Six Ways to Sunday

Plot synopsis:
18-year-old Harry (Norman Reedus), is an innocent, bashful burger boy who lives with his overly attentive mother Kate. Harry's father left the family sometime before the events of the film, leaving Kate for another man. They live in a ratty old apartment, where Kate treats her son like a child, even going as far to draw his bath water and connect a wire to his reading lamp, shutting it off when Harry is busy to get his attention. One day, Arnie (Adrien Brody), Harry's oldest and best friend, goes to a strip club, where the boss owes Arnie's mob boss money. Harry watches as Arnie beats the owner, and snaps, releasing his rage out on the owner, pummeling him to the point where Arnie has to pull Harry off to avoid killing him. Outside, both are visibly shocked by Harry's outburst, but Harry is shocked and confused at the fact that he liked it. Not long after, Arnie's boss Abie Pinkwise, meets the two at a local diner, where he remarks how much potential Harry has in the mob business. He invites Harry to become his apprentice, and Harry accepts. After leaving, Arnie attempts a heist at a small store, but backfires when the clerk holds him at gun point, sending him to jail. When Harry is told to ditch a car (evidence in a homicide), by his bosses, he leaves evidence (a magazine with his name on it), and a witness. He is arrested but is proven to be loyal to his employers by keeping silent, despite being beaten by the police. Now trusting him, the bosses get him out of jail and take him out to celebrate at a brothel. When alone with one of the women, Harry is un-aroused, and timidly asks the prostitute if he seems normal. When he answers that he doesn't feel that way for neither men nor women, she gently replies that she isn't the kind of professional he should be talking to. He goes home dejected, and when his mother smells perfume on him the first signs of her jealous tendencies begin to show.
As the months pass Abie shows Harry the ropes but when faced with killing someone, Harry hesitates, but ultimately does the crime, letting himself go as he did when beating the strip club owner. That night, upset by what he did, Harry goes to Louis Varga's house, only to find it empty, sans for Iris, his Hungarian maid. She offers him coffee, and it is here where Harry's alter-ego Madden (Holter Graham), appears. With Madden in control, Harry frightens Iris and thus causes her to quit. Angry, Mr. Varga makes Harry apologize to Iris, and makes Harry say he is in love with her to prompt her to come back under Mr. Varga's employment. Hesitantly, Iris accepts Harry's timid offer and the two begin dating, with Harry actually falling in love with Iris along the way, much to his mother's anger and jealousy.
When Harry finds a house that he likes, he is set on moving into it as a means to escape his mother's controlling nature, but when she moves with him, she decorates the house as a replica of their old apartment, much to her sons anger. Arnie is then released from prison, and Harry hopes to get him back in the game as their getaway driver for a new hit coming up. However, the hit goes awry when it is revealed far too late that the man to be killed by both Harry and Abie, is actually Abie's long-lost uncle. Devastated, Abie pauses long enough for the police to be called, which is where Arnie flees. Abie and Harry manage to escape. While Abie grieves at home, falling off the wagon after years of sobriety, Harry and "Madden" meet up again and this leads him to Iris' house, where the consummate their relationship. Arnie then comes forward with the promise of immunity, and flips on Harry and Abie. Both Abie and Harry keep quiet during the interrogation.
The mob has the three released, but now that it is clear that Arnie is a liability and cannot be trusted, Mr. Varga orders Abie and Harry to kill him. When Abie hesitates, still drinking and distraught over his uncle, Harry kills Arnie himself, despite his friend's pleading. Once again, in this blood-lust haze, Harry seeks comfort with Iris. At Arnie's funeral, Mr. Varga reminds Harry that when Abie drinks, he starts talking, and this makes him a liability. Mr. Varga hints that they may need to kill Abie to keep him silent. When Kate finds Iris' hair in Harry's underwear, he admits to having a girlfriend and Kate calmly says she would like to meet her. The stress puts a strain on Iris and Harry's sex life, and even "Madden's one-track mind" is of no use (during past sexual encounters, Harry has only had sex with Iris under Madden's persona). Worried for Harry's mental health, Iris resolves they really try, without Madden's help. The two go to a hotel, where they make love after Harry has her put on a mourning veil. At the family dinner where Iris was to meet Kate, things seem to be going well, until Kate has her son go out for ginger ale, leaving the two women alone. When Harry returns he finds Iris gone, his mother having driven her away in a jealous rage. Harry admits that he may be in love with Iris and is about to go after her when his mother stops him. Harry remains home and breaks off contact with Iris, his mother's hold over him stronger than ever.
