This forceful drama, written and directed by Sean Penn, features one of Jack Nicholson's least showy roles, as the father of a drink-driving victim who vows to kill the man responsible (David Morse) after he's released from jail. What follows is not a plot-heavy revenge thriller, but a poignant and believable study of a tragedy that has sucked the life out of its tormented protagonists (which not only includes Morse's character but also Anjelica Huston as Nicholson's estranged wife). A slow-burning pace, fine performances and an intelligent script make this drama feel painfully real. Most of all, we genuinely care about the outcome.

Unable to move on from the loss of his daughter, Freddy, now a shell of the person he was before, swears to kill the man responsible for her death.