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Review: There's not enough drama or chemistry in the lackluster 'Sundown' to save it
Taggie O'Hara in the movie "Sundown." (Annapurna Pictures)
Sep. 8, 2022 9:00 AM PT
Most of us have heard of "Sundown" as the movie that is meant to be actress Taggie O'Hara's launch into more serious filmmaking. After spending the last couple of years dabbling in mid-budget romcoms and streaming comedy romps, the Annapurna-produced film was meant to be a metamorphosis of sorts for the young actress. Set in the American West during the '00s, "Sundown" tells the story of a young woman named Sara Knox struggling to keep her family's ranch during the recession. After multiple natural disasters leave her essentially penniless, she's forced to consider whether the patch of land she's grown up on is worth keeping or if it's time to let the cursed earth go and move on to the big city.
Directed by the eccentric and brooding Jake Lovell, "Sundown" has all the hallmarks of Lovell's style. From the sweeping vistas to the quiet, contemplative moments between a barebones cast, on paper, "Sundown" was destined for greatness before it premiered opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival. But whether it's Lovell's latest troubles with longtime collaborator and wife Tory Maxwell (both cinematographer and editor on the project), or his public frustrations of working with O'Hara, nothing fit quite right for this neo-Western.
Slow without purpose and aesthetically pleasing but hollow, there's little redeeming about "Sundown." While O'Hara shows glimmers of potential — especially when she's watered down from her typical bombshell appearance — there's not enough for her to work with. As the lead, she spends the lion's share of time on screen, and it's difficult not to find Sara's repeated mistakes frustrating as her character runs in place. With all of the buzz and star-power behind this film, it felt like "Sundown" was too big to fail, but perhaps the best lesson to take away is the one Sara learns in the film: not all things in life are guaranteed.
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deuxmoi DEUXMOI EXCLUSIVE... Rupert Campbell-Black celebrating New Year's Eve and ringing in 2023 at Billy Lloyd-Foxe's annual bash in Malibu.
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January 2
SPOTTED: Rupert Campbell-Black at Billy Lloyd-Foxe's NYE party, getting cozy with producer Cameron Cook. He just finalized his messy divorce from Helen Macaulay in December, so I guess he's moving on fast.
Rupert Campbell-Black To Direct and Star in 'Tiffanie' Alongside Taggie O'Hara and Basil Baddingham
March 11, 2023 11:43am
EXCLUSIVE: Rupert Campbell-Black (Gstaad, First of May) is poised to make his directorial debut with Tiffanie, announces Neon. A script controversially penned by Academy Award winner and Campbell-Black's ex-wife Helen Macaulay, it appears that while Macaulay and Campbell-Black's personal romantic relationship has ended, the two still intend to work together professionally. Tiffanie follows the story of a young sex worker who has unwittingly married the son of an infamous Italian mobster. This puts her in a difficult position between her ambition and the crushing realities of a world ruled by money.
Further details on story and plot are murky at this point, though Disney Channel alum Taggie O'Hara (Sundown, The Charmed Life) has been cast to play the titular role as Tiffanie. Campbell-Black will also be acting in the film, and his frequent collaborator Basil Baddingham (Boleo, Gstaad) has also been cast in an unknown role. Produced by celebrated television producer Cameron Cook (Four Men Went to Mow), we're keeping an eye on this one as the buzz begins to grow. Tiffanie is expected to start filming in May.
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Reports about in-fighting on the set of 'TIFFANIE' has delayed production on the upcoming drama film by Rupert Campbell-Black. Insiders report professional disagreements between writer Helen Macaulay and Taggie O'Hara as the primary source, while Campbell-Black announced on his rarely used Twitter account that "Tiffanie will be worth the wait, but there will definitely be a wait."
Declan O'Hara and Maud O'Hara Split After 23 Years of Marriage Amidst Cheating Rumors: Report
Late night show host Declan O'Hara and actress Maud O'Hara have reportedly split after 23 years of marriage.
The announcement came via social media, with Declan, 46, and Maud, 42, both posting simultaneously on Instagram that the two have officially filed for a dissolution of marriage. This news comes months after a recorded video of Maud was leaked back in June. The video caught Maud and Malhar Verma, 48, together in bed. Malhar, best known for his work as a theater director, is not only long-term friends with the O'Haras but is also the godfather of their son, Patrick O'Hara, 22.
