''The Guitar'' is a 2008 American
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 b ...
film directed and co-produced by
Amy Redford. It stars
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' ''Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' ''Gangster No. 1,'' ''Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' ''Reign Over Me'' and '' Th ...
as a woman who decides to pursue her dreams after being diagnosed with a
terminal disease, fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend.
Plot
One morning, "mouse-burger" Melody "Mel" Wilder is diagnosed with
laryngeal cancer, then fired from her thankless job and abandoned by her boyfriend. With nothing left to lose, and given only two months to live, she spends her entire life's savings to rent a palatial loft in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. Thinking she'll never have to pay the landlord, she lives off her credit cards, and fills the loft with high-priced products. She seduces both the parcel-delivery man and a pizza delivery girl and teaches herself to play the electric guitar she's romanticized since childhood. These life affirming experiences transform her irrevocably, as she discovers a passion for life and the will to live.
Reception
, ''The Guitar'' holds a 33% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 18 reviews with an average rating of 4.62/10.
Cast
*
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' ''Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' ''Gangster No. 1,'' ''Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' ''Reign Over Me'' and '' Th ...
as Melody Wilder
*
Isaach De Bankolé as Roscoe Wasz
*
Paz de la Huerta
María de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la Huerta y Bruce (; born September 3, 1984), known professionally as Paz de la Huerta, is an American actress and model. She had roles in the films ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999) and ''A Walk to Re ...
as Constance 'Cookie' Clemente
* Mia Kucan as Young Mel
* Adam Trese as Mr. Laffs
*
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''.
Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
as Dr. Murray
*
Elizabeth Marvel
Elizabeth Marvel (born November 27, 1969) is an American actress. Her most prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on ''The District'', Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on ''House of Cards'', and President Elizabeth Keane on ''Homeland''. Fil ...
as Ma Wilder
*
Bill Camp
Bill Camp (born 1963/1964) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in many films such as ''Lincoln'' (2012), ''Compliance'' (2012), '' 12 Years a Slave'' (2013), '' Love & Mercy'' (2015), ''Loving'' (2016), ''Molly's Game'' (2017), ...
as Pa Wilder
*
William Leroy as Billy
References
External links
*
2008 films
2008 drama films
2008 independent films
American drama films
Films about cancer
American independent films
Films about guitars and guitarists
Films scored by David Mansfield
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
2008 directorial debut films
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