Desert Hearts

Desert Hearts

Desert Hearts

Starring: Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau

When college professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno in 1959 to get a quickie divorce, the last thing on her mind is romance. A prim intellectual, crippled by a sterile marriage ("We're a professional couple") and hiding behind her education, she moves into a ranch belonging to Frances Parker (Audra Lindley) and tries to keep to herself. But Parker's beautiful, sassy tomboy of a stepdaughter proves to be quite a distraction, and a love affair slowly blossoms. Cay (Patricia Charbonneau) refuses to be bound by convention or by expectations of how a nice girl should behave, and her devil-may-care attitude both attracts and terrifies the nervous professor. \n Shaver is terrific as Vivian, and the slow thawing of her character is beautifully paced--you can feel the tension break when she finally lets down her guard. Another strong performance comes from Audra Lindley as Frances. She's a tough old bird with a drinking problem, but Lindley keeps the character from descending into stereotype, and she gives full rein to the tragic side of this lonely woman, especially as she struggles with her reaction to the developing relationship between Cay and Vivian. \n There are scenes in "Desert Hearts" that would be painfully clich?©d if they appeared in a heterosexual romance, and even here they only just escape that fate--relying a little too much on significant glances and lines that just don't sound like real conversation. Nevertheless, first-time director Deitch breathes new life into a standard straight-arrow-meets-free-spirit plot, and steadfastly refuses to turn this love story into an "issues movie." Add to that a strong feel for the period and a soundtrack filled with the likes of Patsy Cline and Gene Vincent, and the result is a warm, well-acted film that packs a real emotional punch.

100 Feet

100 Feet: Famke Janssen

100 Feet

Cast: Famke Janssen, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pare, Ed Westwick, John Fallon, Patricia Charbonneau, Kevin Geer

When a woman serving time for the murder of her husband is granted early release on the condition that she remains under house arrest for the remainder of her sentence, her past strikes back with a supernatural vengeance in this thriller from director Eric Red (Undertow and Bad Moon). Marnie Watson (Famke Jansen) was suffering under the brutal hand of her husband Mike (Michael Pare) - a violent New York City cop - when she struck back in self-defense. In the aftermath of that tragedy, Mike was dead and Marnie convicted of manslaughter.

Now released from prison and outfitted with an electronic ankle bracelet the will alert authorities to her location at all times, Marnie is given strict orders to remain in her house until her sentence is served in full. As Marnie begins to serve her time, her late husband's partner observes from a patrol car parked across the street - eager for the moment she violates her probation and he can lock her up for good. But there's something else in the house with Marnie, and now the woman who thought her nightmare was finally over is about to discover that it's only just begun. Marnie's husband is just as evil in death as he was in life, and he's determined to strike back at the woman who killed him with savage ferocity.