The Claim

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The Claim

The Claim film poster
Directed by Michael Winterbottom
Produced by Andrew Eaton
Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (screenplay)
Based on the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
Starring Peter Mullan
Milla Jovovich
Wes Bentley
Nastassja Kinski
Sarah Polley
Julian Richings
Music by Michael Nyman
Cinematography Alwin H. Kuchler
Editing by Trevor Waite
Distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Release date(s) December 29, 2000 (limited)
Running time 120 min.
Country United Kingdom / Canada
Language English
Budget $20,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

The Claim is a 2000 British Western/romance film directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce is loosely based on the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. The original music score is composed by Michael Nyman. It was filmed in the vicinity of Calgary, Alberta. The film was marketed with the tagline Everything has a price.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In 1867, Daniel Dillon is an Irish immigrant who settled in California during the Gold Rush of '49 and has done quite well for himself. Dillon owns nearly every business of consequence in the town of Kingdom Come; if someone wants to dig for gold, rent a room, open a bank account, or even order a drink, they have to go to Dillon to do it. One of the few profitable enterprises in town that he doesn't own is the brothel, which is operated by Lucia, Dillon's Portuguese lover. But Dillon sees that his hold on the town is threatened when Dalglish arrives in Kingdom Come.

Donald Dalglish is a surveyor with the Central Pacific Railroad, which wants to put a train through Kingdon Come. Dillon believes that Dalglish's plans could pull control of Kingdom Come out of his hands, and he's willing to go to any lengths to see that this doesn't happen. Arriving in town the same time as Dalglish are two women, the beautiful but ailing Elena Burn and her lovely teenage daughter Hope; their presence is deeply troubling for Dillon, for they are the keys to a dark secret Dillon has kept from the people of Kingdom Come for nearly twenty years.

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Trivia

  • Filming had to be halted when director Michael Winterbottom got frostbite in his ears.
  • This is the second film that Michael Winterbottom had directed from a novel by Thomas Hardy; the first was the romance film Jude (1996). The Claim, however, seems to have very little in common with the plot in Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge".

[edit] External links

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