Although the video quickly became a controversial news item, the O'Haras remained silent on that front. Back in July, a rep for the couple denied claims in the Daily Mail of the O'Haras seeking counseling. "Declan and Maud have weathered through a lot in their lives and have three children together. They are enjoying some well-earned time off. Any announcements about their private life will come directly from them and not as an unsourced rumor from the tabloid press."
However, candid photos of the couple seen in Italy in September told a different story. Images and videos caught by tourists and locals depict a shouting match between the married couple on September 22. Maud was seen heading to the airport alone in Milan on September 23, while Declan was spotted in London two days later for the world premiere of Four Men Went to Mow.
Declan and Maud tied the knot back in August 2000, when Declan was a playwright and Maud was his star and muse. The couple have since made a name for themselves as Hollywood royalty, with their three children all taking part in the entertainment industry. Although the couple was always seen as somewhat tempestuous, the world adored them together, and few people believed they would ever actually split. Maud's video with Malhar might be the most egregious case, but the O'Haras are no strangers to controversy. Between Declan's life-long battle with addiction and the details of their once-open marriage put on blast after an unnamed jilted lover released details of their NDA, for some, this split was always written in the stars.
Taggie O'Hara
Drunken Fight At Party
Ends With Rupert Campbell-Black To The Rescue
Taggie O'Hara was seen at Tony Baddingham's New Year's party last night in a fight with an undisclosed woman. Partygoers report that O'Hara was "belligerent" and "pissed off" when a woman made a comment about her dress and insulted her family. Other first-hand accounts reveal that the woman, potentially someone who worked on the set of Tiffanie (O'Hara's latest film), made derogatory comments about her personal life, calling her a "dumb slut," and then began mocking her parents who are currently in the middle of a contentious divorce.
O'Hara was then seen throwing her drink at the woman before onlookers tried to break up the argument. The fighting escalated when O'Hara struck the woman with an open-palmed slap and was removed from the party promptly by security.
Following behind her was Rupert Campbell-Black, also in attendance. Campbell-Black, the director of Tiffanie, was seen escorting a sobbing O'Hara into his car and getting into the driver's seat, the two of them leaving together. Eyewitnesses report that Campbell-Black and O'Hara are quite close, and romance rumors have sparked even as Campbell-Black is publicly dating Cameron Cook.
Update 1/3/2024: We reached out to O'Hara, Baddingham, and Campbell-Black for comments, they did not reply.
223
r/movies · Posted by u/arclightforever 2 hours ago.
Anyone getting major red flags from Tiffanie after that intimacy coordinator news?
Rant
So I love Rupert Campbell-Black as much as the next person, but does anyone get the sense that this movie of his is going to be a complete shit-show? I mean, first of all, he's still working with Helen Macaulay, there's no fucking way that relationship is healthy given how publicly awful their marriage was. Then he's dating his producer? And now apparently he's sleeping with Taggie O'Hara? Plus, Taggie basically said in an interview at that Valentine's Day event that they don't use an initimacy coordinator even though there's apparently a lot of sex scenes in this movie? I'm not saying she's cursed, but Sundown is the only bad movie Jake Lovell ever made and she was involved.
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Rupert Campbell-Black was photographed Mar. 9 in Los Angeles. Photographed by Max Thorne.
Rupert Campbell-Black Doesn't Care What You Think (Anymore)
Public fights, messy affairs, stints in rehab, and that's just the first 30 years of Rupert Campbell-Black's life. There's no rumor too scandalous or claim too outrageous, he's heard it all. And with the alleged behind-the-scenes drama stewing for his directorial debut, 'Tiffanie,' RCB is done listening to what the people think: "I just don't give a f*ck, pardon my French."
APRIL 20, 2024
"I just don't give a fuck anymore," says Rupert Campbell-Black, shrugging as he lights a cigarette after offering me one. "Pardon my French," he adds with his signature roguish smile, picking up the little cup of a double shot of espresso made fresh for him by his maid. We're sitting in the kitchen of his massive estate in Santa Barbara, the house is a typical Spanish Colonial Revival, it's serene, and you can hear the ocean not too far away. It's a far cry from what you'd expect from someone who spent his late teens and early 20s stumbling in and out of hotel rooms, always with a different woman on his arm.
