Cinema Verite

For other uses, see Cinema vérité (disambiguation).

Cinema Verite
Promotional poster
Directed by	Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Produced by	Gavin Polone Zanne Devine
Screenplay by	David Seltzer
Starring	Diane Lane Tim Robbins James Gandolfini Kathleen Quinlan Thomas Dekker
Music by	Rolfe Kent
Cinematography	Affonso Beato
Production company	HBO Pictures
Country	Template:Flim tv US
Language	English
Release date	April 23, 2011 (2011-04-23)

Cinema Verite is a 2011 HBO drama film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. The film's main ensemble cast starred Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini and Kathleen Quinlan. The film follows a fictionalized account of the production of An American Family, a 1973 PBS documentary television series that is said to be one of the earliest examples of the reality television genre. Principal photography was completed in Southern California. The film premiered on April 23, 2011.

Plot

The film begins in 1971 with Craig Gilbert (James Gandolfini) discussing with Pat Loud (Diane Lane) the idea of a documentary series that would concern her family's day to day lives. Pat considers the proposal and accepts, amidst her son Lance (Thomas Dekker) moving to New York City. Pat's husband Bill (Tim Robbins) travels often away on business, leaving his wife alone to care for their five children.

The crew (Patrick Fugit, Shanna Collins) moves in with the Louds and begins to document them. Relations between Pat and Bill grow frayed due to his time away and the stress of the TV show's production. Craig tells Pat of his suspicions surrounding Bill's trips away, giving fairly strong evidence that he is cheating on her. The crew fights with Gilbert about his documentary technique, as he makes them film many personal moments.

After surreptitiously duplicating the keys to Bill's office, Pat makes a late night trip to the office and discovers documents that confirm he is cheating on Pat with two other women, resulting in Pat's preparations to file for a divorce. Angry, she tells Gilbert to have cameras there when she tells Bill, wanting "his bimbos to see it, the whole world to see it." Against her wishes, he films Pat's conversation with her brother and his wife.

Pat begins to regret her decision to let Gilbert film the break up, and tries to get one of her sons to tell him while driving Bill home instead. He, however, does not work up the courage to do this, and Pat kicks Bill out of her home on camera.

The film cuts to one year later, when An American Family is experiencing its premiere. The show airs to strong television ratings but much criticism of members of the family, in particular Pat for how she came off on camera and Lance for his homosexuality. The family then gets together to "fight back," addressing their critics by appearing on many talk shows.

Title cards at film's end offer updates for each Loud family member. Lance died of AIDS in 2001, his last wish for his parents to move back in with each other. They currently live together in Los Angeles.

Cast

• Tim Robbins — Bill Loud
• Diane Lane — Pat Loud
• James Gandolfini — Craig Gilbert
• Kathleen Quinlan — Mary
• Thomas Dekker — Lance Loud
• Patrick Fugit — Alan Raymond
• Shanna Collins — Susan Raymond
• Willam Belli — Candy Darling
• Lolita Davidovich — Valerie
• Kyle Riabko — Jackie Curtis
• Kaitlyn Dever — Michelle Loud
• Nick Eversman — Grant Loud
• Johnny Simmons — Kevin Loud
• Caitlin Custer — Delilah Loud

Production

Principal photography was completed primarily in Los Angeles, California.

Critical reception

Cinema Verite met with a positive reception from television critics. On review aggregator Metacritic the film received a "generally positive" score of 74 out of 100, based on 23 reviews.

Awards and nominations

The film garnered eight nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards and won one technical award prior to the televised ceremony. The film has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Award	Category	Recipients	Outcome
63th Emmy Awards	Emmy	Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Suttirat Anne Larlarb Joseph T. Mastrolia	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini	Nominated
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie	Beth Miller Carol Pershing Terry Baliel	Nominated
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Diane Lane	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic)	Mindy Hall Julie Hewett Kimberly Felix	Nominated
		Outstanding Miniseries or TV Movie		Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Miniseries Or A Movie	Sarah Flack Robert Pulcini	Won
69th Golden Globe Awards	Golden Globe	Best Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
		Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	Diane Lane	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Tim Robbins	Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Cinema Verite at the Internet Movie Database
• Cinema Verite at AllRovi
• Lloyd, Robert (April 22, 2011). "Television reviews: 'Cinema Verite' and 'An American Family'". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-cinema-verite-review-20110422,0,6077632.story. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
• "Looking at the Louds: A video supplement to 'Cinema Verite' and 'An American Family'". Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2011. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2011/04/looking-at-louds-a-video-supplement-to-cinema-veritean-american-family.html. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
• Lim, Dennis (April 15, 2011). "Reality-TV Originals, in Drama’s Lens". The New York Times.