Henry Bromell Movies

Mark (Eric Stoltz) shows us how his film (i.e. his life) would go over with a focus group. The group doesn't condemn Mark for cheating on Lorna (Felicity Huffman) with Danni (Kim Dickens). Mark also tells us that he first fell in love with Lorna at U.S.C., when he heard her play the piano. He convinces her to play for Annie (Justine Bateman), Danni, and their husbands at a dinner party. The party goes well, and Lorna controls her drinking. Afterward, she tells Mark that she's seeing a new psychological coach, and that her problem is impulse control, not alcoholism. Later, Zach (Peter Bogdanovich) meets with the couple. It turns out that he's not taking credit for their script. He didn't fire them; he just made a few changes. The studio put the project in turnaround, but Zach wants them to pitch it to a well-heeled producer, Ryan (Adrian Holmes). Zach suggests adding a scene with a psychic, so they make plans to see one, for research purposes. Lorna convinces Mark to apologize to Steven (William H. Macy). Steven isn't mad because Mark hit him, but because he called him "a has-been who never was." Mark apologizes. Steven intimates that there are things going on with Lorna that Mark doesn't know about. Mark visits Danni and they listen to the song "Frank Mills," from the Hair soundtrack. She warns Mark that he must never lie to her. Mark flashes back to his separation with Lorna, sparked by Lorna's miscarriage. He discovers that Lorna has been making phone calls to a mysterious "Teddy." Lorna later reveals that her shrink has diagnosed her as bipolar. She's taking lithium, and can no longer play the piano because her hands shake too much. This episode was directed by Henry Bromell (Panic). ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

The carnival rolls into Tipton, where they find themselves less than welcome. The town is in bad shape, and the sheriff, Lyle Donovan, knows Samson (Michael J. Anderson), and his business, and warns him not to set up shop. Jonesy (Tim DeKay) takes Ben (Nick Stahl) into town for supplies, where Ben sees a truck with "Big Sky Farms" written on the side, just like in the old photo he found of his mother. Before he can pursue it, he's recognized by the grandmother of the little girl he healed in the first episode, and swarmed by a crowd. This gives Jonesy the idea to present the carnival to Tipton as a revival, with Ben as a faith healer. Samson gets the endorsement of a local preacher by promising him a cut of the gate. The show goes off pretty well, with Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau) posing as a cancer victim whom Ben lays hands on. Apollonia (Diane Salinger) gets Sofie (Clea Duvall) to give Ben a lift into town so he can look for the farm truck. This leads him to Becca Donovan (Deborah Strong), a sick old woman who was friends with Scudder (John Savage), and knows that Ben has the same gift. Before she can tell him more, her son, the sheriff, shows up and throws Ben out. On the way back to the show, Sofie gets into an argument with Ben over his secretiveness, and Ben is late for his faith healing show, which Lyle interrupts to demand that Ben heal his dying mother. Meanwhile, Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown) is making great progress turning Chin's into a church for the migrants. But the local city council tries to stop him, incurring his supernaturally powerful wrath. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

