Taglines: The shocking story of identical twins… One too good to die. The other too evil to live.
Equinox movie storyline. Alan Rudolph wrote and directed this typically off-beat drama. A brief romantic liaison between a wealthy European and an American ballet dancer results in a pair of identical twins, who are separated and raised by others shortly after birth.
Henry (Matthew Modine) was adopted by Pete (M. Emmet Walsh), an auto mechanic, and Henry grows up to follow in his Pete’s footsteps. Emotionally fragile, Henry is in a relationship with Beverly (Lara Flynn Boyle), a rich but painfully shy woman who is terrified by sex. Henry, however, finds his own sexual appetite increasing, and he becomes involved with Rosie (Marisa Tomei), a prostitute living in his neighborhood.
Meanwhile, Henry’s brother, Freddy (also played by Matthew Modine), lives in the same city, though they’ve never met. Freddy is a gangster and hired killer working for crime kingpin Mr. Paris (Fred Ward). While Freddy is cool and confident on the surface, deep down he hates his job and tells his wife, Sharon (Lori Singer), that he wishes he had enough money to quit and move away.
As fate would have it, Freddy and Henry’s mother, who sank into a severe depression after losing her children and her lover, has died, leaving a substantial fortune to her two sons, who must now meet in order to collect their inheritance. Equinox premiered at the 1992 Seattle Film Festival, though it would not open theatrically until a year later.
Equinox is a 1992 film written and directed by Alan Rudolph. It stars Matthew Modine in dual roles, along with Lara Flynn Boyle, Marisa Tomei, Lori Singer and Fred Ward. The film was shot in Minnesota and Utah and is set in the fictional urban city of Empire. It was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards.
The New York Times movie reviewer Stephen Holden had praise for the actors, saying Modine “does a fine job of differentiating between the two without resorting to caricature. He is especially good at showing how the repressed qualities of each twin peek through their surfaces. As Henry’s sweetheart, Ms. Boyle exudes the right mixture of warm-blooded ardor and strait-laced defensiveness.
Equinox (1993)
Directed by: Alan Rudolph
Starring: Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, Tyra Ferrell, Marisa Tomei, Tate Donovan, Kevin J. O’Connor, Lori Singer, Gailard Sartain, M. Emmet Walsh, Fred Ward
Screenplay by: Alan Rudolph
Production Design by: Steven Legler
Cinematography by: Elliot Davis
Film Editing by: Michael Ruscio
Costume Design by: Sharen Davis
Set Decoration by: Cliff Cunningham
Art Direction by: Randy Eriksen
Music by: Terphe Rypdal
MPAA Rating: R for language and scenes of sexuality.
Distributed by: IRS Media
Release Date: June 11, 1993
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