Theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) moves from the relative anonymity of upstate New York to the high pressure world of Broadway. Backed with a huge grant, Cotard sets out to create his masterpiece, a brutally honest work staged in a life-size replica of New York City built in a theater district warehouse. While the production grows and its development stretches over years, Cotard struggles with the realities of his life and his difficulties with the women in it, including his ex-wife, Adele (Catherine Keener), his daughter, Olive (Sadie Goldstein), his new wife, Claire (Michelle Williams), and his therapist, Madeleine Gravis (Hope Davis). Directed by Charlie Kaufman. With Tom Noonan, Samantha Morton, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emily Watson and Dianne Wiest. Categories: Comedy, Drama. Year: 2008.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in Synecdoche, New York
Margot (Nicole Kidman), a successful writer, has never gotten along with her sister, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Pauline has always envied and looked up to the imperious Margot. Now that Pauline is engaged to an underemployed musician (Jack Black), Margot heads to the wedding with her adolescent son, saying she wants to support her sister. But she criticizes Pauline so harshly, she makes Pauline doubt whether she should go through with the marriage. Directed by Noah Baumbach, who made the highly praised dysfunctional family drama, The Squid
Jennifer Jason Leigh in Margot at the Wedding
Jack (Adrien Brody), a soldier who was shot in the head by a child in Iraq, returns to America suffering from bouts of amnesia. He is wrongly accused of killing a cop and thrown into a mental hospital. He meets a young woman (Keira Knightley) who believes in his innocence, but she can't influence the doctors (Kris Kristofferson and Jennifer Jason Leigh). If he can find a woman he met just before the killing, she can provide him with an alibi. Directed by John Maybury. Categories: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Year: 2005.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Jacket
Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is a lathe-operator dying from a lack of food and sleep deprivation. When his insomnia contributes to an accident that seriously injures a coworker, Trevor descends even deeper into a world of paranoia. As he tries to understand the meaning of cryptic notes left in his apartment and bizarre visions that are only visible to him, Trevor must face a terrible truth he has buried deep within his psyche. Directed by Brad Anderson. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, John Sharian and Michael Ironside. Categories: Drama, Mystery, Thriller. Year: 2004.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Machinist
During the Depression, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) works as a hitman for John Rooney (Paul Newman), an Irish mob boss who raised the orphaned Sullivan like a son. When a meeting turns into a gunfight, Rooney blames and humiliates his psychopathic son Connor (Daniel Craig) for the bloodshed, setting him off on a violent rampage that leaves Sullivan's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son (Liam Aiken) dead. Intent on revenge, Sullivan sets out on the run with his eldest son (Tyler Hoechlin), who finally learns his father's true occupation. Directed by Sam Mendes. With Stanley Tucci, Ciarán Hinds and Jude Law. Categories: Crime, Drama. Year: 2002.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in Road to Perdition
After rich tycoon Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) commits suicide, the leader of his board of directors, Sidney Mussberger (Paul Newman), concocts a plan to make a load of cash. By hiring a moron to drive the stock into the ground, he can take over the company and earn the fortune he deserves. Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), an unsuspecting go-getter, is plucked from the mail room and appointed to lead the company. Reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is suspicious of the move to hire an unknown, but Norville ends up surpring everyone and becomes an incredible success using his unconventional ideas. Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. With John Mahoney, Noble Willingham, Steve Buscemi and Peter Gallagher. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance. Year: 1994.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Hudsucker Proxy
A group of high schoolers growing up in southern California struggle with life and love in the 1970s. Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) attempts to find love through sex. Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) turns to his friend Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) for tips on how to win Stacy over. Brad Hamilton (Judge Reinhold) works a series of crappy jobs to pay for his dream car. And, Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), a stoned surfer, coasts through life, always on the lookout for the next party. Directed by Amy Heckerling. With Phoebe Cates, Vincent Schiavelli, Forest Whitaker and Brian Backer. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Cult Classics. Year: 1982.
Jennifer Jason Leigh in Fast Times at Ridgemont High