Movie Loner

In a business severely lacking female Directors, Allison Anders is one of the finest. Overcoming a rough childhood Anders honed her craft at UCLA film school and has since gone on to write and direct Gas, Food Lodging, Mi Vida Loca, and Sugar Town to name a few. Her best film, Things Behind the Sun, is also her most personal, drawing inspiration from an adolescent trauma.

Kim Dickens plays Sherry, a singer/songwriter whose latest single is a hit on college campuses. The emotional song, about Sherry’s preteen rape, catches the ear of writer Owen (Gabriel Mann), who convinces his bosses at a trendy L.A. music mag to do a story on her. Being from the same Florida town Owen thinks he can convince Sherry to open up to him. Turns out Owen has an ulterior motive in his pursuit of Sherry. The two of them are connected by a past tragedy.

Owen meets Sherry at bar to conduct his interview, but Sherry is preoccupied with her nightly ritual of getting drunk and going home with the nearest guy or guys. Sherry’s manager Chuck (Don Cheadle) is very protective of her and warns Owen to be careful not to damage her fragile psyche. Owen puts aside his job and attempts to get closer to Sherry, looking to unburden his guilty conscience. The scarred Sherry soon deduces that Owen may be able to help rid her of the demons that have tortured her since the day she was raped.

Anders maturely handles the delicate subject matter minus the after-school-special melodrama. Her characterization of Sherry is both sad and hopeful. Sherry carries her childhood love of music into adulthood and uses it to maintain her sanity in the face of nightmarish impediments. Dickens is a revelation as Sherry, giving the performance of her career. The always good Cheadle is flawless portraying Chuck, Sherry’s sole protector who loves her unconditionally. Things Behind the Sun is an impressive film that somehow slipped through the cracks.