Plot
When Rose, a female assassin, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she decides to carry out one final killing, assisted by lover and also stepson, Mikey.
Release Year: 2005
Rating: 5.6/10 (4,400 voted)
Critic's Score: 33/100
Director:
Lee Daniels
Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Helen Mirren, Vanessa Ferlito
Storyline Mikey and Rose are professional assassins. They are also lovers, and once upon a time Rose also knew Mikey's father. During an elaborate hit job for a malicious gangster, Rose fails to kill the main target, the gangster's pregnant girlfriend. Instead, she delivers her baby and convinces Mikey to help her protect them both. As Rose weakens from cancer, Mikey becomes breadwinner for this unusual family. But tranquility will not last.
Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr.
-
Mikey
Helen Mirren
-
Rose
Vanessa Ferlito
-
Vicki
Macy Gray
-
Neisha
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
-
Dr. Don
Mo'Nique
-
Precious
Stephen Dorff
-
Clayton Mayfield
Matt Higgins
-
Eddie
Tom Pasch
-
Andrew
Ryan Eric Speise
-
Anthony - Age 3
Cullen Flynn Clancy
-
Anthony - age 7
(as Cullen Clancy)
Marilyn Yoblick
-
Real Estate Agent
Darnell Williams
-
Mikey's Father
Marvina Vinique
-
Mikey's Mother
(as Marvina Vinque)
John Panzarella
-
Man in Hotel
(as Johnny Panzarella)
Filming Locations: Collegeville, Pennsylvania, USA
Opening Weekend: $103,238
(USA)
(23 July 2006)
(22 Screens)
Gross: $370,627
(USA)
(20 August 2006)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character has 37 lines in the entire film.
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes:
When Dr. Don examines the bodyguard, the bullet hole is straight down through his foot. However, that would be impossible from the distance Clayton shot him.
Quotes: Rose:
[to Vicki]
Feeling protected is very seductive.
User Review
Breaking All the Rules
Rating: 10/10
Breaking conventional rules, Shadowboxer is dark, sexy, and very
violent. On many levels the movie is uncomfortable to watch. All of the
characters are flawed and the brazen sexuality and raw emotional
performances, by a superb cast, is hard to watch at times. This is no
popcorn movie but a thesis on age, sex, family, and violence. The
direction was a little heavy handed, and in some scenes, it
overshadowed the actors. Expect to see more in the future from Mo'nique
in her break out role; and Macy Gray, as usual, was entertaining to
watch. Cuba Gooding Jr, looking not much older than he was in the "Show
me the money" days in his Oscar winning performance in Jerry Maguire,
is superb. In fact, I think that his is an important role in the
history of film. A black man as an object of sexual desire by an older
white woman certainly breaks the norms. Their intimate relationship
will test your own beliefs on age and race. But by the time you figure
out where you stand, another scene will give you reason to pause and
think. And I guess that's what I like most about the film--being forced
to confront issues I rarely think about and being entertained at the
same time.
0