Heidi Levitt Movies

A has-been British pop star reluctantly confronts the demons of his past in order to avoid getting deported from the U.S. after being pulled over for drunken driving and seeing a previous drug offense used against him in court. Back in the 1990s, Lachlan MacAldonich (Robert Carlyle) was on top of the world. You could barely turn on a radio without hearing one of his hits, but these days Lachlan maintains a low profile by working on an organic farm in L.A., and reflecting on the untimely deaths of his favorite musicians in his podcast "Flame-Outs." One night, while driving back home following a night of drinking at his favorite bar, Lachlan is arrested on a DUI charge. That compounded with a drug conviction from years prior means that Lachlan may face deportation unless he can convince the judge that his absence would have a negative impact on his family stateside. Desperate, Lachlan soon finds himself compelled to try and repair the failed relationships that have haunted him ever since his music career dried up and his star faded. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A grieving suburban family contend with the devastating loss of a child by retreating to an isolated country cottage, only to realize that the real nightmare has just begun when they are suddenly forced to fight for their lives. James D'Arcy and Selma Blair star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Four friends come together for a reunion that leads them down a self-destructive path in this drama. Jonathan (Rob Lowe), Richard (Thomas Jane), Ron (Jeremy Piven), and Tim (Christian McKay) are four men in their mid-forties who have known each other since they went to college together. Each year, they reunite for a vacation, renting a beach house in California and engaging in as much drug- and alcohol-fueled carousing as they can tolerate. While they seem happy on the surface, in truth all four are deeply troubled; Jonathan is a doctor whose specialty is writing prescriptions for the right price, Richard is a teacher still mourning his unsuccessful career as a novelist, Ron is a commodities trader in trouble with the law, and Tim feels lost and purposeless in his life. Over the course of their holiday, the friends will be touched by an unexpected tragedy and shocked by revelations that change the way they view one another. Also starring Carla Gugino and Sasha Grey, I Melt With You was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Thirty years after his wife and daughter perished in an accident, Donovan Matheson (Danny Glover) returns to his hometown, and becomes convinced that the tragedies of the past will soon repeat themselves. Donovan is a haunted man. He never quite recovered from the pain of losing his family, and now that he's returned home, old memories shadow his every move. As the anniversary of that fateful day draws near, Donovan grows convinced that history is repeating, and that his neighbor and her daughter will soon perish in the same way that his family once did. Desperate, Donovan reaches out to his skeptical brother-in-law (Bruce Greenwood) for help, only to find that the hardier he tries to change the future, the crazier he appears to everyone around him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A tragedy brings together two strangers in this independent drama from Canada. Nathalie Beauchamp (Isabelle Blais) and Henry Welles (Zach Braff) live just a few blocks away from one another in Montreal, but they have precious little in common. Nathalie is married to a wealthy man (Patrick Labbe), has a fine home, and is excited about the birth of her first child in a month. Henry, on the other hand, supports himself dealing drugs, rents a grubby Chinatown flat, and lives his life in constant motion. One night, Henry accidentally runs into Nathalie and speeds off before the police can catch up with him. Henry's conscience gets the better of him and he tracks down Nathalie to see if she's OK; he's crushed when he learns that she's fine, but her baby died and she'll be giving birth to a stillborn infant. Nathalie's husband reacts in a callous fashion to the news and she turns her back on him, setting out on her own. Henry befriends Nathalie and offers to take her in as she tries to start a new life; however, he doesn't have the courage to tell her it was his actions that set these events in motion. The first feature film from writer and director Deborah Chow, The High Cost of Living was an official selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Director Sally Potter examines the effects of globalism in the information age in this drama following a young blogger named Michelangelo as he interviews a series of eccentric subjects over the course of seven days. In a prominent New York fashion house, flamboyant designer Merlin prepares to debut his latest collection as curious blogger Michelangelo shoots interviews on his cell phone. His subjects; a disparate mix of New York denizens including a celebrity supermodel named Minx, a financial backer named Tiny Diamonds, a seamstress named Anita de Los Angeles, a pizza delivery boy named Vijay, a war photographer named Frank, and a critic named Mona Carvell. The fashion industry is in crisis thanks to globalization and a faltering economy. As the ever-increasing gap between appearance and reality widens, Michelangelo becomes the person everyone turns to in order to vent their frustrations. Later, when a model dies on the runway and police launch a murder investigation, the interviews take the form of confessionals in the eyes of a child armed with the two most powerful tools of his generation: the Internet and a cell phone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Writer/director Rodrigo García (Nine Lives) teams with executive producer Alejandro González Iñárritu to craft this drama highlighting the powerful bond between mothers and daughters. It's been years since Karen (Annette Bening) gave her daughter, Elizabeth, up for adoption, and the decision to abandon her child has always haunted her. Upon meeting laid-back Paco (Jimmy Smits), Karen permits her anxiety and mistrust to get the best of her. On the surface it appears that Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is none the worse for never knowing her biological mother; she's a fast-talking lawyer who's just landed a high-profile job at a firm fronted by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson), though her unsavory penchant for exploiting others is about to blow up in her face. Meanwhile, maternal-minded baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) longs to experience the joys of motherhood, eventually deciding that adoption is the best bet to start a family with her husband, Joseph (David Ramsey). