Michael Arata Movies
A woman finds love during World War II, but is also faced with suspicion and a number of unanswered questions in this period drama. Camille Picou (Tatum O'Neal) is a widow raising two children on her own in a fishing community along Louisiana's Gulf Coast. Camille's late husband had a violent past on the wrong side of the law, and since his passing she and her teenaged children - Florida (Lacey Chabert) and Blue (Patrick McCullough) - have been the subject of a great amount of uncharitable local gossip. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor brings America fully into World War II, German U-boats are occasionally spotted patrolling the waters off the gulf, and occasionally attacking commercial fishing vessels. A Coast Guard ensign, Jack Burwell (Eion Bailey), is sent in to monitor the presence of German ships in the water, and he soon develops a strong interest in Florida. Not trusting Burwell, Camille sends her daughter away, and soon the town is rife with rumors that Camille is an informant to Axis military intelligence. In the midst of this crisis, Dr. Lenz (Julian Sands), a physician exiled from Germany, sets up practice in town, and Camille is given a job as his assistant. Camille becomes romantically involved with Lenz, which only increases the scrutiny against her. The Scoundrel's Wife also stars Tim Curry as Father Antoine, the parish priest; the film was directed by Glen Pitre, who also brought to the screen another memorable look at life in Louisiana, Belizaire the Cajun. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tatum O'Neal, Julian Sands, (more)
The sophomore American film from Aussie director Bill Bennett, Tempted was improvised by the cast based on a one-page synopsis and outline. To test his wife's loyalty after he is diagnosed with a fatal disease, Charlie Le Blanc (Burt Reynolds) offers to pay financially struggling law student Jimmy Mulate (Peter Facinelli) $50,000 if the young man can seduce Charlie's wife Lilly (Saffron Burrows). Lilly turns down Jimmy's initial advances, but soon uncovers the plot and decides to exact a measure of revenge by sleeping with Jimmy. Charlie is overcome with jealousy and is convinced by his right-hand man Dot (Mike Star) that Lilly should be killed. Charlie hires Jimmy to kill her, but Jimmy has fallen in love with her. Tempted was screened at the Deauville Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Saffron Burrows, (more)
- 2001
By rights, Dr. Ken Garrett (Markus Flanagan) should consider himself lucky: He is the only member of a surgical team to keep his job after a child dies during an operation. Unfortunately, Garrett has been plunged into the depths of guilt and depression by the ordeal, forcing his wife Beth (Stephanie Zimbalist) to dust off her law degree and support her family by taking on medical malpractice cases. By what seems to be an amazing coincidence, Beth is hired to represent one of the nurses fired in the wake of the child's death. As the case progresses, a few unsavory facts are brought to surface suggesting that Beth's client may have an ulterior motive--and that somewhere along the line, two murders have been committed right under the noses of the authorities. The made-for-TV Malpractice was originally telecast on May 25, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
One of the most frequently dramatized of all William Faulkner stories, Old Man is based on a section of Faulkner's 1939 novel The Wild Palms. Set during the cataclysmic 1927 Mississippi river flood, the story revolves around the curious relationship between prison convict J.J.Taylor (Arliss Howard) and a young, pregnant woman named Addie (Jeanne Trippleman). Pressed into service to rescue victims of the flood, Taylor finds Addie stuck in a tree, her husband nowhere in sight. Managing to get Addie down, Taylor finds himself cut off from the other rescuers, and thus is solely responsible for the future wellbeing of the stranded woman and her unborn child. Time and time again, Taylor is afforded the opportunity to abandon Addie and escape from his prison captors--and time and time again he refuses, not so much out of loyalty to Addie but because of his own stubborn pride: Though his crime was minor, he has promised to return to jail and serve out his term, and he never goes back on his word! (Incidentally, the "Old Man" of the title is not the tactiturn Taylor, but instead the mighty Mississippi itself). Toning down the cynical humor of the Faulkner original, this "Hallmark Hall of Fame" TV adaptation concentrates instead on making its two principal characters flesh-and-blood humans rather than literary archetypes. Adapted by Horton Foote, who won an Emmy Award for his efforts, William Faulkner's 'Old Man' first aired February 9, 1997 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeanne Tripplehorn, Arliss Howard, (more)
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