The Waterdance (1992)

This was one of those films I probably never would have picked off the shelf, but it came on IFC one day and I said - Eric Stolz, William Forsythe...why not? If I'd changed the channel, I would have really missed a treasure.

The subject is depressing - young author paralyzed in climbing accident convalesces in lower-class rehabilitation center. It would have been so easy and tempting to make this a manipulative tear-jerker. But, that doesn't happen because it was written by Neal Jimenez, after he himself was accidentally paralyzed. No Hollywood happiness here. All of the patients in the ward come from wildly different backgrounds, but they share a feeling of helplessness, of being at the mercy of others. Stolz is very good as a "lone wolf" type, forced into embarrassing dependence on his girlfriend (Helen Hunt); Wesley Snipes is fine as a former ladies' man whose family is falling apart; but William Forsythe takes the cake as a tough guy determined to make someone pay for taking away his independence.

See this film.

A-

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Bookworm for the CIA suddenly finds himself the target of assassins at every turn. Desperately in need of someone to trust and hide him, he "drafts" a woman at random (a terrific Faye Dunaway) and uses her apartment as headquarters to figure out what the heck is happening. Simply flawless script that refuses to dumb it down for the audience. This is one of those stories to which you must give your attention or you're gonna miss something. At 25+ years old, it lacks the flash of a thriller churned out in the '90s, but I promise you won't miss it.

A-