WHEN WILL I BE LOVED
Year: 2004
USA: IFC Films
UK: Verve Pictures
Cast: Neve Campbell, Frederick Weller, Ashley Shelton, James Toback, Alex Feldman, Brandon Sommers, Oliver "Power" Grant, Mike Tyson, James Parris, Cara Hamill, Christina Rotholz, Bridget Lee Hall, Thomas Patti, Lori Singer, Jean-Pierre Vertus, Megan Pepin, Erin Omar,Emily Coker, Kendria Colford, Victor Coletti, Meredith Ostroml, Jamison Ernest, Damon Dash, Joelle Carter, Dominic Chianese, Michael Mailer, Barry Primus, Karen Allen, Saif Tahsir, Richard Turley, Michele Marie, Luca Mosca, Allessandra Stewart, Jason Pendergraft, Robert Covelman, Storm Chambers
Director: James Toback
Country: USA
USA & UK: 81 mins
USA Rated: R for strong sexuality, nudity and language
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language and sex
USA Release Date: 10 September 2004 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 23 September 2005 (Limited Release - London)
US Distributor
UK Distributor
Synopsis
WHEN WILL I BE LOVED is a hip, scintillating film that takes a classic Hollywood form - that of leading lady as black widow - and brings it edgy new life.
James Toback, a writer and director known for provocative explorations of race and gender relations in films such as BLACK AND WHITE, TWO GUYS AND A GIRL and THE PICK-UP ARTIST, has created a femme fatale for the 21st century. His leading lady is Vera, played by Neve Campbell, a beautiful young woman who is exploring the limits of her vast sexual and intellectual power. We see Vera picking up men on the street, videotaping her romps with a female lover, and having sexually frank discussions with her potential employer. The daughter of wealthy and supportive parents, she is seemingly improvising her way through the beginning of her life as an adult but how much of her behavior is spontaneous and how much is cunningly calculated?
Vera is dating a young hustler named Ford, played by Fredrick Weller. Ford verbally nimble, shameless and shamelessly manipulative seems compelled to use women to make himself rich and famous, from straight loans to an (unintentionally) comical effort to entice hip-hop impresario Damon Dash. Ford sees his chance to make serious money when he meets an aging Italian media mogul, Count Tommaso Lupo played by Dominic Chianese. The Count has developed an obsession with Vera and Ford concocts a plan to pimp Vera out to Lupo for $100,000. To Ford's naïve surprise, Vera agrees leading Ford into the delusion that his powers as a psychologically gifted fast talker are unsurpassed.
The Count is a self made billionaire aesthete, who in the course of what he thinks is a skilful manipulation, ends up being manipulated himself into providing Vera with $1 million instead of the intended $100,000. Vera is a natural improviser and each of her faithful decisions (faithful to both Ford and the Count) is a spontaneous response to circumstances as they arise. As a result, WHEN WILL I BE LOVED has a feel of freshness and surprise.