Taglines: They gave a boy a summer he’d always remember. He gave them back the love they lost.
Paradise movie storyline. Willard Young is a 10-year-old boy who is sent by his mother to stay with her best friend Lily Reed, who lives in the Delta shrimp-fishing country in a town called Paradise. Lily and her husband Ben have been living in an unmentioned emotional vacuum since the death of their own three-year-old boy. Willie makes friends with the local 9-year-old tomboy Billie Pike, who teaches him to be comfortable with himself. When Willard gains a handle on his own emotions, he can now help Lily and Ben to connect, overcome grief and rediscover themselves.
Paradise is a 1991 drama film written and directed by Mary Agnes Donoghue. Starring are Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, Elijah Wood, Thora Birch, Sheila McCarthy, Eve Gordon, Louise Latham, Sarah Trigger, Richard K. Olsen and Rick Andosca. The original music score is composed by David Newman.
Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (at the time married to each other) play Lily and Ben Reed, a young couple torn apart by a family tragedy. It would take a miracle to rekindle their love and a miracle arrives in the form of a summer guest – Willard Young (Elijah Wood). It is a remake of the French film Le Grand Chemin by Jean-Loup Hubert.
Paradise (1991)
Directed by: Mary Agnes Donoghue
Starring: Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, Elijah Wood, Thora Birch, Sheila McCarthy, Eve Gordon, Louise Latham, Sarah Trigger, Richard K. Olsen, Rick Andosca
Screenplay by: Mary Agnes Donoghue
Production Design by: Marcia Hinds, Evelyn Sakash
Cinematography by: Jerzy Zielinski
Film Editing by: Éva Gárdos, Debra McDermott
Costume Design by: Linda Donahue
Set Decoration by: Donna J. Hattin
Art Direction by: Kyung W. Chang
Music by: David Newman
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: October 4, 1991
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