Despite the fact that Abie has stopped drinking and is no longer a threat, Mr. Varga orders Harry to kill Abie anyway. Harry kills Abie with the same ice-pick he gave Harry earlier in the film, in front of a diner full of witnesses. More upset than ever, Madden is revealed again, and though he goes to first Iris, then a brothel for relief, he turns to his mother. It is revealed though flashbacks that Madden is truly Harry. Harry then has sex with Kate, who proclaims that she had waited "so long" for this.
The next morning is mundane, Harry takes his usual bath while his mother is in the kitchen. He hears a thud and goes to investigate, and there finds his mother hanging from the ceiling thinking she killed herself (Harry actually killed her, but his mental state won't let him notice). Mr. Varga calls Harry to inform him that they are relocating elsewhere, as Harry's act in the diner put them all under danger of arrest. Harry, clearly distraught from Kate's death, says that he will take his mother's corpse with him, and that she will "not get in the way" of their escape. Disturbed, Mr. Varga agrees to pick him up, only to attempt to kill him when Harry gets into the backseat. Harry draws his own gun and shoots both Mr. Varga and his henchman dead and takes the car to the bus station.
Iris, who had left the city for California to be with her brother, is delighted to have Harry going with her. They sit on the bus, overjoyed to breakaway from the city and the mob altogether. Harry looks away across the seat with a smile, and shows Kate's body bag resting casually in the seat.

Tags: violence, comedy, murder

Review:
Six Ways To Sunday is billed as a black comedy.
It is fraught with great characters, situations, and relationships.
It is a psychological study that plumbs the depths of a mother/son relationship that effects or determines almost everything that happens in the movie --- good and bad.
The film tells the story of young man from a depressed area who gets into a life crime.
At this point I would like to recognize Mr. Reedus' portrayal of Harry, the naive, gentle, and submissive but simultaneously worldly, aggressive, and violent young man was done deftly and beautifully.
The film also sheds light on other human relationships involving love and hate, passion and coldness, and loyalty and betrayal.
The film was written and directed by Adam Bernstein.
Although there was one situation that I did not find believable which did not detract from the film, Six Ways To Sunday was compelling from beginning to end.
A word of caution, the film is deserving of its "R" rating due to some extreme violence and exploring an incestuous relationship.
If you do not get a chance to see this film in the theaters, it is well worth renting.
Norman Reedus gives an exceptional performance as Harry.
Debbie Harry as his mother is appropriately frumpy and chilling (with one amazing transformation scene - you had to see coming!).
If director Adam Bernstein seems to run out of steam at the very conclusion - that's okay, since the ride is almost always much more interesting than the destination.See this movie!.
If you are a big Debbie Harry/Blondie fan, this movie is for you.
I can't get over how great of an actress she is, and some of the "things" she does and says in this movie.
She even has a flashback to when she was younger, and she's singing like she did in Blondie, not to mention that in one scene, the Blondie song "Sunday Girl" is playing in the background."Six Ways to Sunday" is about a kid, Harry Odum, who finds connections to make money by working for the mob.
He lives with his mother Kate (Debbie Harry), and has a very close relationship with her.
(Later in the movie, you'll see just how "close" they are!)  This is a very dark comedy, great acting, great story, a great movie.
Movies require you to think too.Please watch this if you get the chance.
And like I said, Debbie Harry is terrific in this movie, as well as the rest of the cast.
And when the film is over, and you watch the screen fade to black after the last scene as the credits roll, you'll think, "what a move.".
As Far As I Know, Its Tip Top. This masterful creation is bound to have any viewer thinking about it for some time after the credits roll.
