar creep Rich (Hughes). Chris pays for his rent and moving-in fees with cash and moves in. While Rich was looking forward to putting the moves on a female roommate, he responds to Chris' politeness and enthusiasm. In the process of getting to know each other, Chris inquires more into Rich's methods of dating, while the latter slowly catches on that their meeting was not accidental.
Indeed, Chris claims to have had a wife who killed herself months after being raped. Rich, we learn early on, thinks poorly of women. He's a ruthless predator without an iota of guilt for his behavior. Chris informs Rich that the death of his wife left him devastated and then wanting revenge, which he carefully plans out with the help of a symbolic jar of cashews (anacardium is the scientific name of the cashew nut tree).
Issues of people taking justice into their own hands, men acknowledging their crimes and the sanity of the two lost souls in question are more or less resolved in an increasingly violent final act that's no joy to sit through. A bit of trickery at the end does not go down well, mostly because one has developed no bonds with the characters or burning interest in the tangled story that draws them together.
"Anacardium" is a calling card-like project that best serves Hughes and Ruccolo, who passionately spar with each other until neither character is left standing.
ANACARDIUM
Anacardium Prods. in association with MYL Entertainment
Screenwriter-director: Scott Thomas
Based on the play by: Dalton Younger
Producer: Mike Erwin, J. Max Kirishima
Executive producers: Elizabeth Furnari, Rand Chortkoff, Ronn Robert
Director of photography: Carl Bartels
Production designer: Ernie Roth
Editor: John M. Taylor
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rich: Frank John Hughes
Chris: Richard Ruccolo
Ashley: Laura Cayouette
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Director Scott Thomas, with many TV and indie film credits, and leads Frank John Hughes ("Band of Brothers") and Richard Ruccolo ("All Over the Guy") are savvy enough to stretch out the material for 90 minutes, but the low-budget project (which opened Tuesday in one Los Angeles theater for an Oscar-qualifying run) has minimal commercial potential.
Answering a newspaper ad for a female roommate, young attorney Chris (Ruccolo) talks his way into the good graces of blue-collar creep Rich (Hughes). Chris pays for his rent and moving-in fees with cash and moves in. While Rich was looking forward to putting the moves on a female roommate, he responds to Chris' politeness and enthusiasm. In the process of getting to know each other, Chris inquires more into Rich's methods of dating, while the latter slowly catches on that their meeting was not accidental.
Indeed, Chris claims to have had a wife who killed herself months after being raped. Rich, we learn early on, thinks poorly of women. He's a ruthless predator without an iota of guilt for his behavior. Chris informs Rich that the death of his wife left him devastated and then wanting revenge, which he carefully plans out with the help of a symbolic jar of cashews (anacardium is the scientific name of the cashew nut tree).
Issues of people taking justice into their own hands, men acknowledging their crimes and the sanity of the two lost souls in question are more or less resolved in an increasingly violent final act that's no joy to sit through. A bit of trickery at the end does not go down well, mostly because one has developed no bonds with the characters or burning interest in the tangled story that draws them together.
"Anacardium" is a calling card-like project that best serves Hughes and Ruccolo, who passionately spar with each other until neither character is left standing.
ANACARDIUM
Anacardium Prods. in association with MYL Entertainment
Screenwriter-director: Scott Thomas
Based on the play by: Dalton Younger
Producer: Mike Erwin, J. Max Kirishima
Executive producers: Elizabeth Furnari, Rand Chortkoff, Ronn Robert
Director of photography: Carl Bartels
Production designer: Ernie Roth
Editor: John M. Taylor
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rich: Frank John Hughes
Chris: Richard Ruccolo
Ashley: Laura Cayouette
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Based on a play by Dalton Younger, "Anacardium" is mostly a two-man movie that alternates between being a convincing psychodrama and a turgid verbal slugfest.
