Russell Gray Movies

A man working community service in a Rhode Island hospital befriends a convicted killer who's dying of AIDS. Convicted of involuntary manslaughter following the drunk driving accident that claimed the life of his best friend, Mickey (Louis Crugnali) is performing community service in a local hospital while taking a creative writing course at a community college. When Mickey's teacher tasks his students with writing a paper about an interesting stranger, the troubled young man reaches out to Sam (Joe Morton), a dying man serving a life sentence for the murder of his high school principal. Together Mickey and Sam reflect on the choices they have made, and the lessons they can learn from their mistakes. Meanwhile, Mickey begins to distance himself from his quick-tempered father as be begins a relationship with Maria (Daniella Alonso), a smart and pretty young woman who offers him hope for a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Francis Damberger directed this Canadian period drama adapted from Betty Lambert's play, Jennie's Story. In a remote Alberta community during the Depression, farmer's wife Jennie McGrane (Christianne Hirt) believes the reason she can't have a child is because she's being punished by God. In truth, she had an affair with a priest (Michael Riley), so the church and her family conspired to give her an operation rendering her infertile. Shown at the 1998 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Illeana Douglas delivers a superb performance as Denise Waverly, a fictional singer and songwriter whose life bears more than a passing resemblance to that of real-life pop star Carole King. Edna Buxton, the daughter of a Philadelphia steel tycoon, aspires to a career as a singer, and when against her mother's bidding she sings a sultry version of "Hey There (You With the Stars in Your Eyes)" (instead of Mom's choice, "You'll Never Walk Alone") at a talent contest, she wins a recording contact and moves to New York City. She cuts a record and gains a new stage name, Denise Waverly; however, she soon finds that girl singers are a dime a dozen in the Big Apple and her career as a vocalist goes nowhere. But she has a knack for writing songs, and eccentric producer Joel Milner (John Turturro) asks her to pen some songs for his upcoming projects. Teamed with Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz), a hipster songwriter who wants to express his political and social ideals through pop tunes, she finds both a successful collaborator and husband. While her work with Howard gains Denise writing credits on a string of hit records and respect within the industry, their marriage falls apart, and she becomes involved with Jay Phillips (Matt Dillon), the gifted but unstable leader of a popular West Coast surf music combo. Students of pop music history will have a ball with the various characters modeled after real-life rock legends, and the 1960s-style song score includes numbers written by Joni Mitchell and J. Mascis (of the band Dinosaur Jr.), as well as one-time King collaborator Gerry Goffin; a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, "God Give Me Strength," led to a full album written by the two great tunesmiths. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi