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Hotel Sorrento (1995) Online

Hotel Sorrento (1995) Online
1995 Caroline Goodall Caroline Gillmer Tara Morice Richard Franklin
Original Title :
Hotel Sorrento
Genre :
Movie / Drama
Year :
1995
Directror :
Richard Franklin
Cast :
Caroline Goodall,Caroline Gillmer,Tara Morice
Writer :
Peter Fitzpatrick,Richard Franklin
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 52min
Rating :
6.6/10

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Hotel Sorrento (1995) Online

Meg, Pippa, and Hillary are sisters who grew up in Sorrento, a small seaside town in Australia. Meg, who has lived in England for 10 years has just written a criticially acclaimed novel which she claims is entirely fictional. The book causes a stir in Sorrento and in her family when it is supected that the book is not as fictional as she claims.
Cast overview, first billed only:
Caroline Goodall Caroline Goodall - Meg Moynihan
Caroline Gillmer Caroline Gillmer - Hilary Moynihan
Tara Morice Tara Morice - Pippa Moynihan
Joan Plowright Joan Plowright - Marge Morrisey
Ray Barrett Ray Barrett - Wal Moynihan
Nicholas Bell Nicholas Bell - Edwin
Ben Thomas Ben Thomas - Troy Moynihan
John Hargreaves John Hargreaves - Dick Bennett
Dave Barnett Dave Barnett - Radio Announcer
Peter O'Callaghan Peter O'Callaghan - Radio Announcer
Jane Edmanson Jane Edmanson - Radio Announcer
Bill Howie Bill Howie - Radio Announcer
Sam Newman Sam Newman - Football Commentator
Shane Healy Shane Healy - Football Commentator
Phillip Lee Phillip Lee - Auctioneer (voice)

The picture starred two actresses who were first named "Caroline" - Caroline Gillmer and Caroline Goodall. Both actresses also shared the same "G.C" initials.

The film was made and released about five years after its source stage play of the same name by playwright Hannie Rayson had been first performed in 1990.

English actress Joan Plowright was imported to Australia to star as Marge Morrisey in this Australian film production.

Reportedly, director Richard Franklin directed the picture without ever seeing any of the film's source play productions performed on the stage.

One of two 1990s Australian cinema films directed by Richard Franklin which were adaptations of Australian stage plays. The movies adapted from theatre plays were Hannie Rayson's Hotel Sorrento (1995) and David Williamson's Brilliant Lies (1996).

According to the article entitled "Returning Home" published in the June 1995 edition of Australian movie magazine 'Cinema Papers', as cited in website Wikipedia, director "Richard Franklin had worked for a number of years in the US, although he had lived in Australia since 1985. He was becoming frustrated with Hollywood and decided to make a film for the 'art house market'. He contacted his brother in law, Peter Fitzpatrick, who had written a number of books on Australian theatre and asked him to recommend an Australian play which might make a good film. Fitzpatrick put forward 'Hotel Sorrento' and Franklin loved it".

The name of the novel that Meg Moynihan (Caroline Goodall) wrote was "Melancholy".

One of three Australian cinema movies that featured both Ray Barrett and John Hargreaves - two legendary Australian actors. The films are Don's Party (1976), No Worries (1993), and Hotel Sorrento (1995).

Caroline Gillmer was the only cast member from the film who had performed in a stage production of the film's source stage play by Hannie Rayson. However, Gillmer did not play the novelist sister in the movie as she had done on stage, Gillmer instead in the film version portrayed the older sister character.

The film was nominated for ten AFI (Australian Film Institute) awards including Best Film, Best Director for Richard Franklin, Best Original Music Score, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ben Thomas, Best Original Music Score, and two nominations for Best Actress in a Lead Role, one each for Caroline Goodall and Caroline Gillmer. In the end, the picture won in two AFI Award categories, for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ray Barrett, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Richard Franklin and Peter Fitzgerald.

For this Australian picture's American release stateside in the USA, the title of the movie was changed from "Hotel Sorrento" to "Sorrento Beach".

First Australian cinema movie of Australian director Richard Franklin for around fourteen years. Franklin's last Australian theatrical feature film at the time had been Roadgames (1981) almost fifteen years earlier.

Richard Franklin performed a number of roles on this picture. Franklin was the director, a producer, and a co-screenwriter.

First cinema movie not in the suspense-thriller genre directed by director Richard Franklin for almost twenty years. Franklin's last theatrical feature film he had directed which had not been in this genre had been around nineteen years earlier with the Australian adult movie Fantasm (1976) where Franklin had been billed under the pseudonym of Richard Bruce.

Penultimate cinema movie of legendary Australian actor John Hargreaves whose final theatrical feature film would be Paul Cox's Lust and Revenge (1996) the following year.

Screenwriters Richard Franklin and Peter Fitzpatrick were brother-in-laws. Both won AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards for their screenplay.

Debut cinema movie which had a music score composed by conductor, composer, orchestrator, and music producer Nerida Tyson-Chew.

According to Luke Buckmaster in an article published by Film Australia (1999), "one of the film's many fleeting reflections is an exploration of the word "melancholy" - a word that perfectly suits Hotel Sorrento's tone and pace." "Melancholy" is the name of the novel which one of the three sisters writes and scores a ruckus in their home town of Sorrento because of its real-life origins.

The "Hotel Sorrento" name and title of the film and source stage play is not actually a hotel but a nick-name for the homely residence of the Moynihan sisters.

Sam Newman: The Australian Rules Football legend from the Geelong Football Club and star of the long running Austrlian television program The Footy Show (1994) as a football commentator.


User reviews

Mikale

Mikale

Unlike jjp, I think of this as one of those rare movies that is spectacular without trying to be spectacular. So many Hollywood movies try to slam emotions down our throats, leaving one cold--not this. The entire cast is solid, if not brilliant, especially Joan Plowright.

The storyline may not be the most original around, but it is well thought-out, directed and executed. On the surface it's another "family coming together" flick where one laughs a bit and cries a bit. But it's better done than that. The characters (and dialogue) are real, not filled with contrived eccentricities. They're also enjoyable and enchanting. The setting, a quiet (almost dull) seaside town, works wonderfully (& it's not NYC, LA or Chicago for once.) Without car chases and gun shots, it comes together beautifully.

The 90s seem to have been a real coming of age for the Australian film industry. This film, along with "The Sum of Us", "Muriel's Wedding" and a host of others seem to prove that all Hollywood writers, directors and producers need a working-holiday in Australia.
Soustil

Soustil

I picked "Hotel Sorrento" from a video shop because I saw the name "Tara Morice". I like her performance as Fran in Strictly Ballroom. Later, I bought this wonderful film. And I wonder if there is the real Sorrento in Australia. I want to go there because the film shows me how beautiful the place is.

Hotel Sorrento is the story of three sisters who grew up together in a small town. However, they went on their ways and have their own success. One is a writer in London, the other lives in New York as a business woman, while the third stays at their family home. One day, the family reunion is held. That causes the change of their lives which will never be the same again.
Brakora

Brakora

I bought this film solely because it stars Tara Morice, a fine and underutilized actress. Adapted from a stage production, it has that "play" feel -- leisurely and lovely. This complicated relationship of three sisters is not to be missed.
anneli

anneli

Hotel Sorrento is a very powerful film about three sisters, about life's choices and about Australian culture. But it does take some effort and patience on behalf of the viewer - the first hour is rather slow at it builds the characters and the framework of the story. If you can make it that far it will grip you and not let go. Being Australian myself may well make me biased, I freely admit to that, in so far as the cultural aspect goes. However, I still feel this film has some powerful messages for anybody prepared to give it a go. The acting is fabulous from start to finish with lots of quirky Australian colloquialisms and culminating in the heated debate around the lunch table. In short, an absolute gem!
Leyl