Director Scott Thomas, with many TV and indie film credits, and leads Frank John Hughes ("Band of Brothers") and Richard Ruccolo ("All Over the Guy") are savvy enough to stretch out the material for 90 minutes, but the low-budget project (which opened Tuesday in one Los Angeles theater for an Oscar-qualifying run) has minimal commercial potential.
Answering a newspaper ad for a female roommate, young attorney Chris (Ruccolo) talks his way into the good graces of blue-collar creep Rich (Hughes). Chris pays for his rent and moving-in fees with cash and moves in. While Rich was looking forward to putting the moves on a female roommate, he responds to Chris' politeness and enthusiasm. In the process of getting to know each other, Chris inquires more into Rich's methods of dating, while the latter slowly catches on that their meeting was not accidental.
Indeed, Chris claims to have had a wife who killed herself months after being raped. Rich, we learn early on, thinks poorly of women. He's a ruthless predator without an iota of guilt for his behavior. Chris informs Rich that the death of his wife left him devastated and then wanting revenge, which he carefully plans out with the help of a symbolic jar of cashews (anacardium is the scientific name of the cashew nut tree).
Issues of people taking justice into their own hands, men acknowledging their crimes and the sanity of the two lost souls in question are more or less resolved in an increasingly violent final act that's no joy to sit through. A bit of trickery at the end does not go down well, mostly because one has developed no bonds with the characters or burning interest in the tangled story that draws them together.
"Anacardium" is a calling card-like project that best serves Hughes and Ruccolo, who passionately spar with each other until neither character is left standing.
ANACARDIUM
Anacardium Prods. in association with MYL Entertainment
Screenwriter-director: Scott Thomas
Based on the play by: Dalton Younger
Producer: Mike Erwin, J. Max Kirishima
Executive producers: Elizabeth Furnari, Rand Chortkoff, Ronn Robert
Director of photography: Carl Bartels
Production designer: Ernie Roth
Editor: John M. Taylor
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rich: Frank John Hughes
Chris: Richard Ruccolo
Ashley: Laura Cayouette
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Director Scott Thomas, with many TV and indie film credits, and leads Frank John Hughes ("Band of Brothers") and Richard Ruccolo ("All Over the Guy") are savvy enough to stretch out the material for 90 minutes, but the low-budget project (which opened Tuesday in one Los Angeles theater for an Oscar-qualifying run) has minimal commercial potential.
Answering a newspaper ad for a female roommate, young attorney Chris (Ruccolo) talks his way into the good graces of blue-collar creep Rich (Hughes). Chris pays for his rent and moving-in fees with cash and moves in. While Rich was looking forward to putting the moves on a female roommate, he responds to Chris' politeness and enthusiasm. In the process of getting to know each other, Chris inquires more into Rich's methods of dating, while the latter slowly catches on that their meeting was not accidental.
Indeed, Chris claims to have had a wife who killed herself months after being raped. Rich, we learn early on, thinks poorly of women. He's a ruthless predator without an iota of guilt for his behavior. Chris informs Rich that the death of his wife left him devastated and then wanting revenge, which he carefully plans out with the help of a symbolic jar of cashews (anacardium is the scientific name of the cashew nut tree).
Issues of people taking justice into their own hands, men acknowledging their crimes and the sanity of the two lost souls in question are more or less resolved in an increasingly violent final act that's no joy to sit through. A bit of trickery at the end does not go down well, mostly because one has developed no bonds with the characters or burning interest in the tangled story that draws them together.
"Anacardium" is a calling card-like project that best serves Hughes and Ruccolo, who passionately spar with each other until neither character is left standing.
ANACARDIUM
Anacardium Prods. in association with MYL Entertainment
Screenwriter-director: Scott Thomas
Based on the play by: Dalton Younger
Producer: Mike Erwin, J. Max Kirishima
Executive producers: Elizabeth Furnari, Rand Chortkoff, Ronn Robert
Director of photography: Carl Bartels
Production designer: Ernie Roth
Editor: John M. Taylor
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rich: Frank John Hughes
Chris: Richard Ruccolo
Ashley: Laura Cayouette
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/27/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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