Thinking especially about the complex character of Harry Odum played by Norman Reedus -  that's complex in more than one sense of the word.
Adam Bernstein does an amazing job of plotting out the character development of Harry Odum throughout the story.
His is a character that undergoes much change throughout the film and there is never a point where the viewer can pinpoint to say that Harry Odum has displayed an excessively overt transformation.
The transition from a young fledgling who is still bathed and nurtured by his mother to a cold blooded killer for the Mafia happens quite smoothly.
Smoother than you would probably think possible until you see this film.
As well, Deborah Harry gave a pleasant performance as his incestuous mother.As you may have guessed, any film dealing with the Mafia, incest, and a complex character with a complex is not a light natured film.
In fact the mood gets quite dark at times and Adam Bernstein does a lovely job of keeping this dim air present throughout.
This includes everything from the depressing industrial set town that the story takes place in, to the gloomy rooms that the scenes are shot in, to the dark lighting in many of the scenes, to the fitting music, all the way to the disparaging words and attitudes of the characters.
This is an odd film to watch, we have all seen movies with overprotective mothers, but nothing quite like this.I really liked the way that pieces were filled in as the movie progressed, as they slot into place you feel relief that the confusion has gone and dumb for not working it out before.Sterling performances from Debbie Harry and Norman Reedus.This movie hangs around in your head for a while after watching it, you don't know whether to laugh at the black humour or be disgusted by it.I really liked the ending though, so if you can handle the violence and all - stick with it you won't be disappointed.
Debbie Harry gives the best performance as a mother obsessed with her son.
The film is mainly about a young boy joining the mob to earn money.
He has a split personality, likes his Mom too much and falls in love but is essentially an alright guy, if not a little warped.
A very underrated film, worth watching if only for Debbie Harry..
Debbie Harry's really good, and so is everyone else.
This movie is definitely not a comedy(not like other people think).
It's more like drama or crime thriller or even in some parts a romance bot not a comedy.
There was to many violent, shocking and even sad scenes to call it comedy.
Some people really live this way and it's more sad than funny.
Anyway the movie is great.
Anyway the movie is great.
Deborah Harry was great.
Althau she get quite unusual role(her character reminded me Orsons mother from Desperate Housewives) but she managed her role perfectly.
This is really unusual film and it's worth your time.
Produced by Jonathan Demme and based on the novel PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN DROWNING, SIX WAYS TO Sunday (6WtS) follows the adventures of Harold "Harry" Odum (Norman Reedus), a young man pinned so tightly under his mother's thumb he can barely move.
On Harry's road of, er, self-discovery, he evolves (for lack of a better term) from mama's boy to hit man for the local Jewish mob.
Even more mind-boggling, his smothering mom is played by an eerily effective Deborah Harry!
(Deborah Harry Odum?
:-) Although she gets to sing in flashbacks (and Blondie's "Sunday Girl" is used to nice effect in a diner scene.
In fact, music is used well in this film overall, especially The Feminine Complex's charmingly Petula Clarkesque "Love Love Love"), for the most part Harry is startlingly different from her Blondie front-woman persona, both physically and personality-wise.
Directed by Adam Bernstein, who's gone on to excellent work on RESCUE ME and other edgy TV series, 6WtS boasts a cast as talented as it is eclectic.
Norman Reedus manages to be boyish and intense at the same time, as well as looking like the positive result of an eccentric geneticist's attempt to create a hybrid of Ewan McGregor, Leonardo DiCaprio, and a young Gary Sinise.
There are also memorable turns by Isaac Hayes as a cop (listen for his rendition of "What A Friend We Have in Mother" during the opening scenes), Jerry Adler (best known in our household as Woody Allen and Diane Keaton's mysterious neighbor Mr. House in MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY) as the Jewish mob's equivalent of the capo di tutti capi, and Elina Löwensohn (NADJA, SCHINDLER'S LIST) as the girl Harry loves, reminding me of a sort of wistful, downtrodden Audrey Hepburn.
For my money, the most entertaining scenes belong to Adrien Brody, and not just because I'm a fan of his.