Leyl

Here was a film I really liked. The IMDb user rating here is criminal. It's a surprise this movie is actually directed by Richard Franklin. I'm not gonna go into the performances, cause they're all great. This is one of the things that makes it work, where the characters bounce off each other, sometimes in sudden conflict, the characters here, objective and not hiding behind their feelings. Writer (Goodall from Disclosure) is one of three sisters, the famous one, who's returned from London to her seaside home of Sorrento. She's a novelist who's written a book, non fiction, as I can recall, about the place she grew up in, Sorrento Beach. The very realistic movie, is like one of these drama's, from which I never got bored, where as I said earlier, it's the interaction by the characters. There's comedy, domestics, and sadly tragedy for one of the family. The sisters resent famous Sis novelist too who suddenly pops back into their life with her kind of stuck up, English hubby (Bell, who I really liked), a critique sort, after a long absence. As though never going to Sorrento, the scenic atmosphere was beautiful, where you really felt part of it. HS is solid dramatic viewing, and is worth much more than a 6.6. believe me.
Cerana

Cerana

This film reminded me of 'The Shell-Seekers' and 'Secrets and Lies' and ranks with them both in quality of performances and depth of themes. Those seeking a great plot or action movie will be disappointed, but those interested in a variety of characters in a sweet setting with more than enough to say for themselves - albeit in the Laconic fashion of the Australian idiom - should not be disappointed.

There is intelligent, if indirect, humour in the writing - poking fun at the bored colonial escapee daughters who end up finding themselves to be the cause of everyone's ennui back home. The grandfather's mundane home truths about why they left ('running away from something') are borne out by the eventually revealed family secret. Similarly, the authoress character's assessment of the dominance of the Capitalist ethos over Australian culture is borne out in the cringe-making scene at the closing credits - a slap in the face for the idealistic Press owner friend to Joan Plowright's character who has championed the idea of the great 'coming of age' of Australian culture.

The locations are truly charming with many shots worth framing and the very down-to-earth lifestyle of the inhabitants of the 'Hotel Sorrento' provides a sobering note for anyone taking too great a flight of fancy over it all.
Agrainel

Agrainel

Ok, sorry to offend any women, but Sorrento Beach is a "chick flick." Still, it is not your garden variety "chick-flick." Sorrento Beach is a long build up that goes nowhere. The previews slated the film as a "secret" that comes out after years of being hidden away by family members. Knowing this, the story builds and builds and builds and finally goes nowhere! In fact, Sorrento Beach is more of a built down than a built up. Once you find out what the secret is, it is a major let down since not even the mystery revealed makes you want to find out how the film ends. Just like in the movie, most people look at a painting for the broad stokes and not these little conversations built on more tiny conversations. Sorrento Beach is just like that, an hour of little stories that questions the audience what is happening. Then, once we enter something of a conflict between the characters, we are lost since the climax of the film never arrives and we are left with a 90 minute resolution. Right when the movie begins, it is already over. All Sorrento Beach leaves its audience are 3 unhappy middle aged women trying to rebuild a family that was always broken.
great ant

great ant

Hotel Sorrento is the story of three sisters reunited in their family house in a nice resort town on the coast of Australia. One of them, who now lives in England has written a successful novel (or thinly disguised autobiography). This is a very familiar story line, the family or friend reunion where dirty laundry gets sorted out. The novelty is that the movie also serves as a forum to discuss the state of Australian culture.

This kind of movie is supposed to make you cry, to make you laugh and to make you think and, in order to do so, needs a few basic ingredients that Hotel Sorrento is sorely missing: some sense of humor and above all, good acting and subtle direction. The acting is mediocre at best, direction about as light as the Titanic and humor totally absent.
Wizer

Wizer

I found it a real task to sit through this film. The sound track was not the best and some of the accents made it difficult to understand what was being said. There was little to move the plot along and often the action simply stopped and there was a prolonged period of conversations which seemed extraneous to the movie. These conversations switched between family groups and the observer was left to try and piece together what the common thread was that tied them together. It is rare that I rate a film this low and do so in this case as the entire viewing experience left me thinking "so what" and "why did I waste my time watching this."