Fox Lorber's January '05 Releases
Mile Zero (February 13/05)
Featuring the downward spiral of an ordinary man, Mile Zero occasionally feels like the latest film from Lodge Kerrigan (Clean, Shaven and Keane). Director Andrew Currie imbues the movie with a jittery documentary style that's laced with flashbacks, forcing the viewer to constantly re-evaluate their feelings about this man. The film follows Derek (Michael Riley), a single dad who kidnaps his son and takes him on a perilous journey into the woods. Mile Zero is elevated considerably by Riley's central performance, which is often far more compelling and intriguing than anything else in the film. Though we're initially sympathetic to Derek's plight, it becomes increasingly clear as the movie progresses that Derek has some serious mental problems and that his son might actually be in danger. Riley does an amazing job of stepping into the shoes of this disturbed figure, ensuring that - if nothing else - the film is worth checking out solely for his performance.
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Seducing Dr. Lewis (March 1/05)
With its feel-good screenplay and winning performances, it's not difficult to see why audiences embraced Seducing Dr. Lewis. Following in the footsteps of other similarly light-hearted tales (ie The Full Monty, Waking Ned Devine, etc), the film follows the residents of an impoverished small town as they attempt to trick a city doctor into living there permanently. At stake are jobs for everyone, thanks to a big company that refuses to build their factory without the presence of a local doctor. This leads to many, many sequences in which the citizenry must "seduce" the doc into abandoning his fast-paced lifestyle by pretending to enjoy everything that he does (ie cricket). Seducing Dr. Lewis is one of those movies that doesn't exactly offer a whole lot of surprises - the story unfolds in a manner that's fairly predictable - and yet it's hard not to be drawn in by this relatively simple tale, thanks to the earnestness with which it's being told. There's even a compelling romance thrown into the mix, ensuring that all but the most cynical of viewers will find something here to enjoy.