Brody channels his inner Ali G as Harry's childhood friend Arnie Finklestein, an inept gangsta wannabe who tries to look and act like a homeboy with hilarious results -- but nobody's laughing when he chickens out and flees the scene during one of Harry's hits...
6WtS isn't for all tastes, but if you like your crime comedies weird, dark and twisted, it's at least worth a rental..
This film is wonderfully original..
It is a true dark comedy that is  beautifully shot and chock full of disturbingly funny moments.
Anyone with a sense of humor should love this film.
Good movie..
A very good movie about a talented young man who crosses ethnic and social barriers to become a success in a family owned-business.This is the kind of movie which reaffirms my faith in America.
It goes to show how hard work, dedication, and a few unresolved psychoses can still be the ticket which takes a young man from relative obscurity and a dead-end life to a successful and rewarding career..
This was the first film I ever saw Norman Reedus in, and his performance immediately captivated me.
This film is so excellent I watched it twice.
It's also darkly funny, which adds to the uniqueness and originality of the movie.
If you've never seen this movie, rent it.
"Six Ways To Sunday" Stratosphere Entertainment cut a rousing trailer for this film.
While a dangerous concept, expectations can also taint your feelings toward a film when it's all said and done.
Henry Thomas look alike Norman Reedus stars as a Harry, a simple kid with an unusually touchy feely mother (Deborah Harry) who stumbles into the world of the mob.
Becoming rich and dangerous in short amount of time, Harry begins to feel his world closing in around him.
Mixing equal doses of "Goodfellas", "Psycho", and maybe "Spanking The Monkey", "Six Ways" is not an easy film to dismiss.
Boasting a solid cast of diverse names (Isaac Hayes as a cop, personal fave Elina Lowensohn as the love interest), the film is an eclectic collection of themes.
Sadly, the film doesn't really know what to do with him.
The narrative blatantly falls apart in the final act and the blood is shed in great amounts, something that just isn't needed for success.
Debbie Harry is a hoot as the domineering mother.
I also really liked the glum setting of Long Island in the fall.I see very clearly why this movie might rub people the wrong way.
If you don't buy the concept, you ain't gonna stay with the movie.
It makes the film seem better than it probably is.----------- 7.
Intriguing and weird...Deborah Harry shines!.
This is a movie unlike any other I've seen.
Bizarre undertones create an intriguing psychological tension throughout the film.
Deborah Harry is PERFECTION as the uncomfortably close mother of a young guy who is drawn to mob life and gets in too deep.
Truly unique and haunting, and directed with style.The other review of this film obviously didn't get it.
There is dark comedy throughout, and some brutally violent scenes...perhaps that's confusing to viewers who need special effects and pre-fab soundtracks.
Great soundtrack, offbeat cast.This is a pretty violent film, so not for the faint of heart, although the violence is treated in a really interesting way..
This is one of the weirdest movies I've seen, but I have to say that I liked it.
It's definitely not for people who only like mainstream type movies.
There is some "uncomfortable" (LOL) subject matter within this film, however, I always seem to find the humor in these things.
Throughout the movie Jon Demme and the other film makers picked apart a seriously diseased mind with great writing.
Since his mother prostituted herself she made it seem like sex was such a terrible thing, that he would not do it (so his mind invented madden to do it for him).
Not only was he crazy, but at the end you finally find out that his mother was truly the crazy one and he was just a naive boy in love.I recommend this movie to anyone who likes good script.
Really Funny Film.
Debbie Harry is a great actress as well as a singer/songwriter.
She is great as the child obsessed Mother of Harold.
Harrold is now working for the Mafia to support his bizarre mother, Kate.Thouroughly Enjoyed this film, one of Harry's better better ones..
Acting is terrible, there is no plot whatsoever, there is no point whatsoever, i felt robbed after i rented this movie.
a disgrace for terrible movies!
"Six Ways to Sunday" begins with the Isaac Hayes rendition of 'What A Friend We Have in Mother' and shows a piece of electrical wire running from the mother's bedroom to that of her son's.
This is a disturbing film by Jonathan Demme, taken from a novel called 'Portrait of a Young Man Drowning', but it is also fun to watch because the film is understated enough that you are guessing all along which way it might be going.
