Shy People is a 1987 American drama film directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, from a script by Konchalovsky, Marjorie David and Gérard Brach. It stars Barbara Hershey, Jill Clayburgh, and Martha Plimpton, and features music by the Germany electronic music group Tangerine Dream. The film is about the culture clash that takes place between Diana, a Manhattan writer, her wayward teenage daughter Grace, and their long-distant relatives in the bayous of Louisiana.
It premiered at the 40th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 1987, with Hershey winning the award for Best Actress. It received a limited release in the United States on March 11, 1988. It was one of the last film roles for actor Merritt Butrick, who died from AIDS in 1989. It was filmed by the bayous of South Louisiana.
In Louisiana, they encounter Diana's cousin, Ruth. Married at 12 to an abusive man whose current whereabouts are an increasingly troubling cipher, the domineering Ruth rules over her three adult sons. The sons—Pauly, Tommy, and Mark—are less than perfectly cogent, with equal parts protectiveness and ferocity, while a fourth, disowned son adds to the volatility of the situation. As the fascinated Diana and wary Ruth circle one another, Grace, bored and in the grips of her addiction, toys with her naive cousins with devastating consequences.
Principal photography took place from September 22 to December 20 of 1986. Much of the film was shot in Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana. Bayou scenes were filmed in Henderson Basin and the Atchafalaya Swamp. Ruth's house was a set constructed beside a swamp in Catahoula. Scenes at Mike’s nightclub were filmed in Los Angeles.
The movie's actual sound track uses different versions of "Shy People" and "The Harbor" with different sets of lyrics, sung by Michael Bishop.
A wider distribution plan was botched in part due to miscommunication between branches of The Cannon Group, who were undergoing financial troubles. Cannon head Menahem Golan had been personally negotiating with Cineplex Odeon head Garth Drabinsky to distribute Shy People due to his successful track record with . However, Cannon Releasing, the distribution arm of Cannon, was unaware of Golan's talks with Drabinsky and went ahead with a deal that booked the film into 300 theaters. When Drabinsky got word of the deal, he pulled out of distribution talks and the film did not get a proper theatrical release with Cineplex Odeon.
Shy People opened on 246 screens in North America on March 11, 1988.
Konchalovsky criticized Cannon over the situation, saying, "None of my Cannon films has been released properly. Cannon can't get the right theaters. They have made a lot of strategic mistakes." Shy People was the last film Konchalovsky would direct for the company.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times was more critical. He said that the film "contains more than its fair share of howlers", that its themes of culture clashes and value differences "are too obvious to be especially interesting to Americans", and that "Mr. Konchalovsky's direction is as self-conscious as the screenplay".
The score by Tangerine Dream and cinematography by Chris Menges also received praise.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Shy People has an approval rating of 64% based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 6.18/10.
Soundtrack
Track listing
Personnel
Release
Reception
Critical response
Awards and nominations
External links
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