Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Series, Transfixed: Michael Shannon on Screen
A controversial, claustrophobic love story brimming with paranoia and psychological terror, William Friedkin directs this desperate descent into madness adapted from Tracy Letts' stage play. 20th anniversary screening.
Michael Shannon and Ashley Judd give searing performances in this skin-crawling exercise in fear and paranoia from director William Friedkin. Oklahoma waitress Aggie (Judd) lives a largely solitary life in a rundown motel. She's haunted by a tragic past and hounded by her ex-con ex-husband (Harry Connick, Jr.). When she sparks a romance with an eccentric drifter, Peter Evans (Shannon), she starts to feel hopeful again—until Peter reveals he is a victim of government experimentation. The couple begins to obsess over the nightmarish idea that they are infected by insects. Shannon reprises the role he originated in playwright Tracy Letts' original London production of the same name. [102 min; drama, thriller, horror; English]
"Begins as an ominous rumble of unease, and builds to a shriek. The last 20 minutes are searingly intense: A paranoid personality finds its mate, and they race each other into madness." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Ashley Judd as Agnes White, and ... the remarkable Michael Shannon, as Peter Evans. They're both spellbinding." — Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"It starts off like a horror film, or like a modern-day Tennessee Williams piece and then transmutes into ... something very different indeed." — Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
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