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Sonny Details

2003 Certificate 18
  • Rated:
  • 50
  • from 692 members

Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), is one of small-time prostitution: mum is a madam, and Sonny has been in the brothel all his life. .. Read more

Starring Brenda Blethyn, James Franco, Mena Suvari, Harry Dean Stanton
Director Nicolas Cage
Genres Drama

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Sonny

Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his mother Jewel (Brenda Blethyn), is one of small-time prostitution: mum is a madam, and Sonny has been in the brothel all his life. His brief excursion into the broader world makes Sonny want a different life, but he finds that his old habits--as well as the pull of young call girl Carol (Mena Suvari), and the bond with his mother's companion Henry (Harry Dean Stanton)--make leaving nearly impossible.
For his first shot at directing, Cage chose a particularly gritty, knotted story in SONNY. Barry Markowitz's rich cinematography is nearly tactile, and Cage makes the interesting choice of having the colourful (in more ways than one) city of New Orleans mostly push through the edges of the movie, which is primarily shot in close-up. Those tight shots reveal the simmering rage in Franco's character, as well as the strange Oedipal twist of the hustling son who tries to please his mother by having sex with other women.

Starring Brenda Blethyn, James Franco, Mena Suvari, Harry Dean Stanton, Josie Davis, Nicolas Cage
Director Nicolas Cage
Studio ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Run time DVD: 1 hr 50 mins
Certificate Certificate 18
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Subtitles DVD: English
Released DVD: 17 Nov 2003
Production year: 2003
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (3) of Sonny

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  • 2 stars out of 5

    Nicolas Cage's New Orleans-set melodrama isn't a bad directorial debut, it's just a stale one. With echoes of Tennessee Williams, Wild at Heart and any other Deep South slow-burner you care to mention, the film's competently constructed but clichéd. James Franco is a handsome former gigolo who returns from the army in 1981 hoping to go straight, much to his trashy madam mother Brenda Blethyn's dismay. Though his performance is sympathetic, Blethyn wildly over-acts, while Cage's cameo as a gay pimp is probably his career worst. Visually, the tale has appeal, with its retro-style colouring particularly attractive. However the occasional arty shots are a big mistake.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • "With the deeply affecting SONNY, Nicholas Cage displays the same sensitivity, emotional resonance and daring in his first feature directorial debut that has characterized his splendid work in front of the camera..."

    • Los Angeles Times
    • Posted 11 Mar 2005

  • Most helpful member's review of Sonny

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  • 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 2 stars

    Could've been much better

    I only stayed with this film for James Franco and Harry Dean Stanton. What were they thinking of with Brenda Blethyn? Her performance is just cringeworthy. Mena Suvari does her best, and I enjoyed seeing Brenda Vaccaro, but the film just doesn't have any spark to get things going. Franco's character, the gigolo Sonny, is almost enough to carry the film, and it looks good, but I was left thinking Is that it? And I agree with whoever said Nicholas Cage's cameo is truly awful. That whole sequence adds nothing to the story and would've been best left on the cutting room floor.

      • A customer from Glasgow, Scotland
      • Posted 06 May 2005 01:24

  • Most recent members' review of Sonny

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  • 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 2 stars

    Could've been much better

    I only stayed with this film for James Franco and Harry Dean Stanton. What were they thinking of with Brenda Blethyn? Her performance is just cringeworthy. Mena Suvari does her best, and I enjoyed seeing Brenda Vaccaro, but the film just doesn't have any spark to get things going. Franco's character, the gigolo Sonny, is almost enough to carry the film, and it looks good, but I was left thinking Is that it? And I agree with whoever said Nicholas Cage's cameo is truly awful. That whole sequence adds nothing to the story and would've been best left on the cutting room floor.

      • A customer from Glasgow, Scotland
      • Posted 06 May 2005 01:24

  • News and features

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    Honeydripper

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    What a great name for a blues movie! 'Honeydripper' just oozes innuendo in the best way. Mmm-hmmm. If Big Bill Broonzy didn't come up with it, well, he should have. The year is 1950 and Tyrone (Danny Glover) is the proprietor of the Honeydripper Lounge, a gin mill on the outskirts of Harmony, a rural Alabama cotton town. Business is bad. The juke joint next door is fit to burst but Tyrone prefers Bertha Mae's old time moanin' blues ' even if no one else does. Even so, the wolf is at the door... Read more

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692 Member ratings
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125
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86
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77
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42

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      • Nicholas Cage's directorial debut SONNY is the story of a young man (James Franco) who returns to the life he left behind in New Orleans after a brief stint in the Army. That life, provided by his ...