''An American Affair'', also known as ''Boy of Pigs'', is a 2008 American
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
William Olsson
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and starring
Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ...
,
James Rebhorn
James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...
,
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Carter (ER), John Carter in the television series ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1994–2009), which earned him nominations for three Golden Glo ...
,
Perrey Reeves
Perrey Reeves (born ) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her recurring role as Melissa Gold on the television series ''Entourage'' from 2004 to 2011 and Frank the Tank's wife in the 2003 comedy '' Old School''.
E ...
,
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino (born April 9, 1965) is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work as Lucifer in ''Supernatural'', Paul Bennett in '' Dexter'', Jacob in ''Lost'', James Bishop in '' Being Human'', Clayton Haas ...
, and
Cameron Bright
Cameron Bright (born Cameron Douglas Crigger; January 26, 1993) is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in the films ''The Butterfly Effect'', '' Godsend'', ''Birth'', '' Running Scared'', ''Ultraviolet'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Thank You for ...
. It was released theatrically by Screen Media Films on February 27, 2009.
The film was produced in 2008, written by
Alex Metcalf, and produced by
Kevin Leydon. Its soundtrack was created by
Dustin O'Halloran
Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen.
Early l ...
. It premiered at the
2008 Zurich Film Festival under the title ''Boy of Pigs''.
Plot
In 1963, in the swirl of glamour and intrigue that turned
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
's
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
into Camelot, a young teenager, Adam Stafford (
Cameron Bright
Cameron Bright (born Cameron Douglas Crigger; January 26, 1993) is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in the films ''The Butterfly Effect'', '' Godsend'', ''Birth'', '' Running Scared'', ''Ultraviolet'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Thank You for ...
) has an inside view of JFK’s torrid affair with Adam's neighbor Catherine (
Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ...
) and secret
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
assassination plans. The assassination plan was influenced by a Cuban national in which America was having a revolutionary threat from Fidel Castro. Catherine kept a diary which entries were about the secrets of the President. This diary was secretly stolen from Catherine by Adam Stafford when she fell asleep. The contents of this diary were the cause of her murder by the CIA, presumably.
Adam is a thirteen year old boy attending Catholic school. Catherine moves across the street and she hires Adam to do some gardening. Adam falls in love with his unattainable thirty something blonde beauty. His parents warn him that she has a reputation. In fact she is an artist and has been having an affair with President JFK. She is divorced from a man who works for the CIA. CIA operative Lucian keeps tabs on Catherine. Adam finds and keeps Catherine's diary. JFK is assassinated. Lucian comes to the Stafford home, searches and finds the diary, and burns the book telling Adam that sometimes people get confused with what is really true. Adam finds Catherine at the bottom of stairs dead.
The Catherine Caswell character and the events not involving the wholly fictional Adam Stafford are based on true life
Mary Pinchot Meyer
Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer (; October 14, 1920 – October 12, 1964) was an American painter who lived in Washington D.C. She was married to Central Intelligence Agency official Cord Meyer from 1945–1958, and became involved romantically with P ...
. The character CIA Agent Lucian Carver is heavily based on longtime CIA counterintelligence chief
James Angleton
James Jesus Angleton (December 9, 1917 – May 11, 1987) was chief of counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1954 to 1974. His official position within the organization was Associate Deputy Director of Operations for ...
, who was a well-known associate of both Mary Pinchot Meyer and her former husband
Cord Meyer
Cord Meyer Jr. (; November 10, 1920 – March 13, 2001) was a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official. After serving in World War II as a Marine officer in the Pacific War, where he was both injured and decorated, he led the United World Fe ...
who was also a CIA official.
Cast
*
Gretchen Mol
Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series '' Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ...
as Catherine Caswell - Artist, divorcee, paramour of JFK, and neighbor (Based on
Mary Pinchot Meyer
Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer (; October 14, 1920 – October 12, 1964) was an American painter who lived in Washington D.C. She was married to Central Intelligence Agency official Cord Meyer from 1945–1958, and became involved romantically with P ...
)
*
Cameron Bright
Cameron Bright (born Cameron Douglas Crigger; January 26, 1993) is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in the films ''The Butterfly Effect'', '' Godsend'', ''Birth'', '' Running Scared'', ''Ultraviolet'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Thank You for ...
as Adam Stafford - Teen neighbor
*
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Carter (ER), John Carter in the television series ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1994–2009), which earned him nominations for three Golden Glo ...
as Mike Stafford - Adam's father
*
Perrey Reeves
Perrey Reeves (born ) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her recurring role as Melissa Gold on the television series ''Entourage'' from 2004 to 2011 and Frank the Tank's wife in the 2003 comedy '' Old School''.
E ...
as Adrienne Stafford - Adam's mother
*
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino (born April 9, 1965) is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work as Lucifer in ''Supernatural'', Paul Bennett in '' Dexter'', Jacob in ''Lost'', James Bishop in '' Being Human'', Clayton Haas ...
as Graham Caswell - Catherine's former husband (Based on
Cord Meyer
Cord Meyer Jr. (; November 10, 1920 – March 13, 2001) was a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official. After serving in World War II as a Marine officer in the Pacific War, where he was both injured and decorated, he led the United World Fe ...
)
*
James Rebhorn
James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...
as Lucian Carver - CIA agent (Based on
James Angleton
James Jesus Angleton (December 9, 1917 – May 11, 1987) was chief of counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1954 to 1974. His official position within the organization was Associate Deputy Director of Operations for ...
)
* Lisa-Lisbeth Finney as Sister Mary Eunice - Teacher
* Laurel Astri as Faith - Adam's first kiss
Reception
Betsy Sharkey, film critic for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', found the film an affair not to remember. She stated it is a "mess of a film that can't quite figure out what it wants to be: an illicit love story, a political thriller or a coming-of-age set piece". She did like the acting of Gretchen Mol.
See also
*
Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy
Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy, the 35th American president, include films, songs, games, toys, stamps, coins, artwork, and other portrayals.
Film and television Fictionalized
* '' PT 109'' (1963)
* '' The Missiles of October'' (1974; do ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Affair
2008 films
2008 comedy-drama films
American independent films
American coming-of-age films
American political drama films
Films set in the 1960s
Films about John F. Kennedy
Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy
Films scored by Dustin O'Halloran
2000s English-language films
2000s American films