Liane Balaban Movies
With an exotically beautiful appearance attributable to her Canadian mother and Uzbekistani-Jewish father, brunette actress Liane Balaban was born in North York, Ontario, in 1980, and grew up in nearby Willowdale, where her parents worked as a medical secretary and a real estate agent. Balaban never seriously intended to become an actress, but a chance encounter with Canuck producer Julia Sereny (April One) -- who reportedly lived in the same neighborhood as her aunt and uncle and became acquainted with the young woman via holiday dinners -- changed all that. Sereny invited Balaban to audition for the low-budget drama The New Waterford Girl (1999), to be directed by Allan Moyle (Pump up the Volume). She not only landed the lead role of doe-eyed teenager Agnes-Marie "Moonie" Pottie in that film, but received a Special Jury Congratulation at the Toronto Film Festival and snagged a nomination at the annual Canadian Comedy Awards. Those successes set the young woman on the path to stardom, and though she spent her first several years as a thespian in mostly Canadian efforts -- such as the 2001 feature After the Harvest and the 2006 miniseries Above and Beyond -- she eventually began to branch out into Hollywood roles, commencing in 2008 with a turn as the bride-to-be daughter of Dustin Hoffman in the low-key romantic drama Last Chance Harvey (2008) and a small supporting turn in the Ryan Reynolds/Isla Fisher romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
A political consultant in the midst of a bitter divorce attempts to delicately divulge the truth about his past relationships to his curious young daughter, who simply won't stop asking questions until she's satisfied with all the answers. Ten-year-old Maya (Abigail Breslin) is heartbroken to see her parents splitting up, but she's determined to find out precisely how it was that mom and dad came together in the first place. When Maya starts questioning her father Will (Ryan Reynolds) about his life before marriage, dad's memories soon drift back to the time when, as a naïve Wisconsin native and aspiring politician hoping to work on the presidential election, he first arrived in New York City. As Will gradually became savvy to the ways of the big city, he gradually developed romantic relationships with three very different women: Emily (Elizabeth Banks) was the girl-next-door that he could always depend on, apolitical April (Isla Fisher) was the best friend and confidante who was always there to listen, and free-spirited journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz) was both beautiful and ambitious. In order to prevent his perceptive little girl from predicting the outcome before his story is told, Will carefully changes the names of his three romantic interests, creating a hopelessly romantic puzzle that highlights both the joys and hardships of true love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, (more)
- 2008
A certified loser sets out to prove that he's "a real somebody" by procuring the three items that his childhood hero claims every winner has in this morbid comedy from writer/director Simon R. Ennis. Hard as he may try, Robert R. Mutt (Joshua Pearce) can never catch an even break; after failing to take his own life, he's kicked out of Riverside Mental Hospital for being too happy. Desperate to live up to his potential and prove that he's not a loser, Robert seeks out the advice of former local baseball superstar Clinton Manitoba (Michael Madsen). According to Clinton, there are three things a man needs to be whole: a woman, a nice wad of cash, and a championship ring. In no time, Robert has gotten mixed up in the drug racket, hooked-up with a roller-skating transvestite, and entered into an air hockey tournament. It may not be the most conventional path to success, but perhaps if Robert can stay true to his goal he can finally prove that he isn't the biggest nitwit in town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joshua Peace, Michael Madsen, (more)
A disastrous trip to London proves to have a silver lining for a middle-aged American jingle writer in this romantic slice-of-life drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Harvey (Hoffman) is about to lose his unfulfilling dead-end job writing jingles when he boards a plane to attend his daughter's wedding in London. He hasn't turned out a memorable tune in some time, and should Harvey fail to come up with something catchy during his trip overseas, he knows that his boss (Richard Schiff) is ready and willing to let him go. Upon arriving in London, Harvey is devastated to learn that his daughter (Liane Balaban) has opted to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle instead of him. And things are about to get worse, too. Harvey realizes that he won't be able to suppress his sadness through the whole reception, and makes a quick getaway in hopes of catching a plane back home. Perhaps if he can attend an important meeting on Monday morning, his boss will have some sympathy and grant him a momentary reprieve. No such luck, however, because when Harvey misses the flight and calls his boss to explain, he is fired over the phone. Later, at the airport bar, Harvey is drowning his sorrows when he strikes up a conversation with no-nonsense Office of National Statistics employee Kate (Thompson). Kate doesn't have much of a social life; most of her time outside of work is spent suffocating under the love of her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins). She's just gotten through a humiliating string of blind dates, and something about Harvey's situation and demeanor strikes a sympathetic chord in the lonely civil servant. Likewise, Kate's intelligence and compassion prove unexpectedly invigorating to Harvey. Both Harvey and Kate had always assumed that love had passed them by -- could this middle-aged romance be the glimmer of a new beginning? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, (more)
- 2008
Confronted by his own mortality after being diagnosed with virulent form of cancer, a disillusioned twenty-something rails against the many disappointments in his life by impulsively purchasing a motorcycle and heading out west, instead of taking his doctor's advice to begin immediate treatment. Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson) has an unfulfilling job as a high school English teacher and a manuscript that's gathering dust after being rejected by every publisher in town. And while Ben is undeniably comfortable in his relationship with faithful fiancée Samantha (Liane Balaban), he can't help but feeling that there's something in their relationship that he has never truly confronted. Informed by his doctor that he is suffering from a highly malignant form of cancer and has only a 10% chance of survival if he begins treatment immediately, Ben rails against his fate by straddling a vintage motorcycle and embarking on a 4,000 kilometer journey from Toronto to Tofino, B.C., meeting a variety of people who help him understand what it truly means to be alive along the way. Later, while hiking in Banff, Ben becomes dangerously sick and desperately lost before an intense encounter with a woman named Tracey (Emm Gryner) convinces him once and for all that he isn't in love with Samantha. In the emotional aftermath of that encounter, Ben terminates his relationship with Tracey and makes a pledge to live a lifetime with each passing day. It isn't long before Ben's condition begins to deteriorate, however, and by the time he finally arrives at mile zero of the Trans-Canada highway, he's fresh out of road and seriously close to death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, (more)
The World War II set romantic drama Above and Beyond concerns a young man and woman who fall in love, but must consider putting country before self in order to do what is right for the world. Richard E. Grant and Jason Priestley star in this tale of love in the RAF. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard E. Grant, Jason Priestley, (more)
A tough cop makes a startling discovery about his wife and the leader of a band of bisexual sensualists in this erotic thriller. Raymond Pope (Conrad Pla) is a police detective with an appetite for kinky sex and an inability to stay faithful to his wife. As it happens, Pope's wife also has a wandering eye, and when she disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pope finds himself investigating the case and discovers that his spouse had fallen in with Elizabeth Kane (Caroline Neron). Kane is a woman with a taste for other women and an unquenchable sexual desire, but as Pope finds himself drawn to her strange allure, he makes a disturbing discovery -- Kane is actually Erzsebet Bathory, a Hungarian countess of the 16th century who many years ago found the secret of eternal life by bathing in the blood of beautiful women. Eternal is the first feature film from the writing and directing team of Wilhelm Liebenberg and Federico Sanchez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Pla, Caroline Neron, (more)
Comedian Kevin Pollak stars in this crime caper film, the debut feature from Canadian director G.B. Yates. Pollak plays Harlan, a low-rent con man living off the fruits of his small-time scams. When a young student by the name of Fiona (Liane Balaban) enters the picture, Harlan finds his life turned upside down with the prospects of both a big score and true love both up for grabs in a web of deceit and double-crosses. Also starring Jonas Chernick and James Tolkan, Seven Times Lucky screened as part of the World Cinema program at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Pollak, Liane Balaban, (more)
