Review: I Love You Phillip Morris (15)****

Jim Carrey delivers his best dramatic performance since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in this improbable and utterly incredible true story.

Watch trailers of all current and upcoming movies

Based on a novel by investigative reporter Steve McVicker, I Love You Phillip Morris charts the romance of two prison inmates and their journey of self-discovery on both sides of the bars. Writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa strike a pleasing balance between laughter and soul-searching in this oddball comedy.

Crucially, Carrey generates smouldering screen chemistry with co-star Ewan McGregor, convincing us that undying love and a daredevil spirit can overcome anything.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Truth is far, far stranger than Ficarra and Requa's fiction, which takes dramatic licence with the exploits of the white collar criminal, who escaped incarceration four times and has paid a terrible price for humiliating the US prison service.

The real Stephen Russell was handed a 144-year sentence and must spend 23 hours every day confined to his cell without visitors. That's no laughing matter.

When we first meet Stephen (Carrey), he is a police officer with a beautiful wife, Debbie (Leslie Mann), and daughter. However, the family man has a secret: He is gay.

Eventually Stephen comes out and moves to Florida with boyfriend Jimmy (Rodrigo Santoro). The cost of living fabulously is high, and Stephen breaks the law to finance his lavish tastes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The authorities eventually catch up with the swindler and in prison he meets softly-spoken Phillip Morris (McGregor). The attraction is instant, and Stephen schemes to become his lover's cellmate.

When he finally gains parole, Stephen poses as a lawyer to get Phillip out of prison early, but outside, the conman struggles to mend his ways.

Phillip lands a job at a large corporation, where the temptation to embezzle is irresistible.

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice