Stormy Monday

[beanyfan]

Just watched this film. Aaaawww he's so young and innocent  and his voice doesn't have the low gravely tones we know and love. Maybe he was so young that not everything had dropped yet?  It's a nice but strange film and I enjoyed it. He is a pleasure to watch both aesthetically and for his acting. He really does it so well.  Melanie Griffith has a very irritating whine but I thought they went together quite well. I liked Sting's role too. I thought he did good for a non actor. Liked the background music through the film too.
:flirt:  :flirt:

[kimmy]

This was the first Sean film I ever saw (and I saw it at the theater, too, years ago when it was first released).  Melanie has always had an annoying voice, but who cares when you see this:



Makes you forget that irritating woman!

[hklett08]

Glad you liked it BF ;)

Just like Kimmy----also first time I saw Sean, also in a movie theatre when the movie first came out, and more amazingly in the USA.

Kimmy, you found my favorite cap from the film :P

[Soulmate]

Just found a nice review

STORMY MONDAY (1988)

Back before Mike Figgis hit it big, he directed this quirky little neo-noir thriller.  It hasn't proven to be one of his lasting legacies as a filmmaker; for everything it does right, it goofs up in some profound way that nearly sinks it — its plot is pretty thin even by the standards of such potboilers, and two fine lead performances by British actors (Sting and a young Sean Bean) are clumsily countered by two dopey ones by American actors (an ultra-hammy Tommy Lee Jones and Melanie Griffith, clearly letting the clock run down on her fifteen minutes of fame).  That said, it's worth watching for two reasons:  first, it gives you an important stepping point in the development of Figgis' career, should you be interested in pursuing such a thing; and second, it's crazily gorgeous to look at.  It features some nearly perfect cinematography by the estimable Roger Deakins, all rain-slicked streets and cheap neon and hazes of cigarette smoke and shadows that people fall into and never emerge.  It's all surface; you'll find no depth here no matter how hard you look.  But if surface is all you're looking for, you could do a lot worse than Stormy Monday.

http://www.nerve.com/CS/blogs/screengrab/archive/2008/01/11/take-five-days-of-the-week.aspx

Soulmate

[beanyfan]

They're right. TV shows such rubbish films over and over again it's a shame they never show this one -even though it's older than the norm.

[moonflower]

I watched Stormy Monday this week (on Monday in fact) and I enjoyed it.  I posted this in another thread already, so I hope it's okay to repeat it -  I liked it because Sean was in so many scenes, he had an interesting character and he didn't die.  He was good looking, but I prefer an older, more rugged Sean.  There was a nice nude scene too.  I also thought that Sting did a good job with  his role.  I'm not too crazy about Melanie Griffith, but she's not the reason that I was watching the movie.

[hklett08]

"Stormy Monday" is one of my favorite Sean movies (despite Melanie Griffith). 

First time I saw Sean Bean was in "Stormy Monday", can't believe it's been almost 20 years since.  Agree with you, good performance by Sting.  A film of many small layers, and memorable small performances by supporting actors.  Sean gives a wonderful performance- his transformation from innocence to loss of innocence is seamless and totally believable..Sean as sweet Brendan is a joy to watch for many reasons.   Though an imperfect film, (the casting of Melanie Griffith is all wrong for the role, I feel)  I always enjoy watching it even all these years later.

[beanyfan]

    This film is another one of my little 'fixes' when i feel the need.
I read somewhere that there was a problem with the scene they filmed in the rain where Sean picks up the gun and shoots one of the baddies. He had done the shooting and thrown down the gun but not done the scene where he picked it up and they ran out of time or money for the rain machine. Someone came up with the idea to run one of the scenes backwards which is what they did. So now if you look very closely the bit where Sean picks up the gun is supposed to have rain falling upwards rather than down. I've still not quite found that yet but I may be distracted when i watch it!

[moonflower]

That would be funny to see rain going up instead of down!  I agree with hklett08 that Sean seemed sweet in this movie and it was a joy to watch him.

[shalgerson]

  Came across this playing on the THIS movie channel last night    Even though I have it on dvd, I watched it again, of course - both from surprise and pleasure at actually finding it and, I think, in the misplaced hope that it would encourage the networks to show it more    Of course, since it was on network rather than cable TV, certain words ( ) and parts () were deleted ( ), but you still had a good performance from a buff baby Bean  :hot: :hot: :hot:

BTW, Soulmate, that review you posted is spot on!!

