After a man is accused of driving his third wife to suicide, his first wife Hedda, a troubled woman who can't hate or hurt others even if they had wronged her, is subpoenaed to testify on his abusive behavior during their marriage.
Acting
Robin Wright's devastating restraint — every swallowed scream.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes politeness against itself.
Director
Erin Dignam
Robin Wright
Hedda Amerson
William Hurt
K.D. Dietrickson
Richard Schiff
District Attorney Steve Waters
Jennifer Rubin
Debra Gill
Paul Dooley
Leo Amerson
Amy Madigan
Brett Amerson
Natsuko Ohama
Harriet
Lucinda Jenney
Kate Amerson
Joanna Cassidy
Elenore Amerson
LaTanya Richardson Jackson
Attorney Rose Jackson
Kim Delgado
Process Server
Michael Tomlinson
Judge Gibson Strickland
Sean Penn
Man on the Hill (Michael)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Erin Dignam wrote this while working as a rape crisis counselor; the courtroom scenes were vetted by actual prosecutors for procedural accuracy.
Released the same year as The Sweet Hereafter, this was part of a brief 90s wave examining how legal systems retraumatize victims — then vanished without the same cult revival.
US
