Dan Lett Movies

Cavedweller is an adaptation of Dorothy Allison's novel of the same name. Anne Meredith, who also adapted Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina, wrote the script, and the film was directed by Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon). Kyra Sedgwick stars as Delia Byrd. As the film opens, Delia loses her wayward rock-star husband, Randall (Kevin Bacon in a bit part), to a car accident, and decides to take her angry, heartbroken young daughter, Cissy (Regan Arnold, who played the tormented little sister in Blue Car), from Los Angeles back to her hometown in rural Georgia, where Delia left her two daughters and her abusive husband, Clint (Aidan Quinn), many years ago, to join Randall on the road. "Those people are not gonna be happy to see you," warns Delia's friend, Rosemary (singer Jill Scott in her film debut), but Delia is determined to reclaim her daughters. Cissy irrationally blames Delia for Randall's death, making the drive to Georgia an unpleasant one. Upon arriving there, Delia finds that she is not remembered fondly. Her taciturn grandfather (Myron Natwick) reluctantly takes her and Cissy in, but Delia soon learns that Clint is dying, and that her daughters, Amanda (Vanessa Zima) and Dede (April Mullen), are living with Clint's fire-and-brimstone mother (Jackie Burroughs), who has no intention of letting the girls see her. Realizing he has wronged her, Clint agrees to help Delia get custody of the girls, in exchange for her caring for him until he dies. Cavedweller was shown at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival before premiering on Showtime. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The ghosts of two daring pilots help a troubled young girl in this fantasy for the family. In 1927, a pair of French air aces, Charles Nungesser (Lothaire Bluteau) and Francois Coli (Michel Monty) hop into a single-engine biplane and take off for New York City with the intention of becoming the first pilots to cross the Atlantic non-stop. However, they fail to arrive in New York and are never heard from again. 70 years later, 12-year-old Katie Penhallow (Juliana Wimbles) and her brother are sent to Newfoundland to visit their grandmother, Lydia (Marsha Mason). Both Katie and her brother have had a difficult time dealing with the death of their father, a pilot who lost his life while testing a plane several years before. One night, while exploring at a pond near Grandmother's house, Katie encounters Nungesser and Coli, who look remarkably alive and healthy for two men who have been dead for seven decades. The flyboys tell Katie they are actually the spirits of the lost aviators, and they will not be able to rest until they can rescue their wrecked aircraft from the pond. While Katie has a hard time convincing anyone of what she saw, for the first time since her father's death she has a focus and purpose in life that takes her mind off her feelings about her dad. Shown on premium cable in the United States under the title Restless Spirits, Dead Aviators was shown under its original title in 1999 at Sprockets, the Toronto Film Festival for Children, and on CBC television in Canada. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Lawyer John Williams (Courtney B. Vance) looks back in flashback to 1957 when he began as a lawyer while living in the Bronx with his older brother, Charles (Charles S. Dutton). Married to Carol (Lonette McKee), Charles is the NYPD's first African-American sergeant, and he plans a police exam for his oldest son, Charlie (Garland Whitt), who would rather study art. After a call that Charlie is under arrest for the murder of a white boy, John suspects he was beaten and forced to confess by the cops, but Charlie claims he did indeed kill an Irish-American youth. John takes on the case, feeling that Charlie is hiding something -- while the courts, police, and the public are all ready to see Charlie electrocuted. Director Ernest Dickerson (Juice) filmed in Toronto. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this Canadian Candide update, orphan Gordie (Jamie Shannon) lives with his hippie aunts at a quiet Porridge Glenn farm. When his beagle Speedoh is lost, a call from a psychic suggests a search in Toronto, where hayseed meets hooker wannabe Heidi (Sarain Boylan). She introduces him to two past-porn performers (Shelly Mars, Scott Thompson), the former stars of "Who's Afraid of Vagina Woolf?" Hick Gordie seems destined for street hustling and boogie nights after encountering a gay band that raises AIDS-research money by selling Gordie off to a sleazeball pimp (Alex Karzis). At this juncture, however, Heidi hatches a plan to reunite Gordie and Speedoh. Shown at the 1997 Vancouver and Toronto film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This Canadian made-for-television movie spawned the popular series about a crime-fighting Royal Canadian Mountie. Paul Gross stars as Constable Benton Fraser, an RCMP who sets out to track down his father's killer. His chase takes him all the way to Chicago where he hooks up with Ray Vecchio, (David Marciano) a macho, local Chicago detective. Together they hit the streets as a crime-fighting and justice-seeking duo. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Lucy, a writer of erotic novels who is uninspired unless she gets some new sexual experience, plunges into a torrid affair with Sloan, an arrogant bisexual, who has written a novel about a serial killer and whom Lucy's husband, a publisher, has introduced to her. Lucy either fantasizes or recalls a sultry affair that she had once in Paris with a hood named Minter, who introduced her to the ultimate in sexual satisfaction. Lucy's husband discovers his latent homosexuality, guided by his business associate William, who also has an affair with the sexually indiscriminate Sloan. This pretentious, would-be artsy film combines black-and-white and color sequences but ultimately is derivative and boring. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Mrs. Soffel is set in Pittsburgh near the dawn of the 20th century. Peter Soffel (Edward Herrmann) is the warden of a top security prison, and his wife Kate (Diane Keaton) often comes by to read the Bible aloud to the inmates, despite her fragile health. While making her rounds, she makes the acquaintance of the Biddle Brothers, Ed (Mel Gibson) and Jack (Matthew Modine), who are sentenced to death for murder and robbery. Ed has become something of a celebrity thanks to his letter-writing campaign, in which he appeals in the letter-to-the-editor columns of the popular press to stay the execution of his brother and himself. His good looks, intelligence, and charm make a strong impression on Kate, whose marriage offers her little excitement. In time, Kate finds herself falling in love with Ed, and she discovers that she's unexpectedly receptive to his suggestion that she help him escape. Mrs. Soffel was the first American film from noted Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide