Turning Green is a 2005 black comedy film written and directed by Michael Aimette and John G. Hofmann.
[1] Donal Gallery stars as James Powers, a displaced American teenager living in Ireland in 1979 who discovers girlie magazines on a random trip to London.
Six years prior, after his mother died, his father shipped him and his little brother Pete (Killian Morgan) off to rural Ireland to live with his three aunts.
Bored, depressed and xenophobic James drops out of school and spends his days yearning to get back to his idealized United States.
Despite his failure Bill the Bookie prefers James, and takes a shine to the clever and resourceful young man.
Meanwhile, based on the excessive amount of time James spends locked in the bathroom, his naive aunts fear that he might be ill.
Illegal in Ireland, James strikes a deal with a local London newsagent to import them to his town and, using his connections made working for Bill, sells them to an eager Irish audience.
Determined more than ever to pay back Bill, James finally receives his shipment of magazines and sells them all in one day.
Michael Aimette and John G. Hofmann first co-wrote the script and submitted it to the first season of HBO's TV series Project Greenlight, which was created to give first-time writers a chance to direct their own film.
In 2009, New Films International made their foray into the US domestic distribution market and Turning Green received a limited release in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in November, 2009.
"[7] The American actor Alessandro Nivola is cast as Bill the Bookie, who brought a fey, soft-accented element to what could have been a typical "bad guy" role.
Another American, Timothy Hutton, is almost unrecognizable as Bill the Breaker, and he embraced the role of gruff Irish enforcer fully.
The budget of US$400,000 includes all cast and crew, and was shot on the east coast of Ireland, primarily Wicklow, Rathdrum and Ardmore Studios outside of Dublin.
When the doors finally open, they're magically released into the Irish wilderness, left alone on a giant cliff looking out into the endless sea, their old homeland beyond their grasp.
The movie features indie music artists that, while not from the 1970s period, reflect the mood of the film and James' dour view of the place.
Nada Surf, Iron & Wine, the Caesars, Arco and Brian Seymour all contributed, and the commercial music company Pull scored the film.
The original script had references to 1970s artists Queen, ELO, Led Zeppelin among others, but due to budgetary constraints, their inclusion was not possible.
Kevin Thomas from the Los Angeles Times called it "an amusing Irish coming-of-age story...when all those triple-X magazines spread throughout the community, Turning Green takes off in earnest.
"[8] NPR's Mark Jenkins felt it was "enlivened by witty asides and playful commentary" and praised Aimette and Hofmann that "for a couple of Yanks making their first feature, they've drawn a perceptive sketch of the Old Sod.
"[9] Stephen Holden's review in The New York Times was largely positive as well, calling it "whimsical" but noting that the story's ending left the movie "stranded in the wilderness.
"[6] Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger said "as the debut film from a couple of new directors, it's an encouraging start"[10] and Variety's Robert Koehler dubbed it "a tart comedy...empowered and alive" before succumbing to "uneven drama.