RICK

Rick USA

Bill Pullman (Lost Highway) stars as the title character in this (im)morality tale set in the cut-throat world of big business. Directed by frequent Gus Van Sant editor Curtiss Clayton, Rick channels the plot of Rigoletto into the sleazy world of corporate New York to produce a sharp and distinctive work.

Rick is a cold, emotionless employee of the Image Company, a marketing firm situated in Manhattan's financial district. He answers to his young boss, Duke (Aaron Stanford, 25th Hour), a 20-something lout who whiles away his day on an internet sex line, chatting with 'Vixxxen'. Money and power are the only concepts these overreaching, immature guys can relate to. Rick doesn't think twice about humiliating job applicants and Duke thinks nothing of putting Rick down. But Rick has another life, unknown to anyone at Image Company: a seemingly quiet domestic arrangement with his teenage daughter, Eve. It is a secret he has kept well hidden from the pernicious confines of his workplace. But when Duke's wandering eye chances upon Eve, Rick must take a stand as a build-up of years of cynicism clash with paternal love.

D Curtiss Clayton P Ruth Charny, Jim Czarnecki, Sofia Sondervan S Daniel Handler WS Content International TD 35mm/Col/2002/100mins

Curtiss Clayton's films include: The Man Who Counted (1998, short).