Though he knows he should be at his computer writing another book, or at least walking his dog along the sparkling lake outside his dingy cabin, successful author Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) is sleeping on his favorite sofa for up to 16 hours a day. He is in the midst of a painful divorce and everything about the breakup has turned messy and unpleasant. It has sapped his energy and siphoned away his creativity, leaving him with a monumental case of writer's block that renders him incapable of even stringing a simple sentence together.
Then, when it seems as if things can't possibly get worse, a psychotic stranger named John Shooter (John Turturro) shows up at his doorstep, accuses Rainey of plagiarizing his story and demands satisfaction. Despite Rainey's efforts to placate him, Shooter becomes increasingly insistent and hostile, intimating a twisted sort of justice that could include cold-blooded murder.
Forced into a mind-bending game of cat and mouse, Rainey discovers that he has more cunningness and gritty determination than he ever imagined. In the end, he realizes that elusive Shooter may know him better than he knows himself.
In WALK THE LINE, Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Signs, the Village) powerfully portrays Johnny Cash, a young, passionate artist who rebelled against convention, revolutionized music, and always walked his own path regardless of the consequences. His troubled childhood, along with his outlaw persona, unbridled talent and passion for the woman he was destined to be with, led him on a path of self-destruction. Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama) gives a brilliant performance as June Carter, the true love of his life and the woman who ultimately must save him from himself.
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginifer Goodwin
Directed by James Mangold
English language with latvian and russian subtitles.
Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly star in "Little Children," the latest work from Oscar-nominated writer/director Todd Field. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, "Little Children" centers on a handful of individuals whose lives intersect on the playgrounds, town pools and streets of their small community in surprising and potentially dangerous ways.
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Noah Emmerich, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Kate Winslet, Gregg Edelman, Sarah Buxton
Directed by Todd Field
Two women caught up in a drama of need and betrayal are at the heart of this psychological thriller, NOTES ON A SCANDAL. The twists and turns of the story are noted in the acerbic diary of Barbara Covett (Dame Judi Dench), a domineering and solitary teacher who rules with an iron fist over her classroom at a decaying state-run secondary school in London. Save for her cat, Portia, Barbara lives alone, without friends or confidantes - but her world changes when she meets the school's new art teacher, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett). Sheba appears to be the kindred spirit and loyal friend Barbara has always been seeking. But when she discovers that Sheba is having an incendiary affair with one of her young students (Andrew Simpson), their budding relationship takes an ominous turn. Now, as Barbara threatens to expose Sheba's terrible secret to both her husband (Bill Nighy) and the world, Barbara's own secrets and dark obsessions come tumbling to the fore, exposing the deceptions at the core of each of the women's lives.
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench
Directed by Richard Eyre
BEL AMI, based on the novel by Guy de Maupassant, is an erotically charged tale of ambition, power and seduction which chronicles the the rise of Georges Duroy from poverty into the "beau monde" 1890s Paris. Using his wits and powers of seduction, Duroy moves from a prostitue`s embrace to passionate trusts with wealthy beauties who inhabit a world where sex is power celebrity an obssesion, and where politics and media jostle for influence.
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman
Directed by: Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod
The events that overwhelm a middle-aged, seemingly happily married couple. The arrogant, bourgeois M. Hervey descends from a train into the teeming bustle of the city. While on his way home, he reflects on the sturdiness of his life: the success he has made of it, and the fortress of security he has built around himself. It is not long before his self-satisfaction is rudely shattered when he discovers a letter from his wife, Gabrielle, waiting for him on his sideboard. The contents of the message will crumble that security and plunge him into newfound feelings of vulnerability, abandonment and betrayal. Husband and wife find themselves engaged in a parry-and-thrust of emotions that change mid-sentence and stretch their ability to function and live in the same house.
In Competition at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival, 2005. Isabelle Huppert won Special Lion for Exceptional Outstanding performance in Gabrielle, and in life career.
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory, Claudia Coli, Thierry Hancisse, Chantal Neuwirth
French language with latvian and russian subtitles.
Eight couples, four uncouplings, two weddings, two graves, an angry father, a grieving couple, love, sex, heartache, and a dog. Penniless kids Oscar and Chloe meet at Bradley's coffee shop, fall in love, and share their dreams. Bradley's wife falls for another woman when he's not paying attention. He tries again with his realtor, who's having an affair with a married man. Watching all and providing counsel is Harry, a professor on leave, married to the patient Esther and paralyzed by grief. What is love's nature: blindness in the service of procreation, heartbreak, or everything? Can Chloe, Harry, and Bradley discover the answer?
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair
Directed by Robert Benton
Connie is a wife and mother whose 11-year marriage to Edward has lost its sexual spark. When Connie literally runs into handsome book collector Paul, he sweeps her into an all-consuming affair. But Edward soon becomes suspicious and decides to confront the other man.
Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray) is an American film actor, far past his prime. He visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johannson), the young wife of a visiting photographer. Bored and weary, Bob and Charlotte make ideal if improbable travelling companions. Scarlet is looking for "her place in life," and Bob is tolerating a mediocre stateside marriage. Both separately and together, they live the experience of the American in Tokyo. Bob and Charlotte suffer both confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences between themselves and the Japanese. As the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan, and one another, must soon end. Or must they?