William Meisle Movies
- 1994
The undernourished body of an 82-year-old woman is found in her shabby apartment. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) are determined to prove that the woman died of criminal neglect and indifference. But who was truly responsible: the old lady's housekeeper, Maria Gonzalez (Denise Hernandez), or her granddaughter, Laura Bauer (Julie Dretzin)? Veteran character actress Jan Miner, best known as "Madge the Manicurist" in a series of popular detergent commercials, wraps up the acting honors in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Mel Gibson made his feature film directing debut with this drama, loosely based on the book by Isabel Holland, which combines elements from The Elephant Man, Mask, Scent of a Woman, and The Karate Kid in a study of the capacity for human trust and compassion. Gibson plays Justin McLeod, a former teacher who, after having his face and his body terribly disfigured in an automobile accident, has taken to living alone in a big house in an island off the coast of Maine. McLeod works as a free-lance artist who undergoes the humiliation of being shunned by his neighbors and called "hamburger head" behind his back. McLeod keeps to himself and wants nothing to do with his neighbors. But one day an adolescent boy, Chuck Norstadt (Nick Stahl), comes knocking at his door desperate for a tutor. At first suspicious, McLeod gradually warms up to Chuck and they become pals. But their burgeoning friendship is frowned upon by Chuck's family and the local police chief, Stark (Geoffrey Lewis), apparently because of rumors circulating that McLeod had a record concerning child molestation. This piece of gossip threatens Chuck with the loss of his teacher and a new-found friend. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl, (more)
An assemblage of young Hollywood actors poised for stardom marked this tale of anti-Semitism at a 1950s prep school. Brendan Fraser stars as David Greene, a working-class Jewish quarterback from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who is offered a senior year scholarship to a prestigious New England academy. It's David's ticket to an Ivy League education and a way out of his Rust Belt hometown, but there's one condition: the school's elders ask him to be discreet about his religion. At first willing to do so, David struggles with his silence about his faith as his popularity grows. David strikes up a friendship with his roommate Chris Reece (Chris O'Donnell) and a possible romance with Sally Wheeler (Amy Locane), a student at a nearby girls' school. When jealous classmate Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon) learns David's secret at an alumni party, he exposes the school's new gridiron hero, and David faces the full force of religious intolerance from the prejudiced WASP institution. Also featuring early performances from Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, and Cole Hauser, School Ties was loosely based on the real-life experiences of producer Dick Wolf, creator of TV's popular series Law & Order. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Based on Kate Chopin's moving novel The Awakening, and set in the early 1900s, this drama chronicles the struggle of a young wife to escape the oppressing conventions of society and live life to the fullest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
