Independent

Herein lies the ideological struggle of two individuals. Behind the camera stands Kate Churchill, a Boston-based documentarian with a rock-solid confidence in the transformative power of yoga; her subject, however -- Manhattan journalist Nick Rosen -- espouses deep-seated skepticism and resistance to yoga as a system of thought and physio-spiritual regeneration. Responding to a challenge by Churchill, Rosen undertakes an on-camera investigation of yoga, but in lieu of becoming an instant convert as one might expect, he begins to uncover manifold inconsistencies and contradictions that distance him from the center of it. The filmmaker and her subject thus experience a rocky and multi-layered conflict of beliefs, identities, and lifestyles. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The static living arrangement between three lonely souls living in a rural Mississippi Delta township is suddenly shaken up due to a tragic suicide in this intimate family drama from first-time writer/director Lance Hammer. Single mother Marley was barely getting by when her 12-year-old son James fell into a dangerous cycle of drugs and violence. Desperate to escape her current surroundings and save her son from becoming another statistic, Marley seeks safe harbor at a home on the property of Lawrence -- a man with whom she has been locked into a bitter feud ever since the birth of her son. Brought together by circumstance and left with little choice but to work through their hardships, Marley, James, and Lawrence do their best to move beyond the grief that has befallen them, and transform tragedy into the foundation for a new and hopeful future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Action comedy screenwriter Ed Solomon switches gears to psychological drama for his feature film directing debut, Levity. Manual Jordan (Billy Bob Thornton) gets released after doing 23 years in prison for accidentally killing a kid during an attempted robbery. Not having any place to go as a free man, he returns to the town where he committed the crime in hopes of seeking salvation. He ends up in a community center where he meets pastor Miles Evans (Morgan Freeman), who helps him out with practical matters like work, food, and housing. Trying to find redemption for his sins, he befriends Adele Easely (Holly Hunter), a single mother who just happens to be the sister of the boy he shot in the robbery. He also meets teenaged Sofia Mellinger (Kirsten Dunst), a rich girl with a drug problem. Still attempting to reconcile with his past, Manual seems drawn to interfere when Adele's son Abner seems headed down a criminal path. Levity premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide