Themes: Domestic Abuse, Haunted By the Past, Suicide
Main Cast: Robin Wright Penn, William Hurt, Amy Madigan, Lucinda Jenney, Joanna Cassidy
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
Plot
The mysterious reasoning of women who protect men who hurt them is explored in this psychological drama. Hedda (Robin Wright-Penn) was once involved with a man who had a long history of violence against women (played by Anthony Lucero). Even though Hedda broke up with him after a violent incident that caused her to fall out of a window, she hasn't been able to get him out of her mind, and her sorrow over ending the affair has led her to attempt suicide on more than one occasion. After the man's most recent girlfriend died as an indirect result of his abuse, District Attorney K.D. Dietrickson (William Hurt) has decided to file charges of negligent homicide against him, and he wants Hedda to testify in court to help establish a pattern of abuse. However, for whatever reason, Hedda still loves him, and in her mind she has turned the incident into a situation in which she was at fault. Despite the urgings of Hedda's concerned parents (Joanna Cassidy and Paul Dooley) and her sister, a tough lawyer named Brett (Amy Madigan), Hedda seems unmovable, which makes it all the more difficult for Dietrickson to stop the abuser before he can hurt someone else. Sean Penn, who happens to be Robin Wright-Penn's husband, served as co-producer and has a showy cameo role early in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Paul Dooley - Leo; Anthony Lucero - Defendant; Jennifer Rubin - Debra; Sean Penn - Man on the Hill; Richard Schiff; Catherine Wong; Michael Tomluinsonm; La Tanya Richardson; Erin Garnsey; Phyllis Flax; Betsy Clark; Bari K. Willerford; Natsuko Ohama; Emma Sophia Johnson
Credit
Rich Bluhm - Art Director, Cathy Sandrich - Casting, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Patricia Morrison - Co-producer, Amy State - Costume Designer, T. Bird - First Assistant Director, Erin Dignam - Director, David Rogow - Editor, Gillian Hutchings - Editor, Ann Trulove - Editor, Mark Damon - Executive Producer, Arthur Goldblatt - Executive Producer, Pierre Caland - Executive Producer, David Baerwald - Composer (Music Score), Barry Robison - Production Designer, Reynaldo Villalobos - Cinematographer, Sean Penn - Producer, Philippe Caland - Producer, Tim Colohan - Set Designer, Dane A. Davis - Sound/Sound Designer, Erin Dignam - Screenwriter
