Project Detail

LA Without a Map

Synopsis

Richard, at 22 has his life turned upside down during a burial in Bradford cemetery, when he meets Barbara, a beautiful young actress from Los Angeles. Leaving behind his inherited undertaker's business and well-meaning girlfriend he is destined to marry, Richard crosses the Atlantic in pursuit of love, adventure and a screenwriting career. As an Englishman abroad, Richard finds himself in situations that, seen from afar, are very funny, but close-up may prove tragic.

LA Without a Map is produced by Julie Baines and Sarah Daniel of UK based Dan Films. A stylish, fast-paced dramatic comedy, the film is directed by award-winning Mika Kaurismaki who also wrote the screenplay with Richard Rayner. The screenplay is adapted from Rayner's autobiographical cult hit novel - "Los Angeles Without a Map".

Details

Year: 1999
Type of project: Features
Running time: 107 mins
Format: 35mm Kodak
Director: Mika Kaurismaki
Producer: Deepak Nayar
Executive Producer: Deepak Nayar
Director of Photography: Michel Amathieu
Principal cast: David Tennant, Vinessa Shaw, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo, James Le Gros, Cameron Bancroft
Screen Writers: Richard Rayner, Mika Kaurismaki

Genre

Literary Adaption Drama

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Dan Films 32 Maple Street London W1P 5GD Tel: 020 7916 4771 Fax: 020 7916 4773

Sales Company

The Works 4 Great Portland Street London W1W 8QJ tel 020 7612 1080 fax 020 7612 1081

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Kevin and Cassandra are a married couple who have lost their only daughter Hannah in a freak car accident. They both raised her differently. Kevin had been a traditional parent, Cassandra a permissive one. While Hannah had decided to exhibit her body and mind online, she cut adrift from her father and gravitates towards her mother. Her death drove a wedge between them. Their lounge becomes a battlefield where incendiary words and spiteful things are said. Their marriage is one where opposites no longer attract. Kevin is filled with loathing for his in-laws, his daughter’s boyfriend, himself. Cassandra wears her daughter’s favorite colours with pride and exhibits her painting on the walls. Kevin finds he is powerless in his home and Cassandra mocks the fact that it was her father who bought it. And when he finally leaves it, he leaves Cassandra forever.

Black Drama