Nathan Dean Movies

When high-powered attorney Louise (Meg Ryan) learns that her husband, Ian (Timothy Hutton), plans to leave her after 13 years of marriage to run off with his twentysomething girlfriend, Sara (Kristen Bell), she impulsively decides to take drastic action. She ties up Ian in their country house, and refuses to let him go until they talk things through. Naturally, he resists, and things take an even worse turn for the couple when a young hooligan (Justin Long) hears Ian's cries for help, and decides to rob the couple blind instead of helping the hapless husband. Serious Moonlight was scripted by the late Adrienne Shelly. Shelly's husband, Andy Ostrow, who produced the film and has a small role in it, decided to go forward with the project, for which Shelly had been seeking a producer, after the actor-director's tragic death. Serious Moonlight marks the feature directorial debut of actor Cheryl Hines, who co-starred in Shelly's last directorial effort, Waitress. Several key crew members for Serious Moonlight -- including composer Andrew Hollander, casting directors Sunday Boling and Meg Morman, costume designer Ariyela Wald-Cohain, and line producer Brigitte Mueller previously -- worked with Shelly on Waitress. Serious Moonlight had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown in the Encounters section. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Australian playwright Tony McNamara makes his directorial debut with the offbeat comedy The Rage in Placid Lake, adapted from his own play The Cafe Latte Kid. In his first feature film, indie rocker Benny Lee stars as a troubled teen named Placid Lake. The child of new-agey eccentric parents (Garry McDonald and Miranda Richardson), Placid spends his childhood getting picked on by bullies. Fortunately, he finds friendship with classmate Gemma Taylor (Rose Byrne), whose father (Nicholas Hammond) pressures her to excel in school. After Placid shocks the school with his dark student film, he gets into an accident that lands him in the hospital. Upon his recovery, he reinvents himself as an conservative insurance agent and engages in an affair of sorts with emotionally detached co-worker Jane (Saskia Smith). The Rage in Placid Lake was screened at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi