Stella Hopkins directs her husband – but struggles to get the best out of her cast – in this uneven psychological drama
This peculiar, freakishly uneven but far from meritless psychological drama stars Lisa Pepper as the title character, a soigné but very intense woman in early middle age who seems both on the verge of nervous breakdown and under the influence of some kind of emotional malady. Elyse is married to Stephen Bridges (Aaron Tucker), a successful lawyer, and they have a young son (Griffin Thomas Hollander); the boy is largely looked after by the family’s housekeeper Julia (Julieta Ortiz) while Elyse drifts about through her day, browsing at bookshops, stroking donuts she doesn’t eat, all the while carrying a camera she barely uses even though she’s meant to be a photographer of some sort.
But the placid surface of this Los Angeleno style-magazine existence is suddenly broken...
This peculiar, freakishly uneven but far from meritless psychological drama stars Lisa Pepper as the title character, a soigné but very intense woman in early middle age who seems both on the verge of nervous breakdown and under the influence of some kind of emotional malady. Elyse is married to Stephen Bridges (Aaron Tucker), a successful lawyer, and they have a young son (Griffin Thomas Hollander); the boy is largely looked after by the family’s housekeeper Julia (Julieta Ortiz) while Elyse drifts about through her day, browsing at bookshops, stroking donuts she doesn’t eat, all the while carrying a camera she barely uses even though she’s meant to be a photographer of some sort.
But the placid surface of this Los Angeleno style-magazine existence is suddenly broken...
- 5/25/2021
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
"The wayward heart is just a wild animal... beast that needs to be tamed." Gravitas Ventures has released an official trailer for the indie psychological thriller / drama of sorts called Elyse, the first feature made by Anthony Hopkins' Colombian wife named Stella Hopkins. She also co-wrote the screenplay. Memory and hallucination intertwine to expose a history of trauma, revealing Elyse is Catatonic and institutionalized in a State Hospital. Her recovery is reliant on the dissolution of her marriage, the restoration of the relationship with her mother, and the mutual absolution with the nanny's daughter, Carmen. It's the care from Dr. Lewis and the unconditional love from her nurse, David, that promise Elyse a new life. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Lisa Pepper as Elyse, as well as Aaron Tucker, Tara Arroyave, Fran Tucker, Anthony Apel, Julieta Oritiz, and Danny Jacobs. I'm not sure why they need to blatantly reveal in the synopsis that she's catatonic,...
- 10/29/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Gravitas Ventures has secured the North American rights to distribute Elyse, the directorial debut drama from Stella Hopkins starring her husband, Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins. Lisa Pepper, Aaron Tucker, Tara Arroyave, Fran Tucker, Anthony Apel, Julieta Oritiz, and Danny Jacobs also star in the film, which will get a theatrical and on-demand release on December 4.
Written by Stella, the drama follows the titular character (Pepper) who, in a psychotic blackout, commits vehicular manslaughter of her son and his nanny. Memory and hallucination intertwine to expose a history of trauma, revealing the truth: Elyse is Catatonic and institutionalized in a State Hospital. Her recovery is reliant on the dissolution of her marriage, the restoration of the relationship with her mother, and the mutual absolution with the nanny’s daughter, Carmen. It’s the care from Dr. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) and the unconditional love from her nurse, David, that promise Elyse a new life.
Written by Stella, the drama follows the titular character (Pepper) who, in a psychotic blackout, commits vehicular manslaughter of her son and his nanny. Memory and hallucination intertwine to expose a history of trauma, revealing the truth: Elyse is Catatonic and institutionalized in a State Hospital. Her recovery is reliant on the dissolution of her marriage, the restoration of the relationship with her mother, and the mutual absolution with the nanny’s daughter, Carmen. It’s the care from Dr. Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) and the unconditional love from her nurse, David, that promise Elyse a new life.
- 10/14/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
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