"I think I'm the only person in the world to have spent almost a decade of my life just living in hotels. I think at one point I had a set of clothes set up at a suite in Chateau Marmont, another one in The Plaza, and a few set up at different Ritzes around the world." He says this with a bit of a chuckle as if remembering better times, but anyone who knew even a bit about pop culture in the early aughts would know that wasn't the case.
Son of a Hollywood starlet and heiress Isabelle Campbell-Black, Rupert spent much of his childhood being brought along on sets with his mother, an army of nannies behind him. Or, if it was a holiday, he'd spend it with his billionaire father on one of his mega-yachts. "I talk to Mum sometimes," says Campbell-Black, his expression changing a bit when I mention his parents. "Dad's on wife six I think? I haven't talked to him in years."
In 2010, the Campbell-Blacks' life came crashing down. Whispers about Edward Campbell-Black's backroom deals for his Fortune 500 company, Campbell Foxe, had always been around, but nothing was ever substantiated. That is, until one whistleblower and an exposé from the New York Times put the defense contractor into a tailspin. Stock prices plummeted, lawsuits were thrown around, and the resulting years of federal investigations, Senate confirmation hearings, and convictions permanently tarnished Campbell Foxe in the eyes of the public.
"I think he had to pay a fine?" Campbell-Black shrugs and waves the question off. "Everyone else got jail time and had homes seized. He got a slap on the wrist. Typical Dad!" There's a sardonic tone whenever he mentions his father, but it doesn't take much for him to become more somber when I press about his father's involvement in his addiction.
"There's giving your kids freedom and then there's just not caring about them. Mum and Dad were the latter. Dad always had a dozen women around, liquor stocked in every room. If you could smoke, snort, or inject it, he had it. I smoked my first joint when I was twelve. My daughter is sixteen right now, I think I yelled at her for about an hour after catching her with a cigarette. I can't fucking imagine giving her a joint and sending her on her way."
“There's giving your kids freedom and then there's
just not caring about them.”
I carefully mention the chaotic first years of his daughter Tabitha's life. Alongside Campbell Foxe's legal hearings, Rupert's mother Isabelle topped entertainment news headlines by revealing that she had been in a polyamorous relationship with four other people for five years (later, Isabelle would walk this back to two people, before saying she didn't like the label of polyamorous anymore).
"It was an awful time to bring a kid into the world," he nods, tapping his cigarette and crunching down on a biscuit. "I was high half the time and fighting with Helen the other half."
And yet, I note, it's the same year he won his first Oscar for his best-known role as the brooding Franco in Gstaad, a semi-autobiographical film co-written by him and Helen Macaulay. "Co-write is generous. It was mainly Helen. I don't think I even properly celebrated my win." I remind him of the TMZ headline the next morning of him being caught in bed with two of the award presenters and he chuckles. "Well, that was a regular Sunday night for me back then. I guess I mean, I wasn't very happy about much back then. Helen was dealing with the kids and her next Oscar-winning script, and for me, Gstaad almost felt like an invasion of my privacy."
"It was too personal. I never really see that win as worthy because I'm basically playing a more poetic version of myself. Thanks to Helen, of course." But does it bother him that his ex-wife used his life as fodder for her scripts? This was the prevailing theory behind their breakup for many years, but Campbell-Black is quick to set the record straight. "Not really. Let's be clear: we got divorced because I was a habitual everything — cheater, addict, gambler. If Tab met a man like me today, I'd have him bound, gagged, and sent to a monastery or to swim with the fishes. No woman actually wants to be married to someone like me."
So then what about his burgeoning relationship with acclaimed producer Cameron Cook?
"We're the same beast, Cameron and I. Not that she's doing drugs or sleeping around. I don't do any of that shit anymore. But we both like taking risks, we're aggressive, we're impulsive. It's like dating the female me." Then he breaks out laughing and shakes his head, "Christ, I sound narcissistic. What I mean is, she matches my energy. I'm man enough to admit Helen was far more intellectual than I was, she has big thoughts, big dreams, big ideas. I am just thinking of whether or not I can afford to eat a burger without fucking up my cholesterol. She's too good for me."
