Personal Velocity

Comprised of three frank and psychologically resounding stories of women at crossroads in their lives, this very personal film by writer-director Rebecca Miller (daughter of playwright Arthur Miller) creates a visceral sense of its characters' souls and conflicted emotions that carries it far above and beyond what could have been a melodramatic, Lifetime Channel-style anthology. Intimate and succinct without seeming like allegorical models of modern women's adversity, the stories are loosely tied together by each of the three main characters hearing a news report of a hit-and-run accident: an abused wife (Kyra Sedgwick) who is finally ready to run away from her husband but has nowhere to go, a yuppie Manhattan book editor (Parker Posey) whose career is taking off just as she's falling out of love with her fiancé and hating herself for it, and an already troubled young punkette (Fairuza Balk) whose direct connection to the hit-and-run has shaken her faith in her relationship barometer just as she's learned she's pregnant. Boasting great performances from Sedgwick, Posey, and especially Balk, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include widescreen and full screen versions, audio commentaries (one by writer-director Rebecca Miller, the other by cinematographer Ellen Kuras and gaffer John Nadeau), a 29-minute “In Conversation” segment with Miller and costars Parker Posey, Fairuza Balk and Kyra Sedgwick, the 14-minute “Creating Personal Velocity” behind-the-scenes featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a spirited indie film.] (R. Blackwelder)