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A compulsive gambler attempts to cure his addiction by moving from Las Vegas to Albuquerque and working at an auto insurance company, only to find old temptations cropping up once again when he's sent out to investigate a dubious car accident just outside of Sin City. After a string of bad luck at the tables, John (Steve Buscemi) decides to give up gambling and take a shot at a "normal" life. Arriving in Albuquerque and landing a job at an auto insurance company, John goes to work for Mr. Townsend (Peter Dinklage), who pairs him with the company's top fraud debunker, Virgil (Romany Malco), and sends them out on an investigation together. While John is eager to get a promotion, he's reluctant to go anywhere near Las Vegas, and before he leaves he strikes up a tenuous romance with his eccentric co-worker Jill (Sarah Silverman). On the road, Virgil and John encounter a series of offbeat characters including a nude militant (Tim Blake Nelson), a wheelchair-bound stripper (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and a carnival human torch (John Cho). But while Virgil is the one with the experience, John gradually begins to assert himself and soon his efforts begin to pay off as the case moves closer to conclusion. As John's confidence grows, he becomes increasingly aware of the fact that running away from his gambling problem is not the solution, and that he'll only be able to move forward by returning to Las Vegas to face his demons head on. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A handful of drug-addicted petty criminals discover their plan to pull off the perfect crime isn't quite perfect at all in this dark fusion of comedy and action from director Gary Yates. It's 1983, and Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) has just been released from prison. Bug meets up with his friend and former cellmate Dick (Timothy Olyphant), who is working as part of the cleaning crew at a hospital; it's Dick's first on-the-books job, and it provides him with a steady paycheck as well as an opportunity to steal drugs to feed his appetite for opiates. Thanks to Bug, Dick is quickly fired, but Bug soon gets an idea for a quick and lucrative score. Automated Teller Machines have become a common item while Bug was in stir, and he hatches a clever plot to rob a bank's ATM machines by posing as repairmen. Dick thinks Bug's scheme can actually work, and they recruit two guys to help pull the job, small-time thief Donnie (Joe Anderson) and Billy (Rossif Sutherland), a fellow junkie Dick meets at a twelve-step meeting. However good the plan looked on paper, once Dick and Bug meet up with Donnie and Billy to pull the job, it becomes obvious things aren't panning out and their partners in crime are even less dependable than they are. High Life was based on the play of the same name by Lee MacDougall, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Tilda Swinton stars in director Erick Zonca's drama about a 40-year-old alcoholic who, in a rare moment of sobriety, sees where her life is headed and makes one last-ditch attempt to steer herself away from the disastrous path that she has been locked on for as far back as she can remember. Julia may be manipulative, notoriously untrustworthy, and completely incapable of uttering any word that isn't an outright lie, but somehow -- perhaps due to sheer charisma -- this statuesque deceiver has always managed to get by. But Julia has been hardened by too many vodkas and too many one-night stands, and lately the lonely life of drifting from job to job in her 1979 Chrysler New Yorker has left her wanting something more. While her old boyfriend Mitch occasionally tries to break through Julia's haze, lately she has surrendered herself to the fact that she is simply one of life's losers. As her finances begin to run short and panic begins to set in, a desperate Julia turns to crime but is forced to go on the run with a young boy named Tom after her plan falls hopelessly apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An interracial couple moves into their California dream home, only to find themselves the target of their volatile next-door neighbor -- a racist LAPD officer -- in this tightly wound thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington. Newlyweds Chris and Lisa seem like they have the perfect marriage and now, with their new home in the exclusive community Lakeview Terrace, the perfect life as well, but things soon turn ugly in the posh neighborhood when they begin to receive threats from their neighbor Abel, a middle-aged LAPD officer who has obvious objections to the couple's interracial marriage. What starts as an attitude problem soon morphs into full-on harassment, and before long the couple finds that their worries go far beyond their property values -- or the encroaching California wildfire burning in view of their community -- as they begin to fear for their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Wayne Wang's character study Princess of Nebraska stars Ling Li as a young woman named Sasha who finds herself carrying the baby of an opera performer who finds himself on rough times after he gets caught in a compromising relationship with another man. Sasha travels to San Francisco in order to terminate the pregnancy, but while there meets the acquaintance of many people including a family that gives her shelter and a prostitute. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A charming elderly Jewish writer who lives in a state of "permanent confusion" finds his vivid imagination becoming the bane of his existence in director Jan Schütte's adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer's richly textured short stories. Max Kohn (Otto Tausig) is an Australian émigré whose mind is constantly spinning. He's an accomplished author of short stories who lives in New York City and is so steeped in tradition that he still uses a typewriter. Despite the fact that confirmed bachelor Max has a virtual harem of female admirers, he spends the majority of his free time with worrisome kindred soul Reisele (Rhea Perlman). It's during a trip to speak in nearby Hanover that Max begins editing his latest story -- a mischievous tale of a Miami retiree who embarks on a series of misadventures. Of course, it doesn't take Max long to lose himself in his own creation, and before he knows it, he's mixed up in two feverish romances and an unsolved murder. Upon snapping back to reality, Max begins to feel as if his own written word has begun to manifest itself. A meeting with world-weary former student Rosalie (Barbara Hershey), with whom he shares a mutual attraction, follows, and later while heading to Springfield for yet another speaking engagement Max discovers that he has misplaced his prepared speech. In the aftermath of that and various other mix-ups, Max decides to start writing a new story based on his recent adventures and featuring a protagonist named Harry -- a thinly veiled stand-in for the author himself. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi