Themes: Redemption, Going Straight, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, Kirsten Dunst, Dorian Harewood
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Action comedy screenwriter Ed Solomon switches gears to psychological drama for his feature film directing debut, Levity. Manual Jordan (Billy Bob Thornton) gets released after doing 23 years in prison for accidentally killing a kid during an attempted robbery. Not having any place to go as a free man, he returns to the town where he committed the crime in hopes of seeking salvation. He ends up in a community center where he meets pastor Miles Evans (Morgan Freeman), who helps him out with practical matters like work, food, and housing. Trying to find redemption for his sins, he befriends Adele Easely (Holly Hunter), a single mother who just happens to be the sister of the boy he shot in the robbery. He also meets teenaged Sofia Mellinger (Kirsten Dunst), a rich girl with a drug problem. Still attempting to reconcile with his past, Manual seems drawn to interfere when Adele's son Abner seems headed down a criminal path. Levity premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Geoffrey Wigdor - Abner Easely; Luke Robertson - Young Abner Easely; Billöah Greene - Don; Catherine Colvey - Claire Mellinger; Manuel Aranguiz - Senor Aguilar; Lucy Robinson
Credit
Pierre Perrault - Art Director, Andrea Kenyon & Associates - Casting, Irene Litinsky - Co-producer, Marie-Sylvie Deveau - Costume Designer, Michael Williams - First Assistant Director, Ed Solomon - Director, Pietro Scalia - Editor, Morgan Freeman - Executive Producer, Fred Schepisi - Executive Producer, Doug Mankoff - Executive Producer, Lori McCreary - Executive Producer, Andrew Spaulding - Executive Producer, James C.E. Burke - Executive Producer, Mark Oliver Everett - Composer (Music Score), Liza Richardson - Musical Direction/Supervision, François Séguin - Production Designer, Roger Deakins - Cinematographer, Richard N. Gladstein - Producer, Ed Solomon - Producer, Adam Merims - Producer, Michel Clement - Set Designer, Daniele Rouleau - Set Designer, Patrice Bengle - Set Designer, Stephen Flick - Sound/Sound Designer, Claude Le Haye - Sound/Sound Designer, Stephen Flick - Supervisor/Manager, Ed Solomon - Screenwriter
Manual Jordan, a man who served 22 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery, is granted parole from a life sentence. After spending his time staring at a clipping of Abner Easley, the boy he killed, he returns to the city he used to live in to find redemption. He ends up living at a community house which is run by Miles Evans, a preacher. He offers Manual work so he can pay for the room, and Manual places Abner's photo in his room to remind himself.
While staying at the community house, he befriends Sofia Mellinger, a wild young woman with no adult figure in her life. Manual also encounters Adele Easley, the elder sister of Abner. She doesn't recognize Manual and in his pursuit for forgiveness, he forms a friendship with her, and their relationship begins to develop.
Manual gets his chance for redemption when Adele's rebellious teenage son becomes involved in violence. Manual tries to befriend him and steer him in the right direction, ever mindful of the past.
