Wednesday, December 21 at 1:30 p.m. - THE FAMILY STONE (2005) Starring Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Claire Danes; Rated PG-13; 103 minutes
An uptight, conservative, businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.
For more information, please view the film's trailer.
Please note that this month's Wednesday matinee will take place in the Conference Room on our Mezzanine Level.
Friday, December 30 at 7:30 p.m. -- THE TREE (2010) Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies and Marton Csokas; Not Rated; 100 minutes.
Blindsided with anguish after her husband’s sudden death, Dawn -- along with her four young children -- struggles to make sense of life without him. Eight-year-old Simone becomes convinced that her father is whispering to her through the leaves of the gargantuan fig tree that towers over their house. The family is initially comforted by its presence, but then the tree’s enormous roots slowly begin to encroach on the abode and threaten their fragile existence.
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Check out the rest of our Friday Films in December.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
Friday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. -- MAIN STREET (2010) Starring Colin Firth, Ellen Burstyn, and Patricia Clarkson; Rated R; 92 minutes.
Main Street is a contemporary drama about several residents of a small Southern city whose lives are changed by the arrival of a stranger with a controversial plan to save their decaying hometown. In the midst of today's challenging times, each of the colorful citizens of this close-knit North Carolina community -- from its Mayor to a local police officer to a once-wealthy tobacco heiress -- will search for ways to reinvent themselves, their relationships and the very heart of their neighborhood.
"Quite the cast...[a] feel good [movie]..." - Huffington Post
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Click here for a complete list of Friday Films in December.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
Friday, January 6 at 7:30 p.m. -- MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011) Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, and Kurt Fuller; Rated PG-13; 94 minutes.
This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because of business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall have experiences there that change their lives. It's about a young man's great love for a city, Paris, and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better.
4 Golden Globe Award Nominations for Best Picture (Comedy), Best Actor - Owen Wilson (Musical/Comedy), Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
"Smart, funny, whimsical--one of the best romantic comedies in recent years." - Richard Roeper
"Midnight in Paris is a loving embrace of the city, of art and of life itself." - Tom Long, Detroit News
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Check out the rest of our Friday Films in January.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
Friday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m. -- THE HELP (2011) Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Bryce Dallas Howard; Rated PG-13; 146 minutes.
Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives -- and a small Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up -- to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories -- and as it turns out, they have a lot to say.
"An instant classic." - Chris Parente, FOX Denver
"One of the best movies of the year!" - Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Click here for a complete list of Friday Films in December.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
Friday, November 25 at 7:30 p.m. -- BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK (2010) Documentary; Not Rated; 84 minutes.
Chronicles a man who is obsessively interested in only one thing,the pictures he takes that document the way people dress. The 80-year-old New York Times photographer has two columns in the paper's Style section, yet nobody knows who he is.
“[A] captivating and moving portrait of a singular man and a passing era…Mr. Cunningham finds something creative, life-affirming and free, and preserves it forever. An intimate portrait that feels more found or captured than it does constructed. (Cunningham) is an aesthete and an ascetic, a member of the establishment and a bohemian, and among the last of his kind.” -- Carina Chocano, The New York Times
“It’s a real privilege to watch this film!” - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Click here for a complete list of Friday Films in November.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
Friday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. -- EVERYTHING MUST GO (2010) Starring Will Farrell, Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern; Rated R; 100 minutes.
Nick Halsey is having the worst day anyone could possibly have. He loses his job, his sobriety and his wife, finding all of his possessions on the front lawn of his old house with the locks changed. As he starts to live on his lawn, Nick’s AA sponsor steps in and suggests a yard sale as a way to make some money, let go and move on with his life.
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Click here for a complete list of Friday Films in November.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
On Thursday, December 1 at 7 p.m., in an event co-sponsored by Darien Green Village Initiative, we will be screening the documentary film FRESH.
The mission of Darien Green Village Initiative is to promote the greening of our community through local action, education and collaboration to make and sustain positive change.
FRESH – (2009) Documentary feature; Not rated; 72 minutes.
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, a 2008 recipient of the MacArthur “genius” grant and recently named one of Time’s 100 most influential people; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur Joel Salatin, made famous by The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the best-selling book by Michael Pollan, who is also featured in the movie; and, Kansas City supermarket owner David Ball, who is challenges our Wal-Mart-dominated economy every day by stocking his stores with products from local suppliers.
To learn more about the film and to watch the trailer, please click here.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s)
Joel Salatin, photo credit: Polyface Farms
The Old Home Comes Down: Preserving The Past Versus Engineering A Future is a documentary film that specifically looks at the demolition trend, over the past decade, in Fairfield County. Interviews have been conducted with builders, preservationists, town officials and architects - including, Mid-Century modern architects John Johansen and John Black Lee.
This film is produced by Emmy-award winning New Canaan resident John Murphy. John has worked in the broadcast news industry (CNN, NBC) for over 20 years.
A Q&A with the John Murphy, Williams Earls, author of The Harvard Five in New Canaan, and Rob Purdy, Owner of Cambridge Builders Inc. of New Canaan will follow the screening.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).
Friday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. - Water for Elephants (2011) Starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, and Christoph Waltz; Rated PG-13; 120 minutes
During the Great Depression, Jacob, a penniless and recently-orphaned veterinary school student, parlays his expertise with animals into a job with a second-rate traveling circus. He falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers, but their romance is complicated by Marlena's husband, the charismatic but unbalanced circus boss.
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. - Barney's Version (2010) Starring Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, and Dustin Hoffman; Rated R; 134 minutes.
Take a ride through the life and memories of Barney Panofsky, a hard-drinking, cigar-smoking, foulmouthed 65-year old hockey fanatic and television producer, as he reflects on his life's successes and (numerous) gaffes and failures as the final chapters of his own existence come sharply into focus.
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, November 18 at 7:30 p.m. - Everything Must Go (2010) Starring Will Farrell, Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern; Rated R; 100 minutes.
Nick Halsey is having the worst day anyone could possibly have. He loses his job, his sobriety and his wife, finding all of his possessions on the front lawn of his old house with the locks changed. As he starts to live on his lawn, Nick’s AA sponsor steps in and suggests a yard sale as a way to make some money, let go and move on with his life.
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
Friday, November 25 at 7:30 p.m. - Bill Cunningham New York (2010) Documentary; Not Rated; 84 minutes
Chronicles a man who is obsessively interested in only one thing,the pictures he takes that document the way people dress. The 80-year-old New York Times photographer has two columns in the paper's Style section, yet nobody knows who he is.
For more information, please watch the film's trailer.
All films are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).