Monica movie storyline. Severely ill and probably dying, Eugenia can be abrupt and abrasive. But she finds comfort in the touches of her young grandchildren and the newly arrived Monica, whose precise identity she is never told but seems eventually to intuit. Monica resents how she was once treated but can’t help but feel tender toward her now-diminished mother. The long-absent daughter is also soothed by the welcome offered by her niece and nephews and their mother, Laura (Emily Browning), the sister-in-law she’d never previously met.
It’s Laura who tracks down Monica and encourages her to travel from California to her hometown in Ohio. There, the exiled daughter tentatively reconciles with her brother, Paul (Joshua Close), and bonds with his and Laura’s kids. Introduced to Eugenia only as someone who’s there to help, Monica starts to assist her mother’s nurse, Letty (Adriana Barraza).
Monica is a 2022 drama film directed by Andrea Pallaoro, from a screenplay by Pallaoro and Orlando Tirado. It stars Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Browning, and Adriana Barraza. The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2022, where Lysette received an 11-minute standing ovation for her performance. In December 2022, IFC Films acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released in the United States on May 12, 2023.
Monica (2023)
Directed by: Andrea Pallaoro
Starring: Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Browning, Adriana Barraza, Joshua Close, Brittany Picard, Caleb Picard, Ali Amine, Mark Angel, Angelique Archer, Ruby James Fraser, Anna Sheridan
Screenplay by: Andrea Pallaoro, Orlando Tirado
Production Design by: Andrew Clark
Cinematography by: Katelin Arizmendi
Film Editing by: Paola Freddi
Costume Design by: Patrik Milani
Set Decoration by: Daniel Adan Baker
Art Direction by: Linnea Crabtree, Rachel Z. Meyer
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity and language.
Distributed by: IFC Films
Release Date: September 3, 2022 (Venice), May 12, 2023 (United States)
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