Doug Dey Movies

An act of violence has a powerful impact on the friendship of two young men in this independent drama. Qalli (Josiah Patkotak) and Aivaaq (Frank Qutuq Irelan) are two 17-year-old boys growing up in the Inupiaq community of Barrow, Alaska. While Barrow is at first glance an old-fashioned community cut off from major urban centers and a place where men still hunt seals and walruses to put food on the table, the town shows a few signs of big-city life; the teenagers like to race snowmobiles and listen to hip-hop, and there's also a growing crystal-meth problem. Qalli and Aivaaq have known each other since early childhood and are as close as siblings, but they come from very different households -- Qalli has a tight-knit family and has plans to attend college, while Aivaaq is the son of a single mom and has a pregnant girlfriend to look after. One day, Qalli sees Aivaaq in a fist fight with his friend James (John Miller); both are high on meth, and Aivaaq loses control and accidentally kills James. Rather than report the matter to the police, Aivaaq comes up with a plan to hide the body and let folks believe James has gone missing. Qalli agrees to help out of loyalty, but soon his guilt over the cover up begins to take a heavy toll. On The Ice was the first feature film from writer and director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Tragedy opens the wounds a family has long struggled to ignore in this powerful emotional drama. Bennett Brewer (Aaron Johnson) was a bright, handsome, and talented young man who was suddenly killed in an auto accident late one night while driving home with Rose (Carey Mulligan), a girl who had been a close friend for years but had only recently become romantically involved with him. Bennett's death devastates his family: his mother, Grace (Susan Sarandon), is overcome with grief and can't stop wondering what his final minutes must have been like; father Allen (Pierce Brosnan) is forced to turn away from his mistress (Jennifer Ehle) and try to comfort a woman he's no longer certain he loves; and brother Ryan (Johnny Simmons) mourns Bennett while becoming painfully aware that he will never live up to his late brother's example in the eyes of his parents. As grief slowly brings the family's emotional troubles to the surface, two unwelcome characters come into the picture -- Rose, who has discovered she's pregnant with Bennett's child, and the truck driver (Michael Shannon) who unwittingly took Bennett's life. The first feature film from writer and director Shana Feste, The Greatest received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Felicity Huffman, Elle Fanning, and Patricia Clarkson star in director/screenwriter Daniel Barnz's illuminating tale of parenting and growth concerning an exceptional young girl whose troubling retreat into fantasy draws the concern of both her dejected mother and her unusually perceptive drama teacher. Phoebe (Fanning) is a talented young student who longs to take part in the school production of Alice in Wonderland, but whose bizarre behavior sets her well apart from her carefree classmates. Her mother (Huffman) is an aspiring academic who is beginning to feel like she has not only failed in her professional career, but as a parent as well. Though Phoebe's gifted drama teacher (Clarkson) has no doubts about the young girl's talent and capacity for learning, the frustration of seeing such a promising student slowly slip ever further away from reality soon becomes a growing concern both at home and at school. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A frightened and irresponsible girl and an emotionally conflicted woman are brought together under tragic circumstances in this independent drama. Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn) is a 16-year-old girl who while on a school-sponsored ski trip collapses in a puddle of blood; a medical examination reveals that Stephanie has recently given birth, and in a nearby bathroom a newborn child is found dead, flushed down a toilet with its mouth stuffed with toilet paper. While Stephanie insists the child was stillborn and she had no idea she was pregnant, she is charged with killing the infant, and court-appointed psychologist Lydie Crane (Tilda Swinton) is assigned to interview the teenager. Lydie has her own issues with possible parenthood; she's been struggling to have a child after a recent stillbirth, and the matter is taking a toll on her marriage, with her husband, Paul (Timothy Hutton), seeking solace in the arms of another woman. As Stephanie shares with Lydie her feelings about her relationship with her parents, how she lost her virginity, and her growing conviction that God gave her a child as a form of punishment, Lydie finds herself dealing with her own feelings about the child she lost. Meanwhile, Right to Life and Pro-Choice groups threaten to turn Stephanie's trial into a media circus. Stephanie Daley premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi