Adrift in Manhattan

Involving character studies in three interconnecting tales of unhappy New Yorkers dealing with tragedy and unfulfilling love lives. Heather Graham is excellent as a grieving ophthalmologist who’s lost her young son and has become estranged from her husband (William Baldwin). Dominic Chianese costars as an elderly artist wooing a younger co-worker (Elizabeth Peña), and Victor Rasuk portrays a sleazy photographer who stalks Graham. Directed by Alfredo De Villa. Marlene Forte, Erika Michels., Adrift in Manhattan, the third feature effort of Hispanic writer/director Alfredo de Villa (Washington Heights, Yellow), intercuts three intensely dramatic stories of life during a cold New York winter, each of which revolves around the concept (and thematic motif) of vision. In the first, an eye doctor grieving from a traumatic loss (Heather Graham) must reexamine her life and priorities; in the second, an artist of advanced age must contend with encroaching blindness — thus losing the one of his five senses that represents his greatest asset; in the third, a photographer grapples with inner turmoil. De Villa brings these stories together for an unanticipated intersection on a Manhattan subway line, and watches as these individuals — initially, complete strangers to one another — help to guide each other through their struggles, pain, and angst. William Baldwin and Erika Michaels co-star.