Browse Movies : 2003 : R : Drama

From Stephen Frears, the Oscar®-nominated director of "The Grifters" and "Dangerous Liaisons", comes a new film set in London's secret underworld, where everything is for sale. It's the story of a young man, Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a Turkish chambermaid, Senay (Audrey Tautou), who work at the same West London hotel--a breeding ground for illegal activity. They are put to the test when Okwe makes a shocking discovery late one night.

"XX/XY" is a tale about a trio composed of a young artist, Coles, and two Sarah Lawrence undergrads, Sam and Thea, who, on the night they meet, tread briefly on the wild side of sexual lust and drunken experimentation. As friends and, at some points, alternately couples and/or lovers, the three carry on a relationship that ends dramatically. Quite by accident, the relationship is reborn a decade later, and passionate desires are significantly reopened.

A three-day drug adventure awaits the speed junkies in "Spun". Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore") stars as a young speed addict who embarks on an adventure with his dealer, played by John Leguizamo, and the drug chemist, played by Mickey Rourke. Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous") plays a fellow speed addict, while Brittany Murphy and Mena Suvari play girlfriends of the drug dealers.

A DEA agent's (John Travolta) latest assignment is to investigate the bizarre disappearance of an Army drill instructor (Samuel L. Jackson) and several of his cadets during what was to be a routine training exercise.

Nick Nolte delivers a riveting performance as Bob Mantagnet, a wisecracking master thief whose luck seems to have finally run out. Pursued by the police at every turn, the king of con gambles it all on the casino heist of a lifetime inside the decadent world of the French Riviera. A savvy rogue with the perfect quote for every occasion, Bob's last bid at glory is to rob the priceless paintings inside an underground vault that's impossible to crack.

Set in a small New England college town, this drama follows the story of a respected classics professor with a terrible secret. His life starts crumbling after an affair with a young janitor is uncovered and the secret he had harbored for over 50 years is about to explode in a conflagration of devastating consequences.

Based on a true story, this is about the Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett), a reporter for the Dublin Sunday Independent, who exposed some of Dublin's most powerful crime barons and drug lords in 1996. But later that year she was gunned down by assasins hired by the same criminal drug lords she exposed.

In the Latino neighborhood of New York City's Washington Heights, two sons of immigrants -- one Dominican, one Irish, wrestle with ambition and identity, only to discover that sometimes pursuing one's dreams comes at a heavy cost. Carlos (Manny Perez), 28, lives in the Heights, where his father Eddie (Milían) runs a bodega. He works in the East Village as an inker for comic books, but is developing his own project, something he hopes to sell to a well-known publisher. Mickey (Hoch) is the sweet-natured superintendent of their building, a man whose loopy dreams of becoming a professional bowler are met with only derision by his father, Sean (Jude Ciccolella). Both Carlos and Mickey are burning with desire to get out of the Heights. Unlike their sons, Eddie and Sean are immigrants or children of immigrants who have made their peace with their unfulfilled dreams. Like Carlos and Mickey, the two are best friends and Sean has made the mistake of lending Eddie $25,000 to cover his profligate spending. When Eddie is injured during a robbery, Sean convinces Carlos to take over the store and protect his investment. For Carlos -- who has been challenged by his mentor to rework a superficial comic strip into something of substance -- running the store is the last thing on his mind. Nevertheless, he puts his artistic aspirations on hold to take over the store and care for his father. Together they work through their mutual mistrust and grief over the death of Carlos' mother. Through it all, Carlos comes to understand that if he is to make it as an artist, he must engage with the community he comes from and take that experience back out into the world by putting it in his work.

The film follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain (Romola Garai), and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle. Her father (Bill Nighy) is desperate to repeat the spectacular success of his first novel, but hasn't written a word for 12 years; her exquisite sister Rose (Rose Byrne) can only rail against their fate, and their bohemian step-mother Topaz (Tara FitzGerald) is a nudist and no help at all. Salvation comes in the form of their American landlord Simon Cotton (Henry Thomas) and his brother Neil (Marc Blucas).

Avery has finally gotten his life back on track. A competitive swimmer, he had to drop out of college to support his girlfriend, Krista, and their son, Jordan. He's back on the swim meet circuit, and starting to have some success. When he's approached by a college scout after winning his latest race, he goes out to celebrate with his friends, Cashmere and Dre. In an instant, Avery's luck is about to run out...

This is the true story of the romance and marriage of American poet/novelist Sylvia Plath (Gwyenth Paltrow) and English poet Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig). Born in Boston during the Great Depression, Plath first attended Smith College, which was also the setting for her first suicide attempt. Receiving a Fulbright scholarship, she traveled to England to attend Cambridge, where she met a dashing young poet who would win her heart, and ultimately become her husband. Their marriage was rocky, however, and they eventually separated in 1963 when Hughes broke her heart by taking on another lover, Assia Wevill. Crushed, Plath attempted suicide again... and was successful. Hughes went on to publicly accept responsibility for causing her lethal anguish.