Harry Odom is a young man who could be a cross between the Malcolm McDowell character in "A Clockwork Orange" and Norman Bates.
He has an affliction, he isn't sure about his own sexuality because his dominating mother, Kate, insures that he be devoted solely to her, to the point of bathing him herself and controlling the light switch in his room while constantly reminding him of the deadbeat father that left them.
He appears to be a loner but he has a special friend, Madden, an imagined alter ego who lusts whereas Harry can't.
Could Iris be a put-on, is the Uncle Max character real, and will Harry really go through with rubbing Abie out?
By film's end, Harry has turned into a cold blooded murderer but we also see a twisted redemption - an anti-hero who is able to walk away with his girl and with his affliction.
The cast is not particularly outstanding, Deborah Harry as Kate and Norman Reedus as Harry, but the integrity of the film doesn't depend on the acting as much as on the joy of peeling away at the story layer by layer until there is nothing left..
One weird movie.
Six Ways to Sunday is definitely one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen, but I loved it at the same time.
Norman Reedus is one of my favorite actors so every movie he is in he does an amazing job.
He played an 18 year old boy named Harry Odum, who is pretty much babied by his mother.
Blondie, also known as Deborah Harry, did a great job as an over protective mother.
I think my mom is over protective, but she doesn't even come close to how Deborah Harry's character is.It's a dark comedy with some bloody scenes and if you can handle some awkward moments then rent it for sure.
"Six ways to Sunday" is not a 'funny gangster's flick' where the important plot is not if the boy is cold-blooded or not...
This movie is a psychological view of the violence triggered by a real ill sexual life.
I personally think you have to be screwed In the head to appreciate this movie....
I really enjoyed this movie.
I mean come on    people Issac Hayes and Debbie Harry, we're talking Chef and Blondie, how cool is that?
A truly great dark comedy.
This is a great film.
This is a great film.
One of the most entertaining, bizarre comedies that I have seen in a long time.
I would highly recommend it to those who can appreciate out-of-the-ordinary cinema.Debbie Harry shines as the overly attentive mother while Norman Reedus does a wonderful job as her son.
I just kept wondering what could possibly be next in this film.
It's one of those films you start watching and after 10 minutes you think its really interesting and innovative and dazzling and then after 11 minutes till the end you realise it's annoying.
I'm sure the director's intentions were true in trying to make a slick looking piece of cinema, but the tedious batman-style camera tilts, the endless flashbacks, the fizzy editing and cheap effects leave little to chew on as its all been seen and done a lot better in any MTV video and that's the root of the problem as this film strives to attain those 'heights'!
Go back to film school and learn about the greats - Ozu & Tarkovsky & Visconti - if you want to discover dazzling cinematography without resorting to gimmicks.
So...Kid with violent blackouts handles himself nicely as a heavy for a mob boss, betraying his best mate in the process (a laughable Adrien Brody) whilst struggling with his Oedipul relationship with mad-mom (Debbie Harry) and his flowering romance with limping geek-maid (Elina Lowenson).
I watched this movie which I really thought had a promising beginning but then it just led me to feel disappointed in the end.
The problem I think with this film was that the director was trying a bit to hard to make this film weird and original.
There were too many flashbacks and too many bad "effects" which got me annoyed through the film.
I love Debbie Harry and Isaac Hayes but they disappointed me in this film, they could of done much better.
This film seemed promising in the beginning, dragging in the middle and then disappointing in the end.
The film could never beat Stanley Kubrick's geniousness when it comes to controversial matters, weirdness and originality in movies..
If we disregard from the fact that poor boy was with mental disorder because of his crazy mother, the movie was one of the best I've ever seen.
Great performance by Norman Reedus again, this man knows how to gets under your skin.
I like this one and it definitely was worth it for me!
I found a lot of great quotes too, like "Respect one thing, trust another.
You can't trust cats." I watched with interest from the beginning to the end,and it was good.
I think he had to kill her, and that was the only miss in the movie.
After all he was just a victim of misunderstood love, and that makes him even more liked for all who watch.