''Speaking Parts'' is a 1989 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...

. It earned a Best Motion Picture nomination, and five other nominations, at the 1989 Genie Awards. It was also nominated for

Gold Hugo The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the compo ...

in 1989

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, and won Best Canadian Screenplay in

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

Plot

''Speaking Parts'' involves a struggling, bit-part

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Lance ( Michael McManus), whose job as a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

custodian Custodian may refer to: Occupations * Janitor, a person who cleans and maintains buildings * Goalkeeper, in association football * Fullback, in rugby, also called a sweeper * Legal guardian or conservator, who may be called a custodian in some ...

is a

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

for his real job as a

gigolo A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call. The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifest ...

by his female supervisor (Patricia Collins). A female co-worker Lisa ( Arsinée Khanjian) is obsessed with him, but he avoids her. Meanwhile, Lisa's obsession with Lance has led her to rent all video tapes of films in which Lance play as an extra, from Eddy's (

Tony Nardi Tony Nardi (born 1958) is an Italian-Canadian actor, playwright and theatre director based in Toronto, who has performed on stage and in film and television. Fluent in four languages; he has appeared in French, Italian and English-language pro ...

) video store. (He never plays any "speaking parts"). Lance notices a film script in a hotel room and decides to leave his acting resumé in the room, whose occupant turns out to be a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Clara ( Gabrielle Rose) for a forthcoming

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

based on the true story of her deceased brother and herself. Clara recommends Lance to play the

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and the two begin an

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

. She becomes increasingly distraught as it becomes evident that the movie's producer (

David Hemblen David Hemblen (16 September 1941 – 16 November 2020) was an English actor who frequently worked in Canadian film, television and theatre who grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He is known for his role as George in '' La Femme Nikita'', Customs insp ...

) is changing the story which is very personal to Clara. As the film progresses towards the end, the inner worlds of Lance, Lisa and Clara and the tangle of relationships start to unravel

Cast

* Michael McManus ... as Lance * Arsinée Khanjian... as Lisa * Gabrielle Rose ... as Clara *

... as Eddy *

... as Producer * Patricia Collins ... as Housekeeper

External links

* * 1989 films Canadian drama films Canadian independent films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Atom Egoyan Films set in Toronto Films scored by Mychael Danna 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films {{1980s-Canada-film-stub