Laurel Canyon

A FILM BY Lisa Cholodenko

Frances McDormand isn't just good, she's fantastic in this movie.

- Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

If there is one reason to see Laurel Canyon, it's to witness McDormand in the kind of role she's long deserved.

- Anne Hornaday, Washington Post

It reconfirms the filmmaker's talent as an acutely observant chronicler of upscale bohemian subcultures.

- Stephen Holden, New York Times

Synopsis

The canyon is notable for its varied residents through the years and has served, and continues to serve, as the home to many rock stars, musicians, performers, producers, and the like. Among its current residents are Jane (Frances McDormand), a legendary record producer, currently producing an album for a British band whose lead singer Ian (Allesandro Nivola) is her much younger lover. Jane and the band are creating the album in her Laurel Canyon house where she has a recording studio. Jane's son Sam (Christian Bale) and his fiancé Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are both recent graduates of Harvard medical school. Conservative, solid and serious, the couple find it necessary to move to Los Angeles to complete their studies. Jane has offered her Laurel Canyon home for them to stay in, promising that it will be vacant. But when Sam and Alex arrive Jane and the band are still working in Jane's home recording studio to complete the album. Once in the house, however, things begin to unravel.