[Jess]

Over the past few weeks have been happily working my way through everything Sean has ever appeared in - I think I'm about 80% of the way through now. It's been wonderful having something new of his to watch almost every other day. 

Bought this on DVD and watched it tonight.  I find him utterly charming - he's so young in this!  He's definitely the best thing in this film, and he's a brilliant actor. In comparison to some of the others in this film, I can actually believe in his character. I'm glad I own this now as I can see myself watching it again and again when I need a Sean fix.

[Blue Jay]

Don't forget Sting!

[Jess]

Don't forget Sting!

I might look at Sting a bit more next time I watch it - this time I only had eyes for Sean!    It was a bit weird for me because I went from watching him in 'Red Riding' to watching him in this and it's quite a mental jump!

Admittedly Sting didn't look bad either from what I saw of him but I've gone off him a bit after all the revelations about his sex life with Trudie Styler. Far too much information....

[najinboulder]

It was one of his first film and he was fantastic in it.  I am a little surpised that he did not become a huge star right away and in a lot more big movies.  But I guess he is not the Hollywood type. 

[moonflower]

I really enjoyed Sean in Stormy Monday too, and loved the fact that he was in so many scenes.

[Rebecca]

I love this movie.

Stormy Monday locations: Check out how the North East locations look 30 years on

It’s nearly 30 years since Newcastle played host to Hollywood stars when filming began on gangster thriller Stormy Monday.

Back then, Tommy Lee Jones and Melanie Griffith weren’t quite household names on Tyneside but local hero Sting was another matter and it was he who drew the crowds when the cameras started rolling.

Director Mike Figgis, who grew up in Newcastle, used locations all around the North East for his exciting new feature film but its central atmospheric scenes were shot slap-bang in the city centre, centred around the bottom of Dean Street.

This was the location of a nightclub run by Sting’s character Finney in a story which, 17 years on from 1971’s Get Carter, also centred around Geordie gangster culture - except that Figgis’ take on it had the edge of eighties glamour.

The film was based on a resurgent quayside area and in an interview in 2002 the director noted: “One scene showed a model of the quayside and how it could look, and now it’s happening.

“The film has become an historical document in 15 years.”

Now fast-forward to 2016 and we’re taking a look at how Figgis’ chosen locations have stood the test of time as the film approaches its 30th birthday.

Following a fall-off in the pub and restaurant trade, Quayside life has undergone a second revival in recent years.

Revellers now enjoying a big night out may not realise they are treading in the footsteps of the famous Stormy Monday cast, which also included Sean Bean.

But those of a certain age who enjoyed the party spot’s original heyday will no doubt recall that the long-established Akenside Traders pub was the site of the movie’s key location: The Key Club.


Melanie Griffith and Sean Bean in a scene from Stormy Monday

The jazz club owned by Sting’s character Finney is where Bean’s character - who fell for Griffiths’ waitress Kate - went to find work.

Tommy Lee Jones, meanwhile, played an American businessman trying to force Finney into a deal, while gangsters were also encroaching on the nightclub owner’s territory.

Our now and then photographs also reveal the identity of another club location in the film: The Precinct was set up in a building in Lombard Street, also on the Quayside.

And the so-called Weegee bar, which Bean and Griffith were filmed leaving was on Dean Street on the way down to the Quayside. The venue has had a few changes over the years and is now The Brew Dog pub.

A particularly busy day’s filming involved scenes of a colourful USA Week parade down The Side which passed the hugely-popular - and now long-gone - secondhand bookshop. That’s now The Old Siam restaurant.

And film fans will remember a moment of high drama as tensions mounted in the story. A car ‘bomb’ explosion took place outside what was then the Newcastle Arms and is now The Bridge Tavern.

Elsewhere, Figgis made use of random streets across Tyneside. Sharp-eyed viewers may have spotted Wincomblee Road in Walker in a scene featuring Bean strolling down the road, or that a shot of Griffith peering over railings above the river showed the end of Howard Street in North Shields.

Other areas underwent a transformation for their role. Space at the rear of The Vermont Hotel at the end of the High Level Bridge, for instance, doubled as a basketball court in the film.

One location which does not appear to have changed much is the bridge itself, although it was extensively renovated and strengthened - and restricted to bus-only traffic - during the intervening years.

A bit more at the link...