Screening Time: Saturday, May 13, 3:00 PM, Falvey Hall

Director: David Langlitz
Writer/Producer: William Whitehurst

Cast: Rutger Hauer, Matt Davis, Dagmara Dominczyk, Susan Misner, Matt Servitto, Peter Scolari, Lynn Chen, Isabel Glasser, Lawrence Pressman, Ronald Gluttman, Robert LuPone

Country: USA
Year: 2006
Running Time: 90:00 minutes
Format: video

The film begins in the fall of 1997 as Carter Baines (Matt Davis) is presenting his first, very personal and unpublished manuscript to his mentor, world renown literary figure and college professor, Sanford Pollock (Rutger Hauer). Pollack declares Baines’ novel to be rubbish and so begins the love/hate relationship between student and mentor that will cut back and forth from the past (1997) to the present day (2005).

An unusual love triangle commences when Pollack’s graduate assistant and lover, Julia (Dagmara Domincyzk) becomes interested in Baines. The three spend many afternoons and evening dinners together discussing love, sex and writing philosophies.

When Baines is invited to spend the following summer with Pollack and Julia at Pollack’s home in St Michael’s, the groundwork is laid for unexpected intimacy. Mentor/puppeteer Pollack continues to pull the strings as he watches and writes. “Don’t write what you think, write what you feel” is Pollack’s constant admonishment about his student Baines’ work. In the end of the film, eight years later, Baines is publishing the novel about the summer in St Michael’s. It is all about how he felt.

The acting in the film is first rate across the board. Rutger Hauer is prefect as the self absorbed novelist, mentor, manipulator. Matt Davis reminds one of a young Harrison Ford and Dagmara Domincyzk is very convincing as the foil in their love triangle. The film, written by William Whitehurst and directed by David Langlitz, is professionally shot locally by DP Miguel Linton. Johns Hopkins University, North Charles Street, Mt Vernon Place, and Federal Hill are easily recognized in the drama.

-- Steve Yeager

Presented By: William Whitehurst and Jeff Eline

William Whitehurst is an alumnus of the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he was a student of the renowned Sanford Meisner. After moving back to his native Baltimore, Whitehurst became a founding member of the Johns Hopkins Screenwriting Workshop.

Jeff Eline worked for Moliniare Film and Video and the legendary Pinewood Studios in London in production and in broadcast television in Pennsylvania before moving back to Baltimore to start e-LINE Productions.  He wrote, produced and directed the feature film The Lottery Incident, and William and Jeff produced and directed the award winning short The Tears of a Clown in 2001.