Dream with the Fishes

Named after a line in The Godfather, Finn Taylor's directorial debut offers proof that movies about death don't have to be grim. Like Harold and Maude--but grittier--Taylor (Cherish) keeps the tone light and quirky. If you were to ask, he might even say that Dream with the Fishes is actually about life, but Terry (David Arquette) really does want to die and Nick (Brad Hunt) really does have only a few weeks to live. Death is what binds the two together. They would otherwise have nothing in common. The men live in the same San Francisco neighborhood, but Terry is a depressed widower with a penchant for voyeurism, while Nick may be terminally ill, yet he and his tattoo artist girlfriend, Liz (a virtually unrecognizable Katherine Erbe from Law and Order: Criminal Intent), live life to the full. They're just the medicine that the (psychically) ailing Terry needs. --Kathleen C. Fennessy