- Normal Life
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Normal Life 
Theatrical Release PosterDirected by John McNaughton Produced by Richard Maynard
John SavianoWritten by Peg Haller
Bob SchneiderStarring Luke Perry
Ashley JuddMusic by Robert McNaughton,
Ken HaleCinematography Jean de Segonzac Editing by Elena Maganini Distributed by New Line Cinema Release date(s) October 25, 1996 Running time 101 minutes Country United States Language English Normal Life is a 1996 crime drama film based on the real lives of husband and wife bank robbers, Jeffrey and Jill Erickson.[1][2] The film stars Ashley Judd and Luke Perry and was directed by John McNaughton.
Contents
Plot
Chris (Luke Perry), a young police officer, meets the attractive and sexy Pamela (Ashley Judd), and immediately falls in love with her. Even her drug and alcohol problems cannot affect his mad love for her, and they decide to marry. As the relationship continues, more problems arise. Their passionate love is accompanied by destructive fights, and Pam's emotional problems start to surface. She shows no respect for Chris's family members, who are very important to him. Pam is also manipulative and exploits Chris' love for her, leaving him to do all the chores and making him buy her expensive things until they are on the brink of bankruptcy.
Trouble escalates when Chris loses his job, after trouble with a fellow officer. To finance Pam's lifestyle, Chris decides to earn a living by robbing banks. Pam is fascinated with his bank heists and begs him to tag along. After having finally robbed enough banks to afford a house of their own, Chris decides to stop a life of crime, much to Pam's chagrin. Pam soon leaves Chris who quickly finds himself unable to live without her. Chris then agrees to start robbing banks again which proves to be fatal for the duo.
Reactions
Peter Sobczynski writes in his article "A Good Ashley Judd Film? Believe It or Not!": "[...] her single greatest performance-indeed, one of the strongest bits of film acting that you are ever likely to see-was in what probably remains the most obscure and least-seen film of her career, John McNaughton's 1996 masterpiece "Normal Life."[3]
James Berardinelli in his article on reelviews.net: "Luke Perry, giving the most convincing performance of his career to date, makes it clear how desperately, hopelessly smitten Chris is by his wild, troubled wife." And finally: "By depicting the sham of "normality", Normal Life reminds us how fictitious and unattainable the "American dream" can be."[4]
Cast
- Ashley Judd: Pam Anderson
- Luke Perry: Chris Anderson
- Bruce A. Young: Agent Parker
- Jim True-Frost: Mike Anderson
- Edmund Wyson: Darren
- Kate Walsh: Cindy Anderson
- Tom Towles: Frank Anderson
References
- ^ Schwartz, Ronald (2005). Neo-noir: The New Film Noir Style from Psycho to Collateral. Scarecrow Press. p. 125. ISBN 0-810-85676-X.
- ^ "3 Dead in Shooting at Chicago Courthouse". The New York Times. July 21, 1992. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E0CE4DF143BF932A15754C0A964958260. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ Sobczynski, Peter (2005-02-18). "DVD Reviews for 2/18: A Good Ashley Judd Film? Believe It or Not!". efilmcritic.com. http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=1362&printer=1.
- ^ James, Berardinelli. "Normal Life: A Film Review by James Berardinelli". reelviews.net. http://www.reelviews.net/movies/n/normal_life.html.
External links
- Normal Life at the Internet Movie Database
- Normal Life at Rotten Tomatoes
- Normal Life at AllRovi
Films directed by John McNaughton 1980s Dealers in Death (1984)1990s Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990) · The Borrower (1991) · Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll (1991) · Mad Dog and Glory (1993) · Normal Life (1996) · Wild Things (1998)2000s Condo Painting (2000) · Speaking of Sex (2001)Categories:- American films
- English-language films
- 1996 films
- 1990s crime films
- Crime thriller films
- Heist films
- Films based on actual events
- Films shot in Illinois
- New Line Cinema films
- Films directed by John McNaughton
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