Young and troubled teen Mary (Liane Balaban) is obsessed with horror movies -- aren't we all! -- and refuses to stop watching them even though she has hideously bloody nightmares and sleepwalks into traffic. Her school psychiatrist (Ron Silver) is powerless to keep her from seeing a new hit movie called "The Wisher," in which a pale-faced, razor-fingered, cloaked demon obeys wishes in the most terrible manner. What do you know, once Mary sees the movie, her wishes start coming true, which is bad news for her dad and friends. Mary suspects someone, perhaps that cute boy who has a crush on her (Drew Lachey, singer for boy band 98 Degrees), is committing these awful crimes -- or could it be a supernatural being after all? ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Drawn into a menacing underground world of the New Orleans elite while searching for her missing sister, Muriel (Shalom Harlow), Amelia (Liane Balaban) is aided in her investigation by ex-CIA agent Bill (Clarence Williams III) in this effort from Nadja director Michael Almereyda. Soon discovering mysterious webcam footage on Muriel's laptop computer that will seemingly aid them in finding Amelia's sister, the duo is confronted with shifting identities in a scene where no one is quite who they appear to be on the surface. An obscure and disturbing study in the nature of avatars in the age of technological isolation, Almereyda's haunting drama soon leads Amelia and Bill into a complex web buried deep in the underground of a mysterious and sometimes menacing city. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Geary, Shalom Harlow, (more)
The made-for-cable drama After the Harvest was based on Martha Ostenso's 1927 novel Wild Geese, and was first broadcast in Canada under that title on March 4, 2001. Sam Shepard heads the cast as ill-tempered Canadian farmer Caleb Gare, who tyrannically treats his family like slaves, forcing them to work sunup to sundown and live in dire poverty so he can selfishly fulfill his dream to grab up all the land surrounding his farm. The only person who might have been able to stand up to Caleb was his long-suffering wife Jude (Nadia Litz), who has long since been cowed into quiet desperation lest her children bear the brunt of her husband's cruelty. But the reign of Caleb Gare is soon to end ignominiously -- that is, if Linda Archer (Liane Balaban), the attractive new schoolteacher in town, has anything to say about it. In the U.S., After the Harvest was first seen May 29, 2001, on the Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Nadia Litz, (more)
Following up on his acclaimed debut The Myth of Fingerprints, Bart Freundlich spins this drama that poses the question "what would it be like to run away from your life?" The film centers on a restless thirtysomething New Yorker named Cal (Billy Crudup) who one day drives off into the open road, leaving his wife and infant son behind. A series of flashbacks describe Cal's domestic malaise and disillusionment with his life. On the road, Cal encounters a number of unusual characters who are similarly tethered and drifting. One is named Dulcie (Julianne Moore), an emotionally fragile woman looking for her lost son. Through his interaction with Dulcie, Cal reflects on his own family and soon finds himself heading to his boyhood home where his father lives. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, (more)
- 2000
A girl in desperate need of guidance looks for it in all the wrong places in this streetwise drama from Canada. Jude (Liane Balaban) is a bright but troubled teenager growing up in a dysfunctional home in Montreal. Jude became involved with a drug dealer and, in an ill-advised moment, decided to make off with his bankroll. Now she's looking for refuge on the streets, seeking advice from a motley collection of friends living along the city's margins: the huge but good hearted Big Al; Georgie, a hustler whose ambitions overwhelm his tiny body; Clarence (Raymond Cloutier), a kind man with a disturbing sexual attraction to children; and Gabriel, a fellow teenager battling a serious infection she got from a bad tattoo. Nicholas Campbell appears in a supporting role as Jude's father; Campbell and Liane Balaban also played father and daughter in the earlier film New Waterford Girl. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liane Balaban, Nicholas Campbell, (more)
While imagining the childhood of Andy Warhol, Lou Reed once wrote, "There's only one good thing about a small town: you hate it, and you know you have to leave." A similar notion seems to have occurred to Mooney Pottie (Liane Balaban), a 15-year-old Canadian girl growing up in a village deep in the rugged coal mining area of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Mooney wants to be an artist and feels out of place among the rough-hewn villagers and her unsophisticated family. When her art teacher, Cecil Sweeney (Andrew McCarthy), tells her that he could arrange for her to attend an art institute in Manhattan, her parents refuse to allow her to go. Stranded in a place she hates, Mooney finally discovers a kindred spirit when new girl Lou (Tara Spencer Nairn) moves into the neighborhood. Lou's father was a boxer from Brooklyn, and she's inherited his talent for fisticuffs; Lou has a way with a sucker punch that soon has all the girls in town begging her to knock out their boyfriends when they get out of line. Mooney and Lou soon team up on a plan that will allow them to move on to bigger and better things. Canadian filmmaker Allan Moyle returned home for this comedy set in the mid-1970s, which features a soundtrack of classic Canadian rock, including vintage tracks by April Wine and The Stampeders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liane Balaban, Tara Spencer-Nairn, (more)
