“The Mosquito Coast” is a drama film about a man who moves his family to a Central American jungle because of his dissatisfaction with the American way of life. He desires to create utopia, and at first has some success, but eventually the project goes off the rails. Director Peter Weir (“The Year of Living Dangerously” 1982) skillfully puts together this psychological drama about a man who becomes increasingly out of touch with reality. The excellent screenplay by Paul Schrader was adapted from the 1981 novel of the same name by Paul Theroux.
The cast is headed by Harrison Ford in the lead role in a marvelous, and at times scary, performance. Others include Helen Mirren as his wife, and River Phoenix, Jadrien Steele, Hillary Gordon, and Rebecca Gordon as his children, as well as Jason Alexander, Martha Plimpton, Dick O’Neill, Andre Gregory, Conrad Roberts, and Butterfly McQueen in her final feature film role. McQueen’s most famous part was Prissy in “Gone With the Wind” (1939). This watchable heavy melodrama “The Mosquito Coast” was a box office bomb for The Saul Zaentz Company and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was filmed on location in Belize.
The Mosquito Coast (1986)
cinema
My Review
“The Mosquito Coast” is a drama film about a man who moves his family to a Central American jungle because of his dissatisfaction with the American way of life. He desires to create utopia, and at first has some success, but eventually the project goes off the rails. Director Peter Weir (“The Year of Living Dangerously” 1982) skillfully puts together this psychological drama about a man who becomes increasingly out of touch with reality. The excellent screenplay by Paul Schrader was adapted from the 1981 novel of the same name by Paul Theroux.
The cast is headed by Harrison Ford in the lead role in a marvelous, and at times scary, performance. Others include Helen Mirren as his wife, and River Phoenix, Jadrien Steele, Hillary Gordon, and Rebecca Gordon as his children, as well as Jason Alexander, Martha Plimpton, Dick O’Neill, Andre Gregory, Conrad Roberts, and Butterfly McQueen in her final feature film role. McQueen’s most famous part was Prissy in “Gone With the Wind” (1939). This watchable heavy melodrama “The Mosquito Coast” was a box office bomb for The Saul Zaentz Company and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was filmed on location in Belize.