Afterglow (DVD)

Director-screenwriter Alan Rudolph once again teams with producer Robert Altman (THE PLAYER) for this haunting, funny film starring Nick Nolte and Julie Christie as a married American couple living in Montreal haunted by the memory of their runaway daughter. Plumber Lucky (Nolte) starts an affair with beautiful young client Marianne (Lara Flynn Boyle), who's desperate to have a baby and stifled by her marriage to her narcissistic husband, Jeffrey (Jonny Lee Miller). Meanwhile, Lucky's wife, former B-movie actress Phyllis (Christie), spends her time looking for their daughter on the streets of Montreal and watching videotapes of her old movies. When she inadvertently finds herself meeting Jeffrey and agreeing to spend the weekend with him, the stage is set for an inevitable showdown among all concerned.

This beautifully photographed and brilliantly written film is marked by a stunning, Oscar-nominated performance by Christie, who masterfully combines sexuality, class, and world-weary pain. Nolte is also top-notch, again proving himself one of America's most formidable actors. AFTERGLOW is that rare combination in movies: sexy, funny, intelligent, tragic, and deeply moving.