Waterfalls

Author(s): T.D.
Location: TX

"Waterfalls"

Written, Produced and Directed by John Singleton
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Cinematography by Charles Mills
Editing by Bruce Cannon
Music by David Arnold

Main Cast

Rosie Perez as Lupe Rivera
Jeffrey Licon as Alberto Rivera
Dennis Quaid as Nathan Crews
Alexis Bledel as Penelope “Precious” Peña

Tagline: "We think you’re moving too fast..."

Synopsis: In the bustling city of Los Angeles , life is no bed of roses for many of its residents, especially for those who are suffering hardships in their lives. Lupe Rivera happens to be one of them. Lupe is a single mother living in South Los Angeles . She works as a laundress in her small apartment, and works as a waitress on weekends. She lives with her adult son Alberto, who calls himself a proud, Puerto Rican gangster. Every night he would sneak out and deal drugs on the streets with his buddies. Lupe is frustrated with his sneaking out, and one day as he was going out, Lupe stops him and begs him not to go. His disobeys her, and walks out of the apartment. As he approached his buddies, one of them takes out a gun and kills him. They take the bag full of money and run off. A few hours later, the police knock on the door, and they bear the bad news. She begins to weep, and runs to the couch and starts to cry as the police comfort her. She knew she’ll never see her son again.

The next day, Nathan Crews is reading the obituaries in his office. When he comes across Alberto’s death, he shakes his head in shame.

Nathan Crews is a wealthy businessman living in South Los Angeles . He is married, but lives an unhappy life with his nagging wife. One night as he was leaving work, he runs into a prostitute name Penelope “Precious” Peña, and he invites her into his car. As they talk about their problems, Nathan grows fond of “Precious”, and soon enough the two hit it off right away. Nathan drives to a nearby hotel so that he and “Precious” can have sex. As they enter the room, “Precious” tells Nathan that she’s been with 8 other men and that she might have a disease, but Nathan tells her that it’s all good and that nothing will happen to him. They have sex, and the two both go their separate ways that night. Over a couple of days Nathan’s health begins to fail. He doesn’t recognize himself while looking in the mirror, and he notices that his skin is becoming pale. He visits the doctor the next week who tells him that he had AIDS. He lives for another three weeks and dies in his sleep.

On the same day of Nathan’s funeral, Lupe was on her way to the store. She accidentally bumps into Penelope, who was dressed in black and was on her way to Nathan’s funeral.

As Penelope arrives, she sees Nathan’s body and approaches it. She tells the decease body that she’s sorry for giving the disease and for being responsible for his death. After the body was buried, she quickly leaves the funeral and heads home to her apartment.

After getting out of the taxi, she accidentally bumps into Lupe again. Lupe drops the groceries, and Penelope helps her pick them up. She hands them to her, and quickly leaves without hearing Lupe’s thanks. The next week after the encounter, Lupe reads the paper, and sees the young girl that helped her in the obituary, stating that she has died of AIDS. In the end, Lupe goes to her living room and sits in her chair, drinking her coffee while “Waterfalls” play in the background.

What the Press would say:

Inspired by the classic song by TLC, Waterfalls is the deeply moving film of the decade. Directed by Academy-Award nominee John Singleton, this film is definitely his best work to date. Like many of Singleton’s films, it takes place in his neighborhood of South Los Angeles . The characters all live in this harsh neighborhood and strive to live perfect and peaceful lives. There is no clear lead in this film, and all of the characters had given magnificent performances that’ll be remembered for a long, long time. Rosie Perez, an Academy-Award nominee, gives an amazing performance as Lupe Rivera, a hard-working mother who loves her son Alberto and is always by his side, but he doesn’t realize he her hurts her so much every time he goes out into the streets with his gang members. Her scene in which she stops her son and tells him that if goes out something terrible will happen to him is breath-taking and it’s the best scene in the entire movie. Dennis Quaid also gives a wonderful performance as Nathan Crews, a married man living an unhappy life with his wife. His life changes when he meets a young prostitute and begins an affair with her. Quaid shines in a performance like none other, and his dying scene in the hospital is pure work which will be the talked about scene of the month. The last but certainly not least cast member of this outstanding film is Alexis Bledel, who plays a young prostitute who does nothing with her life but gives love to other men. She stands out among the entire cast by a mile in the funeral scene where she kneels next to the coffin and cries while everyone looks on.

This is a film that’ll move and shock many this month, and I have to mention the first-rate crew. This film will wow anyone with its high quality script written by John Singleton, the breathtaking camera work by Charles Mills, well-craft editing by Bruce Cannon, and a top-notch urban score by David Arnold. This March, be ready to experience TLC’s hit song coming to the big screen.

For Your Consideration

Best Picture
Best Director – John Singleton
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Dennis Quaid
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Rosie Perez
Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Alexis Bledel
Best Original Screenplay