Decoding Annie Parker

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Bernstein directs. Ted Hayash behind the camera. Steven Bramson scores. Douglas Crise cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Earned back only 3% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 12 years ago.
• 4Directed by Steven Bernstein, shot by Ted Hayash. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Steven Bramson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Douglas Crise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Samantha Morton and Helen Hunt and Aaron Paul carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Everyone thought they were crazy, until they proved everyone wrong.".
• 9IMDB entry: tt1464191 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 92 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Ted Hayash

Original score

Steven Bramson

Editing

Douglas Crise

Production design

Rob Howeth

Runtime

91 min · 1h 31m

Status

Released

Budget

$2,000,000

Box office

$60,048

Return

3% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Decoding Annie Parker (2014) ↗

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Decoding Annie Parker - 1st trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2016-08-18
  ★ 7/10

  Half movie, half documentary, the story of most crucial scientific discovery. The film was inspired by the real life stories of the two women from the same timeline who had no connections, except theirs involvement with something. That means there are two sets of stories that's told one after another in parts which covered the events from nearly the three decades. So it all begins in the 1960, where two little sisters promise to each other about something, but 10 years later one of their's life changed forever when another one dies of cancer. So this is the story where the other sister begins her fight against the disease that took her family away. This is a small budget film that shot entirely within a month of time. There are lots of actresses in this, even for the small roles. I thought Helen Hunt would lead the narration, but then there were Maggie Grace, Alice Eve, Aaron Paul and others. Great dedications by all, but this was Samantha Morton's film. I did not know what this story is about when I decided to watch, but I'm pretty happy for the film. Except the material was more a documentary suitable kind, especially the story of Helen Hunt's character. Moreover feels like it is a short film with a decent story. I think it is worth a watch because of unfolding an important scientific discovery of our time. So a big yes on that perspective, but entertainment wise it is just an average. Now you can decide this on what you're seeking. 7/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Unified Pictures

  US

• ME

  Media House Capital

  CA

• DE

  Decoding Annie Parker

• OZ

  Ozymandias Productions

Key crew

• ProducerStuart W. Ross
• ProducerSteven Bernstein
• ProducerKeith Kjarval
• ProducerRon Senkowski
• ProducerMary Vernieu
• ProducerClark Peterson
• Line ProducerRandolf Turrow
• Co-ProducerBrigitte Huff
• Co-ProducerMick Partridge
• Co-ProducerJaki West
• Executive ProducerSidney Powell
• Executive ProducerDarlene Winter
• Executive ProducerJohnathan Brownlee
• Executive ProducerAaron L. Gilbert
• Executive ProducerNolan Mcdonald
• Executive ProducerTara Finegan
• Associate ProducerOliver Wheeler
• Associate ProducerC. Steve Goldstein
• Associate ProducerMichael Moss
• EditorDouglas Crise
• CastingVenus Kanani
• Production DesignRob Howeth
• Camera OperatorDan Kneece
• Camera OperatorMichael Ferris

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• infidelity
• genetics
• dark comedy
• cancer
• dna testing

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2013-04-04· Palm Beach International Film Festival
• Theatrical2014-05-02R