Friday, May 7, 3:00 PM, Charles Theatre 1

Director: Toni Kalem

Cast: Lili Taylor, Guy Pearce, John Hawkes, Sara Rue, Shawnee Smith, Veronica Cartwright, Tom Bower

Country: U.S.
Year: 1999
Running Time: 111 minutes
Format: 35mm

Evie Decker (Lili Taylor) lives with her widower father while holding down a depressing job at a rundown amusement park. She is painfully shy and lives a rather dull, going nowhere existence. Then on a late night radio talk show, she hears an interview with a struggling musician named Drumstrings Casey (Guy Pearce), and she immediately falls for him based on his voice and words. When she goes to see him perform at a local roadhouse, she becomes even more mesmerized. Since she is too shy to simply talk to him, Evie goes to extreme measures to grab his attention.

Her stunt works and leads to a business relationship and eventual courtship with Evie having total faith in Drum's talent and serving as his muse. When small town domesticity conflicts with the pursuit of their individual dreams, they must decide which path, whether together or apart will lead to fulfillment.

Taylor and Pearce give astounding performances as the two young lovers. The romance in A Slipping Down Life is enhanced by an offbeat quirky flavoring as sight gags and a cast of colorful supporting characters add to the small town feel.

-- Dan Krovich

A long time fan of best-selling novelist Anne Tyler's work, Toni Kalem optioned the novel, A Slipping Down Life, which she then adapted for the screen and directed. The film premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Her next writing/directing project is an adaptation of Lorna Lanvik's novel, Patty Jane's House of Curl, which will be produced by Endgame Entertainment, and has Laura Linney set to star. Toni has been a writer for The Sopranos for HBO. Toni has an extensive background as an actress in film, television, and theater. She is perhaps best known as the Italian teen queen, Despie Galasso, in Philip Kaufman's cult classic, The Wanderers, and as Private Gianelli in Private Benjamin. She currently appears as Angie Bonpensiero, Big Pussy's wife, in The Sopranos.