I Love You Phillip Morris

The first film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, adapted from Steve McVicker’s 2003 non-fiction book. The pair wrote it too, taking an adapted screenplay nomination at the 63rd Writers Guild of America Awards. It screened at Sundance in January 2009 and went to Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes that year. American distribution then stalled for roughly 2 years: a buyer proved hard to find, reportedly because of the explicit gay content, the film was re-edited, dates slipped more than once. Once Roadside Attractions and LD Entertainment took the rights it opened on 3 December 2010. Budget 13 million dollars, worldwide gross 20.7 million. Some scenes were shot at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, and the real Phillip Morris appears as a lawyer late on. In Italy the distributor’s campaign drew criticism: posters and trailers pushed the two men’s relationship into the background, Ewan McGregor was dropped from the trailer billing, and the distributor later said it had bought a softer copy with most gay sex scenes removed. The film won the limited release category at the 22nd GLAAD Media Awards. A good fit if you want Jim Carrey using his broad comic equipment inside a heavy love story. Not for anyone wanting a narrator they can take at face value; lying here is both method and problem.