Stockholm, Pennsylvania

2015 American film

January 23, 2015 (2015-01-23) (Sundance)

May 2, 2015 (2015-05-02) (United States)

Running time

99 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Stockholm, Pennsylvania is a 2015 drama film directed by Nikole Beckwith, as her directorial and film-writing debut. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The screenplay was awarded the 2012 Nicholl Fellowship from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[1]^[2]

It was produced by Greg Ammon, Leslie Urdang and Dan Halsted with the studio Fido Features. The film was acquired by Lifetime on March 26, 2015, and made its television premiere on May 2, 2015.^[3] The film is edited by Joe Klotz.

Plot

Leanne Dargon is kidnapped at age 4 by Ben McKay, who confines her to his basement and renames her Leia. She is reunited with her parents, Marcy and Glen Dargon after 17 years. Suffering from Stockholm syndrome, Leia still sees Ben as her father, and sees two strangers in her biological parents. As time passes, though, Marcy becomes the unstable one, throwing Glen out of the house, locking Leia up and controlling her every action. In the end, Leia escapes the captivity and vows to make a life of her own.

Cast

Saoirse Ronan as Leia Dargon
- Hana Hayes as Leia, aged 12
Cynthia Nixon as Marcy Dargon
David Warshofsky as Glen Dargon
Jason Isaacs as Ben McKay
Rosalind Chao as Dr. Andrews

Reception

The film received mixed reviews, with critics comparing the second half unfavorably with the first. Rodrigo Perez from IndieWire wrote in his review that "the tone-deaf misjudgment of the film’s second half is catastrophic; a bafflingly ill-advised blunder that Stockholm, Pennsylvania never recovers from".^[4]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 27% of 11 reviews are positive, and the average rating is 4.6/10.^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[6]

At the 20th Satellite Awards, the film won the award for Best Television Film.^[7]

References

^ Kamen, Tory (19 January 2015). "Sundance Women Directors: Meet Nikole Beckwith – 'Stockholm, Pennsylvania'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
^ Beckwith, Nikole (8 May 2015). "'Stockholm, Pennsylvania' and Our National Obsession with Abducted Women". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
^ Kelley, Seth (26 March 2015). "Lifetime Acquires Sundance Fest Title 'Stockholm, Pennsylvania' Starring Saoirse Ronan". Variety. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
^ Perez, Rodrigo (24 January 2015). "Sundance Review: 'Stockholm, Pennsylvania' Starring Saoirse Ronan & Cynthia Nixon". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
^ "Stockholm, Pennsylvania". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ "Stockholm, Pennsylvania Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ "2015 Satellite Awards". International Press Academy. Retrieved January 19, 2023.