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The Dying Gaul

  • 2005
  • R
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
The Dying Gaul (2005)
Home Video Trailer from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:19
10 Videos
22 Photos
DramaRomanceThriller

A grief-stricken screenwriter unknowingly enters a three-way relationship with a woman and her film executive husband - to chilling results.A grief-stricken screenwriter unknowingly enters a three-way relationship with a woman and her film executive husband - to chilling results.A grief-stricken screenwriter unknowingly enters a three-way relationship with a woman and her film executive husband - to chilling results.

  • Director
    • Craig Lucas
  • Writer
    • Craig Lucas
  • Stars
    • Peter Sarsgaard
    • Campbell Scott
    • Patricia Clarkson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    2.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Craig Lucas
    • Writer
      • Craig Lucas
    • Stars
      • Peter Sarsgaard
      • Campbell Scott
      • Patricia Clarkson
    • 57User reviews
    • 33Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations total

    Videos10

    The Dying Gaul
    Trailer 2:19
    The Dying Gaul
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 4
    Clip 1:04
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 4
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 4
    Clip 1:04
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 4
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 6
    Clip 0:50
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 6
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 8
    Clip 0:55
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 8
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 1
    Clip 1:16
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 1
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 7
    Clip 1:15
    The Dying Gaul Scene: Scene 7

    Photos22

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    Top cast18

    Edit
    Peter Sarsgaard
    Peter Sarsgaard
    • Robert
    Campbell Scott
    Campbell Scott
    • Jeffrey
    Patricia Clarkson
    Patricia Clarkson
    • Elaine
    Ryan Miller
    • Max
    Faith Jefferies
    Faith Jefferies
    • Debbon
    Robin Bartlett
    Robin Bartlett
    • Bella
    Ebon Moss-Bachrach
    Ebon Moss-Bachrach
    • Olaf
    Kelli O'Hara
    Kelli O'Hara
    • Liz
    Dee Dee Flores
    • Emad
    Elizabeth Marvel
    Elizabeth Marvel
    • Kelli
    Don Johanson
    Don Johanson
    • Male Guest
    Bill Camp
    Bill Camp
    • Malcolm
    Linda Emond
    Linda Emond
    • Dr. Foss
    Michael John
    Michael John
    • Executive Producer
    Craig Hamrick
    • Party Guest
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Thomas Jay Ryan
    Thomas Jay Ryan
      Jason-Shane Scott
      Jason-Shane Scott
      • Robert's Masseuse
      • (uncredited)
      Bridgetta Tomarchio
      Bridgetta Tomarchio
      • Female Guest
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Craig Lucas
      • Writer
        • Craig Lucas
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews57

      6.42.5K
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      Featured reviews

      7wlawson60

      Darkest Dark Or Maybe Darker

      Hollywood is always a sinister setting, even for a comedy and "The Dying Gaul" is no exception. I don't intend to divulge the ins and outs of the story because that should be your job, but I feel compelled to talk about it because it kind of stacked all over me like some kind of alien jelly. I always loved Campbell Scott and I suspect I always will. He plays the devil - The "I'll give you a million bucks if you abandon completely yourself, your principles, your loyalties" - kind of devil - He is married to the splendid Patricia Clarkson ( part Meryl Streep part Wayland Flower's Madame) and the object of his temptation is Peter Sarsgaard, one of the best creepiest actors ever to appear on film. It may be a personal thing but he gives me the willies. The film is an uncomfortable journey through a strangely familiar landscape that becomes darker and darker. I will take my chances and recommend it.
      6noralee

      Well Acted Triangle Undercut By Artsy Direction

      "The Dying Gaul" feels like an updated "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" set in Hollywood instead of academia. But it gradually veers towards "Fatal Attraction" as the opening jabs at commercial film-making, with lots of name and title dropping that seem to be writer Craig Lucas's revenge on compromises he made for his successful "Prelude to a Kiss," give way to catastrophic psychological manipulation.

      The initial Hollywood commentary is emphasized through the settings, as the movie producer, Campbell Scott, and his ex-writer/liberal activist/household and children manager wife, Patricia Clarkson, live in an extraordinary house with a rippling pool and ocean view. Their financial success is wielded like a weapon as the camera restlessly swoops around all their possessions, household help and scenic property. The emotional price he's paid for this is clear as Scott's "Jeffrey" could be in "Glengarry Glen Ross" (to drop film titles like he does) as he'll clearly do anything to seal a deal.

      Peter Sarsgaard drives on to the studio lot and into their lives with a completely different character from his four other released films this year, with inflections and body language that only occasionally get a bit too flamboyant as affectations of an out gay writer discussing issues of sexuality in the movies and his late lover. His grief and need for human warmth is so palpable that it is even believable that after failing with psychological counseling and Buddhism to deal with it, he clutches at what used to be called spiritualism, here delivered through the internet, shown visually both in the written word and the actors talking to the camera like reading aloud from their computer screens, edited effectively in the best key scenes with real life.

      Clarkson is wonderful as she morphs from busy housewife lounging in a fetching bikini, to curious dabbler in the dark side, to woman scorned and revengeful manipulator. She may be the Ultimate Scary Mother, sexy, maternal and controlling, who while distraught over violent video games goes after the psyche. Unusually for how such a triangle has been portrayed in films (and the film is specifically set in 1995 as perhaps a more innocent time), we also get brief, sympathetic insight on another woman similarly affected by the writer's selfish actions that puts Clarkson's "Elaine" in perspective as she could have been portrayed as more of a brittle harpy. But each character alternately attracts and repels us.

      In his directing debut Lucas does not well serve his own script, adapted from his play, as it could have been a lot tauter in exploring the slippery slope of ethics in human relationships, that all it takes is that one small step to deceive or keep secrets before one falls into the well. There could have been a lot fewer arty scenes in silhouette, at sunset, across water.

      The Steve Reich music throughout becomes more irritating than tension-inducing.

      While the title has something to do with the writer's long monologue about the significance of the Roman sculpture as an artist's way to make victims sympathetic, one is left here more with the feeling that these three folks deserve each other, though the collateral damage left in their wake is a tragedy.
      9Lechuguilla

      The Deadly Buddha

      Suppose you had intimate knowledge about someone, and that someone did not know that you knew. How would you use that knowledge? Or would you? This issue is the undercurrent that carries the film's plot, like a fast moving stream, over a cliff, to a swirling, uncontrollable emotional vortex that changes people's lives forever.

      Set in modern Los Angeles, a grieving gay screenwriter named Robert (Peter Sarsgaard) meets with Jeffrey (Campbell Scott), a wealthy film producer, to talk about Robert's script "The Dying Gaul", a tribute to his deceased lover and soul mate. Jeffrey invites Robert to his mansion by the ocean to meet his wife Elaine (Patricia Clarkson), who reads Robert's script and loves it. Over time, Robert and Elaine become friends, which sets up a triangular relationship that careens out of control when the anonymity of internet chat rooms provides cover for the discovery of secrets.

      Artsy in tone and philosophy, the film exudes New Age dialogue, with conversation about Buddhist Karma, "the middle way", enlightenment, and deadly plant roots. The film's production design is chic. And while the color cinematography is mostly conventional, sometimes it is beautifully stylistic. I really liked those stark human silhouettes against that orange screen. The film's score, which connotes New Age spiritualism, is terrific.

      Acting of the three leads is quite good. Patricia Clarkson is great as she sits in front of a computer monitor and, without speaking, displays myriad emotions through her facial expressions alone.

      The chat room scenes are creative and emotionally potent, amid magnified keyboard clicking sounds. The back and forth exchange here is unusual, and striking in that it is meaningless when taken out of context, but highly enlightening when considered in relation to the film's plot, as this sample shows: "Hello"; "I hear clicking"; "I'm still here"; "Are you still there?"; "Yes"; "You sound really distracted"; "Yeah today"; "When?" "I'm sorry"; "No, I'm all yours"; "Are mine what?"; "No"; "Yes"; "Meaning?"; "I'm all yours now".

      The film's screenplay does contain a rather obvious plot hole. And a couple of scenes involving Robert's son and former wife are too tangential to the story's trajectory. But these are minor issues.

      "The Dying Gaul" may seem artistically or philosophically pretentious to some viewers. But I really liked it. Quite aside from the wonderful performances and the chic production values, the film's story has thematic depth, a quality lacking in most mainstream Hollywood films.
      6felixoscar

      Say It Isn't So

      I would be hard pressed to name a trio of actors that I could be more excited to see than the stars of his film. Been rooting for Clarkson for years; we all know Sarsgaard is Oscar material in the years to come; Scott is (to me) even better than his dad. So I was waiting for this, via Craig Lucas, for a long time.

      My cousin had warned me (we are both gay) that the play delivered a memorable first half (in a positive way) and just as memorable second half (in how bad it was). Clearly the screenplay did nothing to change this, alas.

      The three leads were, no surprise, just excellent, and seeing them was well worth the time and cost. Oh PeterS, get back to work we need more of you! But dear Mr Lucas, when characters behave in ways that show no logic, it feels like a cheat.

      Fascinating idea, beautiful setting, some splendid dialogue and then disaster sets. I say "6" and wish everyone involved great success in the years to come.
      9gregg_klein

      High Praise For Dark, Brooding Story

      I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Mr. Lucas directed a very cinematic version of his stage play, and assembled an outstanding cast. Peter Sarsgaard, Campbell Scott and particularly Patricia Clarkson, give layered, complex, award-worthy performances.

      This film reminds me of another along the same genre, American Beauty, which also examined difficult and complex relationships, and attempted to do so with both humor and pathos.

      Because this film is part thriller, part black comedy, part searing emotional drama, it had me going on many levels.

      Again, Patricia Clarkson should be praised highly for her ability to make the reactions of her character so real! I have not always been a Craig Lucas fan, as I sometimes find his work to be a bit preachy (Prelude to a Kiss), but with this film, and his obvious director's eye, I look forward to his next effort.

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      Related interests

      Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
      Drama
      Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
      Romance
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      Thriller

      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        The film is dedicated to writer/director Craig Lucas's best friend, playwright Tony Kushner.
      • Quotes

        [as he hugs Robert]

        Jeffrey: You are very handsome. And I'm getting a little turned on. Are you?

      • Connections
        Featured in 2006 Glitter Awards (2006)

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      FAQ19

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • January 2005 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Official site
        • Holedigger Studios
      • Language
        • English
      • Also known as
        • El gal moribund
      • Filming locations
        • Paramount Gate, Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(Studio scenes.)
      • Production companies
        • Holedigger Films
        • Rebel Park Pictures
        • TwoPoundBag Productions
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Budget
        • $4,000,000 (estimated)
      • Gross US & Canada
        • $342,747
      • Opening weekend US & Canada
        • $53,944
        • Nov 6, 2005
      • Gross worldwide
        • $345,041
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Tech specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        • 1h 32m(92 min)
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Dolby Digital
        • SDDS
        • Stereo
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.85 : 1

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