Claire Dolan

Claire Dolan
Directed by	Lodge Kerrigan
Produced by	Ann Ruark
Written by	Lodge Kerrigan
Starring	Katrin Cartlidge
Cinematography	Teodoro Maniaci
Editing by	Kristina Boden
Release date(s)	May, 1998
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States France
Language	English, French

Claire Dolan is a 1998 American-French drama film directed by Lodge Kerrigan. It was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

Plot

Claire Dolan is an Irish immigrant working as a high-priced call girl in New York City; she doesn't enjoy the profession at all, but owes her pimp, Roland, a great deal of money and must continue to work to pay him off. After Claire's mother dies in a nursing home, she decides to run away from her life. She goes to neighboring Newark, NJ where she has a cousin and begins anew: she takes a job in a salon and forms a relationship with her cousin and her cousin's daughter, Siobhan.

Before long, she begins to receive suspicious phone calls; at work, she is called to the phone and when she answers there is no one on the line. At home in the middle of the night she receives another call. After hanging up, the phone rings again. She feels unsafe, that perhaps Roland has found her, and so she leaves her apartment and walks to a nearby bar. As soon as she walks in, she sits down at a man's table, asking if he is waiting for someone. When he says no, she asks him to dance with her. Claire and Elton dance for a few hours and we next see her waking up in his bed the next morning. It is apparent that she picked up someone to take her home with them, for a safe place to spend the night.

When she arrives home, she feels something is out of place. In a wardrobe mirror she sees Roland standing in her apartment, waiting for her. He brings her a duffel bag and orders her to put her clothes into it; they are going back to the city. As he waits, Claire's cat hops up into his lap; Roland picks it up, walks over to the window, and throws it out.

Claire returns to see Elton to spend some time with him; he asks her what's the matter with her and, not being able to tell him, becomes upset, asking him to pull over. She gets out and immediately hails another cab to take her to her New York apartment. Elton follows her in his cab and finds out where she lives; he waits all night and then follows her again the next day. He watches her speak to someone (Roland), then follows her to a hotel where she stays for quite some time. Elton gives up waiting.

In the next scene at her apartment, there is a knock on her door; it is Elton. He confronts her about who she really is, where she lives, and asks her if she has a pimp, also if she owes money. They spend the night together. Over the next few days/weeks, they go to work and meet afterward, asking each other how work has been, something Elton doesn't do at first. One afternoon, when they meet for coffee in a diner, Elton gives her an envelope with money, telling her there are no strings attached and that he just wants to help her pay off her debt as much as he can. She accepts. Later on, she confesses to Elton that she wants to have a baby; after thinking for a few moments, Elton agrees to impregnate her. The two continue a relationship for a little while. It is obvious that Elton has feelings for her, and the two exchange I-love-you's. At some point, Elton goes to see Roland, and Roland expecting him to show up, grabs him by the throat and explains that Claire always was and always will be a whore and he should get out while he can.

Claire announces she is pregnant and has scheduled a doctor's appointment. Elton tells her he has to take care of something out of town for a couple of days, but that he will be back in time for her appointment. We see him dropping off a young girl, about 12-14 years old, in front of a building. He asks how she is getting along with her mother, gives her some cash and tells her to buy something with it but don't tell your mother. It is implied that she is his daughter. During his absence from Claire, he also speaks to an Eastern European prostitute in a hotel room, but he seems uninterested in having sex with her. He asks her questions, perhaps trying to get some insight into Claire's life. He returns to the city.

Claire meanwhile has gone to the doctor and checks out okay. She continues to see a few clients, but during one visit, she thinks she sees Elton's reflection on the balcony outside and goes to the window, cracking it to look out. Her client comes into the room and has her leave it open for the air, and they carry on, with Elton on the balcony, presumably hearing everything.

Now having enough money to pay off her debt, she goes to pay off Roland. He asks her if she is going to keep her baby, then congratulates her, offering her a packet of money "for the baby" but she refuses. He insists, but she continues to refuse his money as it would be something Roland could hold over her in the future. She goes home, packs a suitcase with an air of finality, and goes to the airport. She sees a few clients in a hotel room and then goes to a ticket counter to purchase a ticket to Seattle. The ticket agent explains the flights and routes she could take to get there, and Claire asks for a one-way ticket to Chicago. We next see her eating at an outdoor cafe, and a man at another table is staring at her. He comes over and asks her if she is Lucy (Lucy being her alias for work) and she says no. He insists it's her, saying that he remembers "who he's f#cked." She stands up, showing him her very pregnant body and he, embarrassed, apologizes and returns to his table. During an ultrasound, it is revealed that she is carrying a boy. At first her expression looks unsure, but then she smiles.

Next, Elton is walking down the street with a blond woman when Roland passes by and stops him to say hello. Elton introduces the woman (not Claire) as his wife, and she and Roland talk for a moment. She is 7 months pregnant with a girl. When asked how they know each other, Roland tells her that they knew each other "from a long time ago, another life." The two shake hands, and Elton and his wife start to walk away, holding hands.

Cast

• Katrin Cartlidge - Claire Dolan
• Vincent Philip D'Onofrio - Elton Garrett
• Colm Meaney - Roland Cain
• Patrick Husted - George
• Muriel Maida - Claire's Mum
• Madison Arnold - Priest
• Jim Frangione - Man In Bar
• Ed Hodson - Driver
• Sean Powers - Driver's Friend
• Sally Stark - Waitress at Newark diner
• Maryann Plunkett - Mary Egan
• Sarah Rose Hendrickson - Siobhan, Mary's daughter

References

1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Claire Dolan". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4912/year/1998.html. Retrieved 2009-09-28. 

External links

• Claire Dolan at the Internet Movie Database