A middle-aged man finds love in the last place he was looking -- his psychiatrist's waiting room -- in this dark comedy drama. Alex (William H. Macy) is a man in his mid-forties who is having something of a midlife crisis; he's unhappy with his life; his marriage to Martha (Tracey Ullman) is going through a rough patch; he's worried about his six-year-old son, on whom he dotes; and he wishes he hadn't bucked under to the wishes of his domineering father Michael (Donald Sutherland) and started working in the family business. Making things even more problematic is the family's line of work -- Alex is a killer-for-hire. Alex feels as if he's about to unravel from stress when he begins seeing Josh (John Ritter), a psychiatrist. One day, while waiting for his session with Josh, Alex meets Sarah (Neve Campbell), a sweet, pretty, but severely neurotic young woman with an omnivorous sexual appetite. Alex and Sarah take an immediate liking to one another, and Alex begins to pursue a romance with her, though he knows an affair could create more problems than it solves, especially after Michael informs Alex that Josh is his next target. Panic marked the feature debut for writer/director Henry Bromell, who previously distinguished himself as a novelist and a television producer. The supporting cast includes Barbara Bain as Alex's mother, who helped get her husband started in the business. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, a serial sniper is still at large -- and now there's a copycat killer on the loose. While the city is in full panic mode, the men and women of the homicide department work 24-hour shifts to track down the killers. Elsewhere, Howard (Melissa Leo) recovers from her wounds; Pembleton (Andre Braugher) agonizes over the well-being of his pregnant wife; and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) coerces the newly demoted Russert (Isabella Hoffman) to come out of her self-imposed exile. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While traveling to Harrisburg, PN, to extradite suspected murderer Rose Halligan (Lily Tomlin), Baltimore homicide detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) bide their time and relax as much as possible. Their lethargy proves to be their undoing when Halligan slips through the cops' fingers while they make a pit stop at a popular diner. Meanwhile, an important piece of evidence turns up missing from Brodie's (Max Perlich) surveillance tapes, and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) misses out on a major promotion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Three homicide investigations -- involving a carjacking, a rape, and a bar fight -- are unfolded in a series of flashbacks from the viewpoint of both the homicide detectives and the victims' families, the latter having formed a support group. A surprise development occurs when the group welcomes a new member -- medical examiner Julianna Cox (Michelle Forbes). Meanwhile, two of the elusive witnesses in one of the three cases compel Pembleton (Andre Braugher), still not fully recovered from his stroke, to embark upon a grueling chase. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Black Muslim civilian patrol group, hired to maintain law and order in a Baltimore federal housing project, resents the presence of homicide detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) when a drug dealer is killed in the project. The two cops also face resistance from one of their own higher-ups, the PC-conscious Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef). Other cases handled by Homicide this evening include the deaths of both killer and victim at a murder scene, as well as Russert's (Isabella Hoffman) investigation of a uniformed officer whose slow reactions may have resulted in an unnecessary death. Future series regular Peter Gerety makes his first appearance as Officer Stuart Gharty. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The unit's investigation of six unsolved homicides involves the detectives in a violent drug turf war. Things get worse when a peace demonstration proves to be anything but, and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) begins showing signs of being close to a total breakdown. And in a more lighthearted development, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) is dying with curiosity over the identity of the person who is currently dating Lewis (Clark Johnson). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The seedy New Moon Motel is the scene of a mysterious murder -- and it isn't the first time that this fleabag has "hosted" a major crime. Though most of the motel's tenants appear to be losers and down-and-outers, appearances can be deceiving. As Kellerman (Reed Diamond) follows the existing clues pertaining to the murder, Lewis (Clark Johnson) embarks on a hunt for the victim's missing boot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The sudden exhumation of the remains of a person who was obviously walled up alive reopens a ten-year-old unsolved crime. Howard (Melissa Leo) and Munch (Richard Belzer) follow the trail of clues to a fanatical devotee of Edgar Allan Poe (this is, after all, in Baltimore). Elsewhere, the entire police force learns of the pregnancy of Pembleton's (Andre Braugher) wife, and Munch's date with Dr. Alyssa Dyer (Harlee McBride) takes an unexpected detour thanks to Alyssa's roommate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When an aging convicted murderer is slated to be executed after 16 years on death row, the condemned man's daughter takes Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) hostage, demanding that her father's case be reopened. While Bolander (Ned Beatty) races against time to find any shred of evidence that might free the death-row prisoner, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Russert (Isabella Hoffman) try to forget their differences long enough to defuse the hostage crisis. And on a lighter note, new tavern owner Munch (Richard Belzer) may be talked into investing in a microbrewery. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A gas leak at homicide headquarters forces the detectives to temporarily pitch camp at an old bank building, where several bad moods are quickly exacerbated. The many story developments this evening include the negative effect that Howard's (Melissa Leo) promotion has on her colleagues, and Giardello's (Yaphet Kotto) inadvertent dismissal of a key piece of evidence in the murder of an elderly woman. Meanwhile, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) continues to fret over his wife's pregnancy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi