Taglines: She just needed a month to change his life for ever.
Sweet November centers around a man and a woman, whose fates are intertwined and will change forever. Nelson is an avid advertiser living in San Francisco. One day, during a driving test, he meets Sara, a beautiful but seemingly eccentric woman. But, she is falsely accused of cheating and ends up failing the test because of Nelson.
After getting kicked out of the exam, Sara waits for him outside and starts to insult him. However, Nelson ignores her and takes off. Then, she traces him down and shows up at his place. She promises to leave him alone only if he gives her a ride. Later that night, she asks him to live with her throughout November on the promise that his life will change for the better.
He turns her down saying that he has a girlfriend. On the first day of November, after being fired and dumped on the very same day, Nelson decides to give it a try and then somehow, agrees to spend the whole month with Sara and finds himself in a desperate love affair that he will remember for the rest of his life.
Sweet November is a 2001 romantic drama film based in San Francisco starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, reuniting the actors after their previous appearance as husband and wife in The Devil’s Advocate. The film is based on a film classic made in 1968 and written by Herman Raucher, and starring Anthony Newley and Sandy Dennis.
The film opened at #4 at the North American Box office making $11,015,226 USD in its opening weekend, behind Recess: School’s Out, Down To Earth and Hannibal. It would ultimately gross only $25.2 million domestically with an additional $40.4 million overseas to a total of $65.7 million worldwide.
Nelson Moss meets Sara Deever, a woman very different from anyone he has met before. His ignorance leads to her failing her driving test. She beguiles him and continually asks him to spend a month with her on the promise that she will change his life for the better. On the first night of November, after Nelson is fired and dumped on the same day, she sleeps with him, and the next day Chaz, a close friend of Sara’s, arrives and refers to Nelson as Sara’s “November”.
Throughout November, the two experience happy times together and fall in love. Nelson examines his life and past, and befriends a fatherless child named Abner. Eventually, he realizes he is in love with Sara and asks her to marry him. It is revealed that Sara has terminal cancer, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Because she cannot bear to have Nelson experience her death, she asks him to leave. Sara tells Chaz that Nelson proposed to her.
Chaz says that it wasn’t the first time that a man had proposed, implying Sara has had numerous “months” before. Sara confirms this but claims it was the first time she had wanted to say yes. She decides she will not continue the relationship to protect Nelson from being hurt. Nelson complies, but then stages a surprise return during the Thanksgiving holiday, giving her gifts that remind her of their happy times.
They stay together for one more day; he posts November calendars all over her apartment walls, saying it can always be November for them. They make love, but the next morning, Nelson finds Sara is dressed. She asks him to leave, with all his calendars taken down. Nelson becomes confused and heartbroken. Sara asks Nelson to let her go so that he will always have happy memories of her and explains that this is how she needs to be remembered.
Sweet November (2001)
Directed by: Pat O’Connor
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Karina Andrews, Charlize Theron, Jason Isaacs, Greg Germann, Lauren Graham, Michael Rosenbaum, Frank Langella, Jason Kravits
Screenplay by: Herman Raucher, Paul Yurick
Production Design by: Naomi Shohan
Cinematography by: Edward Lachman
Film Editing by: Anne V. Coates
Costume Design by: Shay Cunliffe
Set Decoration by: Bob Kensinger
Art Direction by: Kevin Constant
Music by: Christopher Young
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and language.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: February 16, 2001
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