Stormy Monday (1988)
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73% of critics liked it
(15 reviews) -
41% of users liked it
(1,344 ratings)
Stormy Monday is a four-person character study in which style is all that matters. This tautly constructed, deftly executed crime thriller is set in economically depressed Newcastle England. Sting plays Finney, a relatively honest Newcastle jazz-club owner who crosses the path of crass American… More Stormy Monday is a four-person character study in which style is all that matters. This tautly constructed, deftly executed crime thriller is set in economically depressed Newcastle England. Sting plays Finney, a relatively honest Newcastle jazz-club owner who crosses the path of crass American gangster Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones). Flaunting his wealth at every opportunity, Cosmo wants to involve Finney in a land development deal -- if only he'll give up his club. Both men are enamored of Kate (Melanie Griffith), who becomes a pawn in their ongoing one-upsmanship. Kate and her lover (Sean Bean) try to prevent Finney from corrupting his own sense of values by wallowing in the gutter with Cosmo. Stormy Monday, the first feature-length directorial effort of former jazz musician Mike Figgis, who also wrote the script and composed the score, tells its story using subtle shadings of character and a vivid evocation of its Newcastle setting rather than through violent action. Figgis's moody direction of his excellent screenplay is quietly effective and brimming with visual nuance and irony -- particularly in its perceptive take on love, money, jazz, and economic necessity. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mike Figgis
- Written By
- Mike Figgis
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense
R,
- In Theaters
- May 1, 1988 Wide
- Studio
- British Screen Productions
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
All visual flash and no script, with comatose performances to boot.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
Mix American gangsters, molls and majorettes with Polish avant-garde jazz musicians against a Newcastle background - and what you've got is a curious homage to B movie Hollywood and the rain-washed neon of the pulps.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Mr. Figgis, who is a musician as well as a film maker, brings the place, the plot and the film's haunting characters vibrantly to life. What's more, he makes them irresistibly interesting.
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Rita Kempley, Washington Post
It is all style and promise, a come-on that keeps on coming on but never satisfies. The Big Tease.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Jones works his machismo persona into a lather, but it's unclear what he's doing in this movie, so he's more a source of campy fun than menace.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Melanie Griffith
as Kate
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Tommy Lee Jones
as Cosmo
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Sting
as Finney
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Sean Bean
as Brendan
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Prunella Gee
as Mrs. Finney
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James Cosmo
as Tony
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Mark Long
as Patrick
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Alison Steadman
as Mayor
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Brian Lewis
as Jim
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Derek Hoxby
as Bob
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Heathcote Williams
as Peter Reed
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Guy Manning
as Hotel Waiter
- Caroline Hutchison
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Fiona Sloman
as Hotel Receptionist
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Tony Bluto
as Chef
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Andrzej Borkowski
as Andrej
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Catherine Chevalier
as Cosmo's Secretary
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Keith Edwards
as Barman
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Roderic Leigh
as Counciller Perry
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Elizabeth Mason
as Waitress
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Al Matthews
as Radio DJ
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Terry Day
as The Krakow Jazz Emsemble
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Czeslaw Grocholski
as Old Polish Man
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Mick Hamer
as Pianist
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Dulice Liecier
as Carol
- John Tong Ying
- Pam Rack
- Deborah Brown
- Mary Selway
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Clive Curtis
as Cosmo's Bodyguard
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Richard Hawley
as Weegee's Manager
