Wes Bentley Movies

Wes Bentley, Eric Roberts, and Michael Madsen headline first-time feature filmmaker Michael Straininger's story of a successful writer and scholar who falls under the spell of a bewitching seductress on an obsessive quest for immortality. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's acclaimed short story of the same name, Ligeia tells the story of Jonathan Merrick (Bentley), a respected academic engaged to the beautiful Rowena (Kaitlin Doubleday), but unable to resist the advances of ravishing siren Ligeia (Sofya Skya). Ligeia suffers from a terminal illness, and in order to cheat death she extracts the souls of others. After tricking Jonathan into supporting her ghoulish endeavor, Ligeia gradually draws him into her mysterious world of darkness. Forsaking his beloved Rowena, Jonathan joins Ligeia in her lavish manor at the edge of the Black Sea. There, Ligeia's amaranthine presence slowly erodes the fragile psyche of her prisoner Jonathan, forever cursed to be the victim of his own undying lust. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two luckless stoners begin a truly awful evening when they discover they have a dead girlfriend on their hands in this black comedy from writer and director Allen Moyle. Dexter (Scott Speedman) and Royce (Wes Bentley) are a pair of half-bright slackers living in a nowhere town in Northern Ontario. Dexter and Royce's lack of ambition is compounded by the fact they're both heroin addicts, and they support their habits by dealing dope for Omar (Raoul Bhaneja), a ruthless dealer who's not to be trifled with. Matilda (Taryn Manning), Royce's girlfriend, makes the mistake of dipping into their product one night and suffers a serious O.D.; frightened, Royce and Dexter decide they have to get rid of the body, and Dexter suggests they bury her in the boiler room of a drive-in movie theater where he used to work. The guys take Matilda's body to the drive-in and are about to cover her up when they realize she isn't dead yet; however, their timing is flawed, as this discovery coincides with the arrival of a gaggle of would-be Satan Worshipers, who are looking for a likely candidate for their first human sacrifice. Weirdsville was chosen as the opening night presentation for the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Simon Aeby made his directorial debut with this Swiss drama. When a door blows shut, three people are trapped in the basement laundry room of a New York apartment building -- Julian (Wes Bentley), Moriat (Kate Walsh), and older Nora (Judith Roberts) -- and their attitudes and arguments lead to emotional revelations. Shown at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Wes Bentley and Winona Ryder star in director/screenwriter Geoff Haley's darkly comic romance centering on the relationship between a writer specializing in suicide notes and the unsuspecting sister of his most recent client. Evan Merck (Bentley) is a reclusive, Los Angeles-based writer whose unique way with words has earned him an unusual career as a professional suicide note scribe. One day, while attending the funeral of a dearly departed client, Evan forms a close connection with the deceased's sister Charlotte (Ryder). A free spirit who remains blissfully unaware of Evan's true connection to her late brother, Charlotte becomes fascinated by the introverted writer and the pair soon enter into a tenuous relationship. But Evan can't keep his secret from Charlotte forever, and as love continues to blossom between the unlikely pair, the writer quickly finds his snowballing deceptions growing into a rampaging avalanche that threatens to destroy not only his career, but his one true human connection as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

One man's small empire threatens to collapse under the weight of his greed and deceit in this drama that transplants the story of Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge to 19th century America. In 1867, Dillon (Peter Mullan) is an Irish immigrant who settled in California during the Gold Rush of '49 and has done quite well for himself. Dillon owns nearly every business of consequence in the town of Kingdom Come; if someone wants to dig for gold, rent a room, open a bank account, or even order a drink, they have to go to Dillon to do it. One of the few profitable enterprises in town that he doesn't own is the brothel, which is operated by Lucia (Milla Jovovich), Dillon's lover. Circumstances change somewhat when Dalglish - a surveyor with the Central Pacific Railroad - turns up and expresses his plans to implement a railroad in the area. Dillon, sensing a great opportunity afoot, travels well out of his way to ensure that the line is run through Kingdom Come, to enhance the town's commercial prospects. Also arriving in town the same time as Dalglish are two women, the beautiful but ailing Elena (Nastassja Kinski) and her lovely teenage daughter Hope (Sarah Polley); their presence is deeply troubling for Dillon, for they are the keys to a dark secret Dillon has kept from the people of Kingdom Come. The Claim is Michael Winterbottom's second adaptation of the works of Thomas Hardy; his 1996 feature Jude was adapted from Hardy's final novel, Jude the Obscure. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two small-time crooks find themselves in deeper water than they can handle in this offbeat comedy. Edgar (Bob Hoskins) and Morales (Antonio Banderas) are a pair of minor-league grifters posing as men of the cloth, who travel through the deep South selling cheap socks at inflated prices to raise money for the fictional children's charity St. Mortimer's Orphanage. While stopping at a diner, Edgar and Morales spot a fellow fugitive from justice, the White River Kid (Wes Bentley), who is wanted for murder. Taking pity on a fellow outlaw, Edgar and Morales decide to warn the Kid that there are cops nearby and that he might want to make himself scarce; however, they soon regret their brief moment of compassion when they discover the Kid has taken over their RV and is now holding them hostage along with a waitress from the restaurant. The White River Kid also features Ellen Barkin, Beau Bridges, Swoosie Kurtz, and Randy Travis. While the film was completed in 1999, it received only scattered theatrical distribution in Eastern Europe and South America, and made its American premiere as a cable television feature in 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A.E.W. Mason's perennially popular tale of honor and adventure is brought to the screen yet again in this lavish period action-drama. In 1884, Harry Feversham (Heath Ledger) is a young officer-in-training in the British Army who is soon to graduate and is expected to be shipped of to the Sudan, where the King's military are battling Muslim insurgents who are attempting to overturn English colonial rule. Feversham, however, has developed serious ethical reservations about going along, and on the eve of his departure, he resigns his commission. Feversham's best friend and fellow officer Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley) in response presents him with a white feather (a symbol of cowardice), and two of his classmates follow suit. Ethne Eustace (Kate Hudson), Feversham's fiancée, presents him with a fourth white feather shortly before breaking off their engagement. Sufficiently humbled, Feversham attempts to win back his honor and the respect of his family and friends by secretly becoming an undercover operative in the Sudan. His initial attempts to pose as an Arab are not especially convincing, but he makes friends with Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), a local sympathetic with the British cause who proves to be a valuable source of insider information and advice on how to blend with the rebels. Meanwhile, Durrance is briefly ordered back to England to help recruit new soldiers for the colonial forces, and he takes the opportunity to begin wooing Eustace, the former flame of his former friend. This adaptation is the fifth film version of The Four Feathers, following two silent screen adaptations (released in 1915 and 1928), Zoltan Korda's memorable 1939 version, and a 1977 made-for-TV movie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide