Gia (1998) (TV)

Director:

Michael Cristofer

Writers (WGA):

Jay McInerney (written by) and
Michael Cristofer (written by)

Release Date:

31 January 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

This is life... not heaven... you don't have to be perfect.

Plot:

Movie based on the life of Gia Carangi, a top fashion model from the late 1970s.

Plot Keywords:

Beauty | Drug Addiction | Understanding | Tongue | Lurid

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Angelina Jolie	...	Gia Marie Carangi
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Linda
Eric Michael Cole	...	T.J.
Kylie Travis	...	Stephanie
Louis Giambalvo	...	Joseph Carangi
John Considine	...	Bruce Cooper
Scott Cohen	...	Mike Mansfield
Edmund Genest	...	Francesco
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Kathleen Carangi
Faye Dunaway	...	Wilhelmina Cooper
Holly Baker	...	Emergency Room Nurse
Joe Basile	...	Tony
Rick Batalla	...	Phillipe
Lombardo Boyar	...	Hood #2
Jullian Dulce Vida	...	Hood #3

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic depiction of drug abuse, strong sexual content, language and some violence.

Runtime:

120 min | USA:126 min (unrated version) | South Korea:105 min | Germany:117 min (dvd release) | Argentina:126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Singapore:(Banned) | Germany:16 | Canada:R (Ontario) (unrated version) | Argentina:16 | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (also unrated version) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (unrated version) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Mexico:C | Norway:18 | Poland:18 (TV rating) | South Korea:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Citadel Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gia kicks her mother out of her apartment, she throws her bags all over the hallway. Her mother assembles some bags by the elevator and waits. In the next shot, the bags are rearranged, and her mother is holding some of them, though only a few seconds have passed.

Quotes:

Gia Carangi: Dear book, this is another day in my life. A life is like a book. A book is like a box. A box has six sides. Inside and outside, so, how do you get to what's inside? How do you get what's inside, out? Once upon a time, there lived a very pretty girl, who lived in a beautiful box, and everybody loved her.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Killing Moon

splendid acting of Angelina Jolie in a real life melodrama

A second before becoming famous and a star of the glamor magazines herself Angelina Jolie acted in this role of a young super-model being projected on the big scenes of high fashion of the 80s, cracking down and having her life destroyed under the pressure. Her acting is the best thing in this movie - she succeeds to bring to life a character which is rebellious at the start, fights for her place, tries to make a difference and succeeds in the world of high fashion, but at the same time seems unable to control her personal life. Jolie's Gia is a vulnerable person, she craves for love but when she reaches it cannot keep it, she is insecure and immature, and her sliding into drugs is only too predictable. The tragic ending (she was one of the first female AIDS victims) seems to be almost logical.

Not everything around Jolie's acting is so successful. The film is OK at the level of the HBO TV drama, but not more. The documentary scenes with characters retelling Gia's story do not succeed to say much more than the conventional things we all know about drugs, fame, pressure. The characters in the fashion world are too conventional, although Faye Dunaway tries her best in the role of Gia's mentor. Elizabeth Mitchell is fine as Gia's girlfriend and I wonder why this popular TV actress does not get more and better roles on the big screen. However when the melodrama slides far from the real life trauma and improvises around it simply becomes less credible. The power of the movie lies in the tough truth it tells about the real world behind the glamor on the cover of the magazines and the fine acting of Jolie.