In director Antoine Fuqua's new action-adventure film, Bruce Willis stars as Lt. A.K. Waters, the loyal veteran officer of a Navy S.E.A.L unit. When he's sent into the heart of Africa, the usually hard-bitten Waters finds himself deeply conflicted at having to choose between following orders and the dictates of his own conscience. Though a fictionalization, Tears of the Sun deals with the gritty realism of human conflict as Lt. Waters travels to war-torn central Africa to rescue Dr. Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci), a U.S. citizen who runs a mission in the countryside. But when Lt. Waters arrives Dr. Kendricks refuses to abandon the refugees under her care. She implores Waters to escort them on a dangerous trek through the dense jungle to the nearby border. During the journey the S.E.A.L.s find themselves the unwitting guardians of a man sought by the rebel militia. This further endangers their already hazardous mission, but all the while strengthening Waters' resolve to protect Lena and the refugees, and to deliver them safely across the border.

Based on Rosamond Lehman's book, "The Echoing Grove", "The Heart of Me" stars Olivia Williams and Helena Bonham Carter as sisters who become closer after the unexpected occurs in their lives. Paul Bettany plays a husband of one of the sisters who is having an affair with the other sister.

Chicago residential novelist Dan Dark (Robert Downey Jr.), crippled by a horribly severe case of psioriasis, starts rewriting his 1950s noir novel "The Singing Detective" in his mind in a desperate effort to hang on to his sanity. Becoming the title character himself, he heads off in pursuit of Nazis in the 1940's who serve in place of his own personal demons. With the help of eccentric psychologist, Dr Gibbon (Gibson), who uses the book as a road map into the Dan Dark's psyche, he slowly liberates himself from the trauma of his childhood.

John J. (Robert Duvall) is a seasoned hit man sent on a job to Argentina. When the General he's sent to kill delays his return to the country, John passes the time with Manuela (Luciana Pedraza), a beautiful dancer who becomes his teacher and guide into Argentina's sensual world of the tango. Spellbound by the rich and mysterious world Manuela has shown him, his idyll is shattered when the reality of why he's there comes crashing down around him.

Jimmy Cremming (Matt Dillon) finds himself in Bangkok after fleeing the investigation of an insurance scam in the United States. Having discovered that his partner and mentor Marvin (James Caan) has surfaced in Cambodia, Jimmy sets off to get his promised cut of the action. What he finds, however, is a bizarre, ominous environment where cleverness is bait. The further Jimmy searches for Marvin, the deeper he plunges into torment - and the farther he gets from getting out alive.

Investigator Augustin Rejas is attempting to find the mysterious Ezequiel, the leader of a revolution being fermented largely by the indigenous people of an unnamed Latin American nation, a scene that Rejas left behind to pursue worldly ambitions. But now he is a man caught in a war and his choice to become policeman wears on him. So when he meets and is drawn to the teacher of his daughter's ballet class, Yolanda, it's a solace to the emptiness of his marriage and his frustration in the search for Ezequiel.

Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall), Charley Waite (Kevin Costner), Mose Harrison (Abraham Benrubi) and "Button" (Diego Luna) freegraze their cattle across the vast prairies of the West, sharing their friendship forged by a steadfast code of honor and living a life unencumbered by civilization. When their wayward her forces them near the small town of Harmonville, the cowboys encounter a corrupt Sheriff (James Russo) and kingpin rancher (Michael Gambon) who govern the territory through fear, tyranny and violence. Boss Charley find themselves inextricably drawn towards the inevitable showdown as they are forced to defend the freedom and values of a lifestyle that is all to quickly vanishing. Amidst this turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for loner Charley when he meets the beautiful and warm-spirited Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), a woman who embraces both his heart and his soul. As these courageous men prepare for the decisive battle that looms, they are also forced to confront and conquer their own internal demons.

At the edge of adolescence, Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is a promising student and the loving apple of her mother's eye. But that was before she fell under the spell of Evie (Nikki Reed), the most popular and beautiful girl in school. Tracy aches to become Evie's friend but fails the secret code of acceptance. Wrong socks, wrong look. As Tracy transforms to reach for a new life, her world becomes a boiling, emotional cauldron fueled by new tensions between her and her mother, teachers, and old friends. Each decision is radical, each choice is major, each crisis is huge, and it all makes Tracy squeal with horror and excitement. But that's what it's like to be 13!

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call at 8763 Wonderland Avenue and soon discovered a grisly quadruple homicide, later compared to the gruesome slaughter at the Tate household at the hands of the Charles Manson family 10 years earlier. Ron Launius (Josh Lucas), Billy Deverell (Tim Blake Nelson), Barbara Richardson (Natasha Gregson Wagner) and Joy Miller (Janeane Garofalo) were brutally murdered, and Ron's wife Susan (Christina Applegate) was left in critical condition. The police investigation that followed - led by detectives Sam Nico (Ted Levine), Louis Cruz (Frankie G.) and Mike Peters (M.C. Gainey) - would unearth a seedy world of drugs and violence, ultimately revealing a motley crew from LA's underbelly including ex-con David Lind (Dylan McDermott), nightclub impresario Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian), the most unlikely of American heroes - porn legend John Holmes (Val Kilmer) - Holmes' estranged wife Sharon (Lisa Kudrow) and his teenage lover Dawn Schiller (Kate Bosworth).