The Passion of Ayn Rand (film)

Directed byChristopher MenaulStarringMusic byJeff BealCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishProductionExecutive producersProducersCinematographyRon OrieuxEditorDavid MartinRunning time104 minutesProduction companyProducers Entertainment GroupOriginal releaseNetworkShowtimeReleaseJanuary 27, 1999 (1999-01-27)

The Passion of Ayn Rand is a 1999 American biographical drama television film directed by Christopher Menaul and written by Howard Korder and Mary Gallagher, based on the 1986 book of the same name by Barbara Branden.

The film stars Helen Mirren as philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand, who engages in an affair with Nathaniel Branden, played by Eric Stoltz, a psychologist who is 25 years younger than she is. Branden built up an institute to spread Rand's ideas, but the two eventually had a falling-out. The film also stars Julie Delpy as Branden's wife Barbara and Peter Fonda as Rand's husband Frank O'Connor.

The Passion of Ayn Rand premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 1999, and aired on Showtime on May 30, 1999. It received moderately positive reviews from critics.^[1]

Cast

• Helen Mirren as Ayn Rand
• Eric Stoltz as Nathaniel Branden
• Julie Delpy as Barbara Branden
• Peter Fonda as Frank O'Connor
• Tom McCamus as Richard

Production

Filming took place in Toronto.^[2]

Release

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 1999.^[2] It aired on Showtime on May 30, 1999.^[3]

Reception

Critical reception

Based on reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 80%, with an average score of 6.8/10.^[4] Writing in Variety, David Kronke called the film "an ambitious, visually sumptuous attempt to depict a bizarre element of a controversial personality's life".^[3] Kronke went on to say, "Unfortunately, its insistence on maintaining a detached point of view towards its characters – or, rather, no point of view at all, as the filmmakers seem reticent to offend either Rand fans or detractors – renders it dramatically inert."^[3]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
1999	Emmy Awards[1]	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Helen Mirren	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Peter Fonda	Nominated
2000	Golden Globe Awards[5]	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	Peter Fonda	Won
		Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV	Helen Mirren	Nominated
	PGA Awards[6]	Television Producer of the Year Award in Longform	Peter Crane, Linda Curran Wexelblatt, Marilyn Lewis, Irwin Meyer, Steven Hewitt	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards[7]	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Helen Mirren	Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Peter Fonda	Nominated

References

External links

• The Passion of Ayn Rand at AllMovie
• The Passion of Ayn Rand at IMDb
• The Passion of Ayn Rand at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Passion of Ayn Rand at the TCM Movie Database