Warner Girls

Author(s): AnwarLocation: IL

"Warner Girls"

Written & Directed by Neil Jordan

Produced by Neil Jordan

Music by Dario Marianelli

Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot

Editing by Martin Walsh

Main Cast
Emily Blunt as Victoria Warner & Adrienne Warner

Stephen Collins as Frank Warner

Sela Ward as Bev Warner

Chloe Sevigny as Lily Donaldson

Tagline: "The Girls We Love to Hate. The Women We Know Nothing About"

Synopsis: Adrienne and Victoria Warner were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Their father, Frank Warner, was the chairman and heir to the world-renowned Warner Hotels and he had always provided his beloved daughters with the best care and protection money could buy. Exposure to the public eye had left a damper on the girl’s spirits, however, leading the two into very different directions. Adrienne is starting to become a regular name in the households of America but for all the wrong reasons particularly when her addiction to cocaine and her sexual escapades result in her being dubbed “The Queen of Tabloid”. Her father strongly disapproves of this behavior and he shuns Adrienne from his life and refuses to let her back in until she decides to neglect her past. Meanwhile Victoria, unlike her sister, has become nearly invisible to the public. Choosing to donate her time towards volunteering for AIDS foundations and feeding the homeless, she lives the more modest and wholesome lifestyle of the two. The two had become content with the directions their lives were going in, but the day their father suddenly died of a heart attack this all changed.
Fearing she led her father towards an early death, Adrienne begins a rehab program and the steps to a better life. She starts a non-profit organization for young fans to build self-esteem and becomes a true role model to the young girls of America. She also shuns her infamous partner in crime Lily Donaldson in a popular nightclub brawl, angering Lily. When Victoria’s grieving over her father’s passing leads to depression she soon loses all sense of reality. Lily, seeing an easy and “famous” target, takes the grieving Victoria under her wing and leads the girl into the seamy underworld of drugs and sex that Adrienne wisely left behind.
When Adrienne is diagnosed with an advanced form of an incurable disease, caused by her former promiscuity, her life begins to slowly end. Fearing her now infamous sister’s behavior will lead herself down a similar path, Adrienne is determined to bring her sister back to a clean life before her own life is over. Adrienne’s desperate race to save her twin leads to a shocking discovery of Victoria’s own predicament and the aftermath of this discovery on the girls’ once close bond. “Warner Girls” is the shocking, gripping, and tragic tale of the power of sisterhood and the effects of the media on it’s own subjects.

What the Press would say:
“Warner Girls”, the brilliant new film from writer-director Neil Jordan, masterfully creates a complex cinematic world that’s virtually filled with very simple characters and storylines. Written, acted, and directed to a tee, Jordan has sculpted a new American masterpiece that’s leaving audiences across the country remaining in their seats after the lights in the theatre go up and reflecting on their own lives and situations. Essentially a modern retelling of the parable The Prodigal Son, “Warner Girls” is tense, clever, thoughtful, and completely original while it explores the troubled lives of two twin heiresses and the drastic changes these two make after the death of their beloved father.
In a risky but extremely effective move, Jordan has cast English actress Emily Blunt in the role of the twins and never has a dual performance been this magnificence or worthy of attention. A star has truly been born in Emily Blunt’s subtle and sympathetic role as Adrienne Warner, the former drug-abusing woman on a desperate race to save her sister from a similar path. Ms. Blunt brings the character alive with a witty and humanistic approach. Blunt’s portrayal of Victoria Warner is equally transcendent. Bringing raw pain and emotions to the character that feels hauntingly true. Amazingly, Blunt truly transforms into these two women and it no longer is acting with her. Also starring is Chloe Sevigny as the conniving and envious Lily. Sevigny’s role is unsympathetic and it works breathtakingly well.
While the acting is some of the best in years, part of the film’s success relies solely on the deeply moving screenplay and the gritty direction. The dialogue is surprisingly fresh and current and remains free of clichés while the plot is meticulously crafted and surprises the audience unexpectedly by never becoming formulaic. Jordan’s direction is also a highlight. He wisely lets the audience attach themselves to the Warner girls only to make their outcomes all the more heartbreaking and tragic. There has never been a film quite like this one. Warner Girls is the Best Film of The Year!

FYC:
Best Picture

Best Director (Neil Jordan)

Best Actress (Emily Blunt)

Best Supporting Actress (Chloe Sevigny)

Best Original Screenplay (Neil Jordan)

And creativity categories