BARNARD
ALUMNA LINDA YELLEN '69 DIRECTS FEATURE FILM,
THE SIMIAN LINE
By
Laura Whitlock, '03
Award-winning
writer/director Linda Yellen got her directorial
start over thirty years ago against the backdrop
of the tumultuous ‘60s while a student
at Barnard. Since that time, she has written
and directed countless plays, TV movies, and
feature films. Her newest effort, The Simian
Line, has been drawing critical acclaim
weeks before its opening, set for Friday, November
16 in New York and Los Angeles.
"Linda Yellen must take a bow for bringing
to any screen -- large or small -- drama that
is riveting and powerful, proving again that
when dedicated, talented artists pool their
resources, first-rate drama can be produced,"
said film critic Rex Reed.
Yellen’s film endeavors began her sophomore
at Barnard when famed composer, Richard Rodgers,
then a Barnard trustee, saw a play she had directed.
In a move fortuitous for Yellen, Rodgers began
funding an undergraduate film company as an
outlet for the creativity of Yellen and other
students. The Columbia riots provided the impetus
and subject matter for the Yellen’s first
movie, the first student feature length dramatic
film-- Come out, Come out.
After graduating magna cum laude from Barnard
with a degree in English, she continued on to
graduate school at Columbia University where
she earned an M.F.A. in Film and a Ph.D. in
Language, Literature and Communication. She
later became a film lecturer at Barnard, Yale
and Columbia University.
As a director or director/writer her films include
Northern Lights, The End of Summer, Parallel
Lives, Chantilly Lace, Prisoner Without a Name,
and Looking Up. As a producer or writer/producer,
Yellen has among her credits the highly lauded
and controversial Playing for Time starring
Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Alexander, Everybody
Wins starring Nick Nolte and Debra Winger,
Mayflower starring Anthony Hopkins, and
Sweet Bird of Youth starring Elizabeth
Taylor.
Yellen's
projects have received numerous awards, including
seven Emmys, two Peabodys, and two Christophers.
Her newest project, The Simian Line,
is set for release in New York and Los Angeles
on Friday, November 16.
“[The
Simian Line is] an endearing, well-written
and directed movie which reaffirms the indestructibility
of love. A superb ensemble cast; Lynn Redgrave
gives one of her great performances! Cindy Crawford
will surprise you, and Tyne Daly was born to
play her role,” said Jeffrey Lyons of WNBC-TV.
The movie is set one Halloween night when Arnita
(Tyne Daly), an eccentric fortuneteller arrives
at a party attended by three couples. Katherine
(Lynn Redgrave), a fiftyish divorcee, and her
younger boyfriend Rick (Harry Connick Jr.) invite
their upstairs tenants Marta (Monica Keena)
and Billy (Dylan Bruno) and new neighbors Sandra
(Cindy Crawford) and Paul (Jamey Sheridan) to
join them for a festive dinner. Unbeknownst
to the six neighbors, there are two additional
guests -- Edward (William Hurt), a ghost who
is Katherine's deceased great -grandfather,
and Mae (Samantha Mathis), a twenties flapper.
The fortuneteller predicts that one of the couples
in the room will split up before the year is
out. Fueled by Arnita's prediction, each of
the couples begins to exaggerate the difficulties
that have existed between them. The result is
a lot of earthly conflict mixed with some “divine”
intervention.
In
New York, The Simian Line will be playing
at UA Union Square and Loews Lincoln Square.
In LA, it can be found at AMC Century City and
AMC Santa Monica.
Reviews
for The Simian Line:
"Tender, funny and inspired, The Simian
Line is that rare kind of film that truly
knows and understands the direct routes, winding
alleys, and complex detours of the human heart...
I found myself awed by the soul and spirit of
the collective all-star talents on view, and
mesmerized by the countless threads of humor
and wisdom they weave together. Writer-director
Linda Yellen has made a movie about the relationships
between eight very different people that miraculously
manages to touch us all in a universal way.
The result is both entertaining and educational
on a very enchanting level indeed."
-- Rex Reed
"Absorbing portrait of four couples struggling
to define their relationships. The Harry Connick-Lynn
Redgrave scenes sparkle with vigor and energy.
Connick and Redgrave give achingly honest performances.
There are beautifully rendered and memorable
moments throughout, like the drunken Katherine's
embarrassment and self-disgust after jealously
chasing Rick out of the house, a scene that
has to stand among Redgrave's best work. And
Arnita and Katherine have a terrifically funny
encounter that is a fine dramatic showpiece
for the two actresses. Redgrave brings a wonderful
looseness to her part, and Tyne Daly seems willing
to try anything. Production values are impressively
high -- its glimmers of greatness are a testament
to the talent involved."
--Lael Loewenstein, Variety
"A charming, complex, and compelling tale
of tangled relationships and well-meaning ghosts.
The movie boasts fine performances from Harry
Connick Jr., Eric Stoltz, William Hurt, Samantha
Mathis, Tyne Daly, Cindy Crawford (I kid you
not, she's good!) and an Oscar caliber turn
by Lynn Redgrave."
--Liz Smith
" A marvelous cast in a perceptive movie
about the perils and rewards of romantic connections.
All of the characters in the ensemble are sharply
delineated and beautifully played!"
--Stephen Farber, Movieline
"The Simian Line is something of
an updated version of Kaufman and Hart's You
Can't Take It With You. With the supernatural
suddenly becoming quite the craze in American
movies, this could be a popular film. Yellen
has assembled a stellar ensemble cast and taken
an unusual approach. The ghosts [William Hurt
and Samantha Mathis] are what make this film
most appealing! Yellen and writer Gisela Bernice
derive quite a bit of fun from the blithe spirits!!"
--Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
"As the beguiling film The Simian Line
explores the intertwined lives of four couples
trying to find the right balance, the movie
itself achieves perfect harmony between touching
the heart and tickling the mind. Literate, lyrical,
and wonderfully acted. The genuine chemistry
between Lynn Redgrave and Harry Connick, Jr.
and the engaging performance by Cindy Crawford
as the frustrated young wife, are among the
many treasures in this magical film."
--David Swartz, American Museum of Moving
Images
"The best-acted film of the festival [out
of 275 films] was Linda Yellen's The Simian
Line."
--Kevin Nance, The Tennessean
"The best movie you've never seen!"
--Michael Starr, New York Post
"This is a wonderful film: warm human and
enormously compelling, engrossing and deeply
touching. It represents a triumph for everyone
involved, but particularly for Linda Yellen."
-- Richard Brown, Movies 101
"Linda Yellen is one of the few Hollywood
females who work consistently -- and brilliantly
-- behind the cameras."
-- Liz Smith
"Linda Yellen has staked a claim to the
independent filmmaking legacy of John Cassavetes.
Michelle Satter (Sundance director of feature
film) said Yellen's work is reminescent of Cassavetes
in process, style and the 'remarkable honesty
of the work.'"
--Variety
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