Michael Shannon Movies Blog

  Super early Shannon now in this odd film that boasts a galaxy of stars but no plot to speak of. This one was hard to locate and I eventually had to splurge a couple of quid to source a copy on DVD. The DVD release obviously came far after the cinema run as the box boats the turns of Gillian Anderson and Michael Ironside when both barely get a minute of screen time. For Anderson this was made before her break on ‘The X-Files’ so no doubt the copyright holder saw the release as a quick cash in. The film is set, as you’d expect with that title, in Chicago, in the run up to Christmas. We ride for the duration of the film with an unnamed cabbie, played by Paul Dillon who is good and best known for his role as the Irish assassin in the first Austin Powers films. They may be after his Lucky Charms but they won’t find many in this largely grim offering. The film opens on an early Thursday ,morning with a family taking the cab to church. They ask the cabbie to come along but he r...

  Like our earlier watch of ‘Loving’ this is another ‘based on a true story’ film of a battle to right a civil wrong. It stars Julianne Moore as Laurel Hester a gay New Jersey cop who in 2002 has to stay in the closet due to the macho demands of her job. She’s partnered with Michael Shannon and the film opens with them covering each other’s backs during a drug bust. At a volley ball game Laurel hooks up with Stacie, played by the now Elliot Page. The romance goes slowly at first but eventually the pair buy a house and get a civil partnership. They come out to their friends, including a bemused Shannon, but tragedy strikes when Laurel develops cancer. As the disease takes hold, she writes to the Freeholders of the county to ask that her pension benefits be transferred to Stacie. Of course they refuse (otherwise we don’t have a film) and the fight is now on to secure the benefits that will allow Stacie to live in their home forever. Much of the film deals with the various co...