MovieLine: Sunshine Cleaning
Thursday, September 3 7:00 pm
McManus Room
A single mom (Amy Adams) and her slacker sister (Emily Blunt), find an unexpected way to turn their life around in the offbeat dramatic comedy Sunshine Cleaning. (91 mins)
Thursday, September 3
Monday, August 31Co-sponsored by the Westport Public Library, Westport Youth Commission and Toquet Hall. All evenings begin with a special short clip from the Westport Youth Film Festival.
Monday, August 24Co-sponsored by the Westport Public Library, Westport Youth Commission and Toquet Hall. All evenings begin with a special short clip from the Westport Youth Film Festival.
Thursday, August 20
Thursday, August 13
Tuesday, August 11Based on the book of the same name, The Soloist tells the true story of musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), who dropped out of Julliard after developing schizophrenia and became a homeless musician on the streets of Los Angeles. A disenchanted journalist (Robert Downey Jr.) sees the bedraggled Ayers one day and an unexpected quest begins. (109 mins.)
Monday, August 10Co-sponsored by the Westport Public Library, Westport Youth Commission and Toquet Hall. All evenings begin with a special short clip from the Westport Youth Film Festival.
Thursday, August 6
Monday, August 3Co-sponsored by the Westport Public Library, Westport Youth Commission and Toquet Hall. All evenings begin with a special short clip from the Westport Youth Film Festival.
Thursday, July 30
Thursday, July 23
Monday, July 13 This is the first in the Dog Days of Summer. Check out the other programs on Tuesday, July 21, Thursday, July 23, Tuesday, July 28, Thursday, July 30, and Monday, August 3!
Tuesday, June 23 
Wednesday, June 10
Tuesday, May 19
Monday, April 20 Connecticut filmmaker and writer Lisa Seidenberg will be present to discuss The Road Taken …The Merritt Parkway her half-hour documentary on the tribulations of building the highway during the economic hard times of the 1930s. The film is a personal view of the Merritt, combining contemporary footage shot by Seidenberg during the year she worked on the documentary, as well as archival material dating back to the origins of the parkway. (30 mins.)
DVDs will be available for purchase.
YouTube trailer.
Photo credit N. W. Gibbons
Thursday, April 16
Wednesday, April 8
Wednesday, April 1
Thursday, March 26
Sunday, March 15 Contact Jaina Lewis at 291-4809 or jlewis@westportlibrary.org for more information.
Thursday, February 5 Best In Show is a hilarious “mockumentary” by Christopher Guest, with many of his familiar performers. The plot follows five dog owners who take their assorted pets to a prestigious national dog show being held in Philadelphia. The dogs are funny, but their owners are funnier still. (90 mins)
Thursday, January 29 The Gods Must Be Crazy is the story of a Kalahari Bushman's first encounter with civilization in the form of a coke bottle. What he and his tribe think about the discovery makes for a hilarious film and one you'll be laughing at long after you see it. Winning a number of awards for its young director, it has played all over the world, ran for two years at the same theatre in California, and was probably the most memorable film to come out of South Africa when it was released in 1980. (109 mins.)
Tuesday, January 27 Enjoy this special sing-along version of Mamma Mia. Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved musical featuring the music of ABBA. An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island is arranging the marriage of the spirited daughter she's raised alone and invites her two lifelong best girlfriends from her one-time backing band. But her daughter has secretly invited three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Also starring Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth. (108 mins.)
Thursday, January 22 In The Entertainer, the brilliant Laurence Olivier, plays a seedy vaudevillian, reprising his huge stage success; directed by Tony Richardson. Alan Bates and Albert Finney make their movie debuts, and Joan Plowright, soon to become Ms. Olivier, is featured. (97 mins)
Thursday, January 15 What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, with the young Johnny Depp and the young Leonardo Di Caprio playing brothers. A poignant story with memorable performances; DiCaprio was nominated for best supporting actor. (117 mins)
Thursday, January 8 Sullivan's Travels, a Hollywood classic from 1941, starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. This is a brilliant satire which grows more pertinent every year. A unique achievement from the wonderful writer-director Preston Sturges.
(90 min)
Tuesday, October 14 The Library will screen Waitress, starring Keri Russell, a touching film about a cafe waitress who dreams up and bakes wondrous life-enhancing pies. Cafe life is good, but Jenna wants to escape her jealous, abusive husband by winning a pie baking contest. (108 mins.)
NYT review.
Movie site.
Co-sponsored with the Westport Domestic Violence Task Force. For the first time, Silent Witness life-size cardboard silhouettes, which powerfully depict the stories of Connecticut woman who were the victims of abuse, will be on display in Westport along with educational material.
Silent Witness program.
Friday, October 3 See The Sting, which won a total of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. Reunited several years after being paired in 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford proved with The Sting, a delightful 1973 caper film, that their onscreen chemistry was, in cinematic terms, historic. The action is set during the depths of the Depression in Chicago, where small-time grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford) enlists the aid of legendary con man Henry Gondorff (Newman) to mount an elaborate "sting," targeting ruthless New York gangster Doyle Lonnegan played by Robert Shaw, who was responsible for the murder of Johnny's mentor, Luther Coleman, played by James Earl Jones. (135 mins.)
Friday, October 3 See The Color of Money, for which Newman won the Oscar for his role of pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson. Felson finds the young, promising pool player Vincent, played by Tom Cruise, in a local bar. After some hesitation, Vincent accepts and Eddie takes him and Vincent's girlfriend Carmen on a tour through the country to work the pool halls. (119 mins.)
Thursday, October 2 See the film Hud, inspired by a portion of Larry McMurtry's novel, Horseman Pass By. Newman, who was nominated for an Oscar for best actor, plays Hud Bannon, a young Texas rancher who lives with his cattleman father Homer, played by Melvyn Douglas, and his hero-worshipping nephew Lon. Hud is an amoral, cold-hearted creature; his father, who holds Hud responsible for the death of his other son, tries to imbue Lon with a sense of decency and responsibility to others, but Lon is devoted to Hud and isn't inclined to listen. (112 mins).
Thursday, October 2
Thursday, August 28 Part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration.
More information.
Thursday, August 21 Part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration.
More information.
Thursday, August 14 Part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration.
More information.
Thursday, August 7Part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration.
More information.
Thursday, July 31Part of the Library's 100th anniversary celebration.
More information.
Sunday, June 15
Thursday, May 29Join the Westport Library and the Westport Arts Center for a screening and discussion of Juno, the award-winning film for Best Original Screenplay. Health educator Bob Selverstone will facilitate this event as we discuss teen pregnancy, as well as other adolescent issues. (film 96 min.)
Pizza and refreshments will be served. Registration is required.
Contact Jaina Lewis at 291-4809 or jlewis@westportlibrary.org
Movie Review.
Juno movie site.
Sunday, April 13
Tuesday, March 4
Thursday, February 7The series concludes with the 1977 classic Slap Shot, starring Paul Newman in the profane, exciting, and very funny story of a bad-luck hockey team (123 min.)
Thursday, January 31Wordplay is a documentary about the man most associated with crossword puzzle competition, Will Shortz, New York Times puzzle editor. It alternates between the finalists of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament ("average" folks with an extraordinary ability to do crossword puzzles very quickly and well) and "famous" people who love crosswords. 94 mins.
Thursday, January 31Central Station, the story of an ex-teacher who takes a nine-year old boy on a quest to find the father he's never met. Portuguese with English subtitles. 113 min.
Thursday, January 31The story alternates between the finalists of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament ("average" folks with an extraordinary ability to do crossword puzzles very quickly and well) and "famous" people who love crosswords. 94 mins.
Will Shortz will be at the puzzle contest on February 2, so stop by and meet him!
Movie review.
Thursday, January 24Hoop Dreams, the engaging true story of two West Indian basketball players and their dreams of making it in the U.S. 170 min.
Thursday, January 17The Dresser starring Albert Finney. Wonderful story of an aging star's dresser who gets him through his performances as King Lear. 118 min.
Thursday, January 10The Captain's Paradise, starring Alec Guinness who plays a ferry-boat captain with two wives, one in each port. 93 min.
Tuesday, December 11See the just released to DVD film The Namesake about American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, who wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.
A deeply moving saga of several generations of a Bengali family. (San Francisco Examiner)
Rated PG13
122 minutes
Tuesday, November 20Be the first to see Hairspray starring John Travolta on the day it is released on DVD! So slick back your hair, get out your teasing comb and come prepared to have fun and suspend just a little bit of disbelief. 115 min long; rated PG.
Cold beverages will be available in case you work up a sweat tapping your foot to the beat.
Please note the change in movie. The release of Namesake on DVD has been postponed.
Wednesday, October 10
6:30 pm
McManus Room
The Painted Veil Once love is lost, can it be reclaimed? Based on Somerset Maugham's novel and filmed in China, The Painted Veil is a portrait of an emotional marriage set against the drama of a nation in turmoil. This Golden Globe winner is rated PG-13. 125 min.

Thursday, August 30
2:00 pm
McManus Room
Enjoy this last August Thursday with a cool drink, a short introduction and the film
Atlantic City, a bittersweet look at broken dreams, starring Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon. Directed by Louis Malle, with a script by John Guare. All four were nominated for Oscars and the film was nominated for Best Picture. 1980. 104 min.

Thursday, August 23
2:00 pm
McManus Room
Buena Vista Social Club was directed by Wim Wenders. This documentary tells the true story of a group of aging Cuban musicians, and how an American found them and helped them to resurrect their careers.
Nominated for Best Documentary. 1999. 105 min.
Movie Review

Thursday, August 16
2:00 pm
McManus Room
Enjoy August Thursdays with a cool drink, a short introduction and the film Breaking Away, when four high school graduates in Indiana try to break away from their "townie" reputation. The film stars Dennis Quaid, Barbara Barrie and Jackie Earl Haley and was nominated for five Oscars. It won for best original script. 1979.
100 min.

Thursday, August 9
2:00 pm
McManus Room
Il Postino, a beautiful film that tells the story of how the great Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, changes the life of a modest mailman. Nominated for five Oscars, the film won for its haunting score. 1994. 108 min.

Thursday, August 2
2:00 pm
McManus Room
Enjoy August Thursdays with a cool drink, a short introduction and a film.
The first film is Waking Ned Devine, the hilarious story about an elderly lottery winner, starring Ian Bannen. 1998. 91 min.

Thu., July 5
6:00 pm
Join us for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 157 mins.
Children 12 & under must be accompanied by an adult
McManus Room
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