Out of Darkness
| Out of Darkness | |
|---|---|
 The cover of the VHS release. The slogan reads, "Hope has a way of shining through." The cover also calls the film "A moving true story about defeating personal tragedy." | |
| Directed by | Larry Elikann |
| Written by | Barbara Turner |
| Starring | Diana Ross |
| Music by | Michel Colombier |
| Cinematography | Eric Van Haren Noman |
| Edited by | Peter V. White |
| Distributed by | ABC |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Out of Darkness is a 1994 made-for-television film starring singer and actress Diana Ross. The movie was distributed and released by ABC on January 16, 1994 in the USA, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
Plot
In the film, Ross's character, named Pauline Cooper, is a former medical student who becomes ill with paranoid schizophrenia and loses 18 years of her life due to the sickness. After her release from a mental ward, Pauline struggles to rebuild her life with help from doctors, nurses, and a new experimental medication that will help aid her back to health. Throughout the movie, Pauline seeks to better herself in a world that she felt had shunned her.
The story is open-ended, concluding with Pauline seeing a homeless woman rummaging through junk cans and talking to herself, which leaves her (Pauline) in tears. The question of whether this will be Pauline's future or was a fate Pauline had avoided but to which she could still fall victim was not answered, only raised.
Production
The film was rated PG-13 and rated M in Australia. The movie was made by several different production companies; these included Ross's Anaid Film Productions Inc., Andrew Delson Company, Capital Cities/ABC Video Enterprises Inc. and Empty Chair Productions Inc.
In an attempt to improvise the "walk" of a homeless indigent, Ross discreetly placed an orange between her skirted thighs and proceeded to hobble along on cue. The effort required to keep the concealed orange in place, and without using her hands, resulted in a gait so uncanny that Ross's director, Larry Elikann, later quizzed her about how she walked the "walk." But according to Ross herself, as she related to the audience of Inside the Actors Studio on February 19, 2006, she never did disclose the simplicity of her little ruse.
Cast
- Diana Ross as Pauline "Paulie" Cooper
- Ann Weldon as Virginia Cooper
- Rhonda Stubbins White as Zoe Price
- Beah Richards as Mrs. Cooper
- Carl Lumbly as Addison Haig
- Chasiti Hampton as Ashley Cooper
- Maura Tierney as Meg
- John Marshall Jones as Albert Price
- Rusty Gray as Bartender (credited as Rusty Schmidt for the film)
- Lindsay Crouse as Kim Donaldson
- Juanita Jennings as Inez
- Patricia Idlette as Policewoman
Awards
Ross earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a TV Movie at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards in 1995.