Things Behind the Sun

This got and Emmy and Independent Spirit nomination for Don Cheadle, and an Indy nomination for Kim Dickens, who plays Sherrie, a rock singer in Cocoa Beach, Florida who was raped. Cheadle is her manager and former lover.

Sherrie doesn't know why her life is messed up, and why she can't move out of a life of promiscuity and drunkenness, because she has repressed the rape. Owen (Gabriel Mann) knows about the rape, and is doing a story on the girl behind the song she wrote. He is doing it because he was involved in Sherrie's rape. He has demons of his own to exorcise.

This was a powerful story of how a teen rape can cause permanent damage, not only to the person raped, but to everyone in her life from that day forward. The dysfunctional relationships that one experiences through life can be traced back to that rape.

The ending was a little to pat, but that's movies.

I was lucky enough to see this film at the Sundance film festival, where we gave Allison Anders a 5 minute standing ovation for what she's done with this film. The story is deceptively simple- a rock and roll chick who is pretty messed up for reasons that become clear when she hooks up with a young journalist- but it's the feelings that pierce and soar in this film. But it's not just a woman's story, the young man is also searching for (dare I say it) redemption. Filled with wonderful performances (why isn't Kim Dickens a star yet?) and even better cameos (Don Cheadle, Eric Stolz) this is a film that needs to be seen. One of the first, only, films that deals with sexual abuse and trauma and healing in a way that is both riveting and repulsive. And it has a great sound track! Go and see it!

A compelling film. This film really touched my heart. While the film is certainly far from perfect, I thought it dealt wonderfully with the subject matter and showed such a sensitivity towards not only victims of violence but also towards how scars incurred in childhood can mar us forever.

Gabriel Mann was awesome in this. He gave the role such a conscience and it was nice to see him used fully as an actor as opposed to his rather less than full role in 'High Art' (which I happen to love nonetheless). But whereas High Art was Radha Mitchell and Ally Sheedy's film, this film really, for me, belonged to Mann. Kim Dickens did a great job also, but Mann still takes top billing in my book. My hat off to Allison Anders - it's nice to know that there are filmmakers out there that are not so concerned with commercialism as they are with substance and exploration. The fact that it says that the film is semi-autobiographical just makes me applaud her more. If you're into character studies and the way the past effects ones life, this is a movie worth seeing.

I tend to prefer character-driven movies with strong plots. In that sense, this movie score highly. Kim Dickens turns in a passionate performance as a self-destructive women trying to reclaim her soul after it was taken from her in an adolescent rape. Don Cheadle turns in yet another great performance. Wow, what a great actor. Eric Stoltz has little screen time, but he does a lot with it. Again, what a great actor.

This movie suffers a little on the technical front. There are scenes that could have been edited out because they failed to enhance the story line. At times the direction seemed to be a lackluster. Neither of these hurt the movie that much, but it does not quite reach its full potential. It is still worth seeing. I enjoyed it.

One of the favorites at the Sedona Film festival. Hoping this important film gets a broad distribution. Outstanding performances, well written, everything comes together in a powerful yet disturbingly emotional manner. Cheadle's kitchen scene was phenomenal. Must see!