Gossip (2000/I)

Director:

Davis Guggenheim

Writers (WGA):

Gregory Poirier (story)
Gregory Poirier (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Everyone does it, no one talks about it

Plot:

Three college students chose a class project on Gossip and how fast it spreads, which spirals out of control.

Plot Keywords:

Liar | Teen Movie | College Life | Deception | Gossip

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

James Marsden	...	Derrick Webb
Lena Headey	...	Cathy Jones
Norman Reedus	...	Travis
Kate Hudson	...	Naomi Preston
Eric Bogosian	...	Professor Goodwin
Edward James Olmos	...	Detective Curtis
Joshua Jackson	...	Beau Edson
Sharon Lawrence	...	Detective Kelly
Marisa Coughlan	...	Sheila
Kwok-Wing Leung	...	Chinese Man
Mif	...	Doorman
Poe	...	Female Singer
Vicky Lambert	...	Club Dancer
Kenya Massey	...	Club Dancer
Noam Jenkins	...	Bartender

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content including language, and for brief violence.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

NPV Entertainment

Trivia:

James Marsden, performs one of the songs in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jones comes rushing in to tell Derrick that Travis has a gun, she is completely dry, yet she was just out in the rain.

Quotes:

Derrick: What are they gonna say?
Travis: It's just words.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Heist (2001/I)

Soundtrack:

Head

Slick, well-balanced, dramatically filmed, tense

I viewed Gossip in a classroom setting with 26 college freshmen as a unit in a class devoted to transition to college. I was pleasantly surprised at the discussion engendered by viewing the film in a classroom setting. The students responded enthusiastically and thoughtfully to the many ethical issues presented. I recommend the film for this purpose.

The first 80 minutes or so of this 90 minute suspense thriller reminded me of some of the earlier films of Brian DePalma. It is nicely shot at an urban university (NYU?), and the colors and angles add to the introduction of the main plot device - an "innocent" rumor started as a group project for a communications arts class. Notice how many right angles and sharp points are present in the party and residential settings. The students felt this contributed to the intended feeling of edginess engendered by the first 20 minutes.

The first 80 minutes are well-conceived and intricately-plotted. The plot reveals itself at an excruciatingly pleasurable pace, and a nice twist is that the character of Derek appears to know no more than we, the audience, do.

The ending is abrupt and somewhat derivative, but, in post-viewing discussion, we were able to identify a number of clues to the ending which the director has sprinkled throughout.

A dark, cine noir feeling to the production results in a film a bit out of step with the 21st century, but one that should be satisfying to fans of the genre.