Rating: R
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 09/16/2003
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 113 Minutes
Flags: Nudity, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: MGM
After helping to kick-start the independent film movement in America with
The Return of the Secaucus Seven,
John Sayles wrote, directed, and edited his second feature, about a woman who finds herself staring life over after coming out of the closet as a lesbian.
Lianna (
Linda Griffiths) is a woman in her early thirties who's married to
Dick (
Jon DeVries), who teaches film at a college in Boston.
Lianna first met
Dick when she was a student in his class, and while she's grown more assertive and independent with time,
Dick has become bitter and difficult, though he tries to be patient with their two children,
Spencer (
Jesse Solomon) and
Theda (
Jessica Wight MacDonald).
Lianna, who dropped out of college when she married
Dick, has begun taking classes again, and strikes up a close friendship with one of her professors,
Ruth (
Jane Hallaren);
Dick, however, would prefer that she spend her time helping him with research on his upcoming thesis. When
Lianna discovers
Dick has been having an affair with one of his students, she begins to wonder about her future with him as well as her own feelings, and one evening, after dinner and conversation with
Ruth,
Lianna discovers her new friend has romantic feelings toward her -- and that she feels the same way toward
Ruth. When
Lianna confronts
Dick with the news of her relationship with
Ruth, he's livid and makes her leave the house, forcing her to start a new life for herself as she comes to terms with her own sexuality. Comic actor
Chris Elliott makes his screen debut in
Lianna in a small role as a lighting technician for a dance troupe.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