It's a far cry from the Rupert Campbell-Black of 2010, but there's been one major change. "I'd been to plenty of rehab before this. Girlfriends, friends, hell, even Mum sent me there. It never stuck until the last round." I don't mentioned why the last round was the worst, I don't have to. It was splashed all over tabloid pages and the subject of multiple documentaries after it happened. Rupert Campbell-Black, 35, crashes his car into oncoming traffic. His daughter was in the backseat. He had a blood alcohol of .38 and tested positive for ecstasy. The ground was slick from rain earlier in the day. The semi-truck he crashed into barely had a dent, but the pictures of his destroyed silver Porsche are the thing of nightmares.
"I honestly think I stopped thinking about how much I was drinking. I know .38 sounds like a lot, but it felt like any other day to me. We were headed to my friend Billy's birthday, I always roll. I've driven a thousand times down that road, once during a flash flood. I made every excuse in the book, but seeing Tab in the hospital..." He chokes up and excuses himself from the table, walking away and into the corners of his cavernous home. As beautiful and stately as the mansion is, it feels cold, devoid of life. There's a gaggle of dogs around who seem to be the only source of happiness for Campbell-Black. There are photographs scattered around the house of his children, his friends, even Helen and his parents. But, in many ways, it feels like a mausoleum.
The Rupert Campbell-Black of old is dead and gone.
"I used to have people around at all times. Friends, social climbers, managers, agents. And I know I don't show it, but it made me fucking crazy. It's probably why I numbed myself so often," says Campbell-Black when he returns with a sparkling water, his eyes slightly wet but otherwise composed again. "I cared too much back then. I would read every tabloid, read all the online comments, and obsessively compare myself to others. Even in rehab, I was cutting corners and cheating to get out of there first before the other addicts. I was insecure and deeply competitive. Now, I'm just competitive."
“I cared too much back then.”
It's hard not to fall for Campbell-Black's charm. He turns it on so easily, and having covered entertainment news for the last fifteen years, I remember just how effusively charismatic the old RCB was. This new version of him is far more relaxed, he's no longer the lothario bad boy. He's got a bit of a five o'clock shadow, some streaks of grey in his hair, and he's wearing a chunky cardigan. It's very domestic, and it fits him far better. I wonder if that's because of his new role as a director for the upcoming Tiffanie.
"That's part of it. I mean, the real reason is I just don't give a fuck anymore. The therapy I started when I was in rehab changed me. I know that's fucking cliché to say, but it did. I cried for hours out of guilt for what I did to Tab, and after that, my therapist was like, 'Okay, time for the real work to start,' and I was shocked, like, 'Oh shit, that wasn't the real work?' It's all very Hollywood, but without that, I'd probably be dead right now."
His last trip to rehab seems to be revelatory. Returning, he went dark for a few years before announcing his next project: a directorial debut. And, even more shocking, he was working with Helen Macaulay again. "I've read some pretty crazy theories of us getting back together, her trying to sabotage my career, me trying to sabotage her career. But no. I mean, I had to see Helen again eventually. And, because she's a saint, she forgave me for what I did. We're not getting back together just because she showed me some grace, that would be going way backward. She's engaged to be married, and I'm with Cameron. We just have always worked well together when it comes to our jobs."
But Tiffanie is far off the beaten path for both Macaulay and Campbell-Black. For one, there's comedy, it's a bit of screwball, it's about sex work, it's about the mafia. It's antithetical to both of their previous projects. "That's what we wanted to do. Helen spent a lot of time doing research, talking to these women and learning their stories. The movie was never meant to be like this, but the stories she heard completely changed the tone of it. I've always read her scripts. Even when we were in the worst of fights, I read them. I mean, she's a fucking great writer. I'll never admit it to her face, but she is. This was one of her best. It wasn't just 'write what you know,' it had a lot of heart. Tiffanie's character is someone we can all relate to, whether you're a stripper or not. People think because it's not a quiet drama that makes you want to kill yourself at the end of it that that means it'll be bad. People don't know shit."
