American Primitive
Teenager Madeline Goodhart hoped for an idyllic coastal life when she and her younger sister, Daisy, moved to a beach town to live with her father, a recent widower looking for a fresh start with a home-based furniture business. But as the two girls begin to make new friends in an unfamiliar high school, they discover a secret that threatens to tear their family apart: an intimate relationship between their father and his male business partner. Set in 1973 and shot on Cape Cod, American Primitive examines the meaning of family and love during a time of social and political upheaval, when homosexuality was an emerging yet still taboo social issue in the national consciousness. This story of a struggle for normality in a generation steeped in change is viewed from Madeline’s perspective and is colored by the personal experiences of director Gwen Wynne, who grew up on Cape Cod. With powerful performances that are alternately comic and moving, American Primitive underscores the complex emotions surrounding an issue that was once shrouded in silence and shame. Director Gwen Wynne and producers Suzan Crowley and James Egan expected to attend both screenings
Sponsor:
KNHC
Cast & Crew
Director: Gwen Wynne
Producer: James Egan, Adam Rosen, Mary Beth Fielder, Suzan Crowley
Editor: Joanne D'Antonio
Screenwriter: Gwen Wynne, Mary Beth Fielder
Cinematographer: Christopher Chomyn
Music: Alice Nicholas Wood
Principal Cast: Tate Donovan, Danielle Savre, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Adam Pascal, Anne Ramsey, Josh Peck
Filmography: Debut Feature Film
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(5 reviews)
user reviews
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American Primitive, Jun 05, 2009
By Daphne Nixon
“I saw this movie and it was great. It really brought me back to the seventies. I believe it is important to take away from this movie, that all of this, is really no one's business. We are lucky that the director shared this personal story with us based on a real experience...because it is”
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A great family story, Jun 13, 2009
By Zheng Wang
“During the post-film Q&A, we learned that this movie was almost entiredly based on the director's own family story. That level of authenticity adds to the gravity of the story, which is about two teenage sisters in the 1970s dealing with their father's homosexuality. The story is told from the”
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All the subtlety of an after school special. , Jun 13, 2009
By Dan Rosson
“Seriously I would have given this one star if it had not been for my liginh Tata Donovan, Adam Pascal and Josh Peck. This is a story that deserves a good telling, but unfortunately this schmaltzy Hallmark telling of it does not work at all. ”
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Meh...saccharine sweet with all the bitter aftertaste, Jun 13, 2009
By J Daniel Scott
“Too predictable even if it was based on the director's life. Like another reviewer said, it plays like a cheesy after school special, Maddy Has Two Daddies or something like that. The guy that played the father's lover had these distractingly fake sideburns and could someone please tell Stacy Dash”
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A period piece from a new perspective, Jun 18, 2009
By Evan Stults
“Very impressive first feature! Presents a current hot-button issue in a fresh way by using 70s period detail effectively to remind us how much has changed, and also by framing the story from the point of view of the teenage daughter. The director captured excellent performances from the young”
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