Cinema Verite (2011 film) explained

Screenplay:	David Seltzer
Director:	Shari Springer Berman Robert Pulcini
Starring:	Diane Lane Tim Robbins James Gandolfini Kathleen Quinlan Thomas Dekker
Theme Music Composer:	Rolfe Kent
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Producer:	Gavin Polone Zanne Devine
Editor:	Sarah Flack Robert Pulcini
Cinematography:	Affonso Beato
Runtime:	90 min
Company:	HBO Films

Cinema Verite is a 2011 HBO drama film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. The film's main ensemble cast starred Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini and Patrick Fugit. The film follows a fictionalized account of the production of An American Family, a 1973 PBS documentary television series that is said to be one of the earliest examples of the reality television genre. Principal photography was completed in Southern California.^[1] The film premiered on April 23, 2011.^[2]

Plot synopsis

The film begins in 1971 with Craig Gilbert (James Gandolfini) discussing with Pat Loud (Diane Lane) the idea of a documentary series that would concern her family's day-to-day lives in Santa Barbara, CA. Pat considers the proposal and accepts, amidst her son Lance (Thomas Dekker) moving to New York City. Pat's husband Bill (Tim Robbins) travels often away on business, leaving his wife alone to care for their five children.

The crew (Patrick Fugit, Shanna Collins) moves in with the Louds and begins to document them. Relations between Pat and Bill grow frayed due to his time away and the stress of the TV show's production. Gilbert tells Pat of his suspicions surrounding Bill's trips away, giving fairly strong evidence that he is cheating on her. The crew fights with Gilbert about his documentary technique, as he makes them film many personal moments.

After surreptitiously duplicating the keys to Bill's office, Pat makes a late night trip to the office and discovers documents that confirm he is cheating on Pat with two other women, resulting in Pat's preparations to file for a divorce. Angry, she tells Gilbert to have cameras there when she tells Bill, wanting "his bimbos to see it, the whole world to see it." Against her wishes, he films Pat's conversation with her brother and his wife.

Pat begins to regret her decision to let Gilbert film the break up, and tries to get one of her sons to tell him while driving Bill home instead. He, however, does not work up the courage to do this, and Pat kicks Bill out of her home on camera.

The film cuts to one year later, when An American Family is experiencing its premiere. The show airs to strong television ratings but much criticism of members of the family, in particular Pat for how she came off on camera and Lance for his homosexuality. The family then gets together to "fight back", addressing their critics by appearing on many talk shows.

Title cards at film's end offer updates for each Loud family member. Lance died of AIDS-related hepatitis in 2001; his last wish for his parents was to cohabitate. They currently live together in Los Angeles.

Cast

• Diane Lane as Pat Loud
• Tim Robbins as Bill Loud
• James Gandolfini as Craig Gilbert
• Kathleen Quinlan as Mary
• Thomas Dekker as Lance Loud
• Patrick Fugit as Alan Raymond
• Shanna Collins as Susan Raymond
• Willam Belli as Candy Darling
• Lolita Davidovich as Valerie
• Kyle Riabko as Jackie Curtis
• Kaitlyn Dever as Michelle Loud
• Nick Eversman as Grant Loud
• Johnny Simmons as Kevin Loud
• Caitlin Custer as Delilah Loud
• Jake Richardson as Tommy Goodwin

Production

Principal photography was completed primarily in Los Angeles, California.^[3]

The film is presented in chapters, with chapter titles such as The Chelsea and The Battle for the Camera Begins. When the chapter titles are shown, short clips from the original 1973 documentary are shown alongside in split screen format.

Critical reception

Cinema Verite met with a positive reception from television critics. On review aggregator Metacritic the film received a "generally positive" score of 74 out of 100, based on 23 reviews.^[4]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Movie/Mini Series	Randi Hiller		^[5]
	Online Film & Television Association Awards	Best Motion Picture or Miniseries			^[6]
		Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Diane Lane
		Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Thomas Dekker
		Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
		Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries
		Best Cinematography in a Non-Series
		Best Editing in a Non-Series
		Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Non-Series
		Best Music in a Non-Series
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Miniseries or Movie	Gavin Polone, Zanne Devine, and Karyn McCarthy		^[7]
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Diane Lane
		Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Randi Hiller
		Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Suttirat Anne Larlarb and Joseph T. Mastrolia
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie	Terry Baliel, Carol Pershing, and Beth Miller
		Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic)	Mindy Hall, Kimberly Felix, and Julie Hewett
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie	Sarah Flack and Robert Pulcini
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie	Petur Hliddal, Lora Hirschberg, Scott R. Lewis, and Douglas Murray
	Satellite Awards	Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television			^[8]
		Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television	Diane Lane
	Television Critics Association Awards				^[9]
	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress Made for Television Movie	Diane Lane
	American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television	Sarah Flack and Robert Pulcini		^[10]
	Art Directors Guild Awards	Excellence in Production Design Award – Television Movie or Mini-Series	Patti Podesta, Dawn Masi, Christopher Tandon, Philip Toolin, Martin Charles, Eric Rosenberg, Meg Everist, and James V. Kent		^[11]
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Mini-Series	Petur Hliddal, Lora Hirschberg, Scott R. Lewis, Douglas Murray, and Greg Townley		^[12]
	GLAAD Media Awards	Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series			^[13]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Miniseries or Television Film			^[14]
		Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Diane Lane
		Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Tim Robbins
	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing – Long Form Dialogue and ADR in Television	Douglas Murray, Susan Dudeck, and Kim Foscato		^[15]
		Best Sound Editing - Long Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television	Douglas Murray, Steve Bissinger, Kim Foscato, Larry Oatfield, Robert Shoup, Goro Koyama, and Andy Malcolm
	Guild of Music Supervisors Awards	Best Music Supervision for Television Long Form and Movie
	Humanitas Prize	90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television	David Seltzer		^[16]
	Producers Guild of America Awards	David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television	Zanne Devine and Karyn McCarthy		^[17]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Diane Lane		^[18]
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Long Form – Original	David Seltzer		^[19]

Further reading

• News: Television reviews: 'Cinema Verite' and 'An American Family'. Robert. Lloyd. Los Angeles Times. April 22, 2011. April 24, 2011.
• News: Looking at the Louds: A video supplement to 'Cinema Verite' and 'An American Family'. Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2011. April 24, 2011.
• News: Reality-TV Originals, in Drama's Lens. Dennis. Lim. The New York Times. April 15, 2011.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Diane Lane, Tim Robbins and James Gandolfini Star in HBO Films' 'Cinema Verite,' A Dramatic Look at the Making of the Groundbreaking Documentary 'An American Family' Debuting in April . The Futon Critic. January 12, 2011.
2. Web site: Kate Stanhope . HBO Announces Premiere Date For Cinema Verite . Tvguide.com . 2011-03-17 . 2014-06-29.
3. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1623742/locations Filming locations
4. Web site: Cinema Verite - Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic. April 26, 2011.
5. Web site: 2011 Artios Awards . September 26, 2011 . www.castingsociety.com . en.
6. Web site: 15th Annual TV Awards (2010-11) . Online Film & Television Association . May 15, 2021.
7. Web site: Cinema Verite . Emmys.com . . July 13, 2017.
8. Web site: 2011 Satellite Awards . . . July 10, 2021.
9. Web site: The Television Critics Association Announces 2011 TCA Awards Nominees . June 13, 2011 . . June 15, 2013 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213154537/http://tvcritics.org/2011/06/13/the-television-critics-association-announces-2011-tca-awards-nominees/ . February 13, 2014 .
10. Web site: 62nd Ace Eddie Awards: 'The Descendants', 'The Artist', 'Rango'; TV 'Breaking Bad', 'Homeland', 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' . . February 18, 2012 . January 7, 2015 . Finke, Nikki.
11. Web site: Nominees/Winners . . July 29, 2018.
12. Web site: 'Hanna,' 'Hugo' and 'Moneyball' Nominated for Cinema Audio Society Awards . 19 January 2012 . . May 9, 2019.
13. Web site: 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Award Nominees. GLAAD.
14. Web site: Cinema Verite – Golden Globes . . July 5, 2021 . .
15. 'Super 8' Leads Sound Editors Feature Field With Three Nominations . . June 20, 2019.
16. Web site: Past Winners & Nominees . . June 11, 2022.
17. News: Kilday. Gregg. Producers Guild Awards Name 'The Artist' Motion Picture of Year; 'Boardwalk Empire' Scores TV Drama (Winners List). February 9, 2018. The Hollywood Reporter. January 21, 2012.
18. Web site: The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards . . May 21, 2016.
19. Web site: Previous Nominees & Winners: 2012 Awards Winners. Writers Guild Awards. 2014-05-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20150512181500/http://www.wga.org/wga-awards/previous-nominees-winners.aspx. 2015-05-12. dead.