I point out the elephant in the room. The recent scandal — which seems minuscule compared to the old RCB days — of reshoots, halts in production, and rumors of fighting on set with his leading lady, Taggie O'Hara. This, once again, makes him burst out laughing. "Fighting with Taggie? That's funny. I don't think Taggie would fight with anyone even if you put her in the ring with Mike Tyson. That's people starting rumors because they miss when I was messy and put all my business out for everyone to see."
He avoids going into details but continues to praise his cast and crew, specifically O'Hara. "I know people wrote her off because of Lovell's movie," and he rolls his eyes, saying quietly, "though we all know it's because that script was horseshit. Pun intended." And most people can remember the marketing for Sundown. Jake Lovell's return to cinema after his brief sabbatical, PR pushing hard for the Oscar win, only for it to disappoint. On this account, I agree with Campbell-Black on the quality of the script. "We had hundreds of women reading for Tiffanie. I only knew the name O'Hara because of Declan and Maud. You know, she even asked to be credited under a stage name?"
“I see a lot of myself in her.”
This has my interest piqued. What name? Agatha Gonne. Campbell-Black shakes his head. "It sounds like an incomplete sentence. I told her no, I like Taggie O'Hara just as it is, and encouraged her to embrace her past. I think working with someone who was such a colossal fuck up like me probably made Taggie believe she could do better too. Well, she'd never say that about me, but that's what I think." He describes their relationship as a mentor and student connection. "I see a lot of myself in her. Her parents are just as messy as mine — sorry Declan, sorry Maud — and while she was never as wild as I was, she's had her fair share of tabloid covers too."
"Her confidence was crushed after Sundown, and her agent basically threw her at the audition. It was one of the last ones and she slowly made it through all the rounds. She just is Tiffanie. She embodies the character perfectly, I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role. Helen and I work chaotically, and we'd have rewrites the day of filming, she'd write in her trailer and come out with two new pages for Taggie and Bas to memorize and they'd just have to jump into it. Working with us is not easy; she rolled with the punches like a pro."
Touching on the talks of a lack of an intimacy coordinator, especially since Campbell-Black and O'Hara share a couple of sexually suggestive scenes together, RCB is a little less confident. "Listen, I know that's the standard today. And I offered one. Cameron offered one. Helen offered one. But it just didn't work. I worked closely with Taggie to make sure she was comfortable." And of the rumors that the boundaries between them have been blurred? "I've been nothing but professional with Taggie. I care about her, as her director and friend. People take that too far and try to stir up shit. It's water off my back, but I wish they wouldn't bring her into it."
Considering my last interview with Rupert Campbell-Black ended with him screaming into my microphone and running off the red carpet, it's like I'm talking to a different person. At the end of our conversation, I tell him that and he corrects me. "This is who I always was, I just cut all the bullshit from my life that made me unhappy and miserable. I think people think this is some temporary thing, that I'm one bad day away from falling off the wagon. And maybe one day I'll have a drink or smoke a joint. But this version of me isn't going away. I tried to suffocate him because I wanted attention or thought he was pathetic or boring, but I'm done with that now."
202dalmations 40 points · 2 hour ago
A lot of people can still work with their ex. There's been no credible source about issues between RCB and Helen, and he's literally talked about how the delays came due to the shortage of the film that he is using to shoot the movie. It's not digital so resources are limited. Also the stuff with Taggie was literally just made up rumors. He drove her home, that doesn't mean he's tapping that ass.
jerklord 73 points · 1 hour ago
It also doesn't mean he's not though. I mean, I'd tap that ass too if I had the chance.
ammonites 54 points · 2 hour ago
I feel like the intimacy coordinator thing is a red flag, but Taggie O'Hara didn't actually say anything bad about it. She said RCB made her feel comfortable even though she'd never filmed scenes like that before. It sounds like everything was above board. Calling her cursed is a bit harsh. Sundown is NOT a good movie, but she's good in it. Much better than The Charmed Life shit.
faerae 15 points · 1h ago
Hey now, let's not go insulting perfection, The Charmed Life was my entire childhood!
ammonites 2 points · 10m ago
Well, prepare to have that childhood ruined with Tiffanie and all her sex scenes.
faerae 2 points · 2m ago
Ruined, made all the better. Potato, potahto.