Features: DVD
All of his adult life, Alex has worked for his father in the family business. Now, in the throes of a midlife crisis, he wants out, he wants a change. Trouble is, the family business is-murder-for hire, and his father won't let him quit! After meeting and falling in love with Sarah, a confused, sexually charged twenty-three-year-old woman, his life is now really out of control!
Editor's Note
Alex (William H. Macy) is having a midlife crisis; not only is he unhappy with his marriage, but he wants to get out of the family business, which happens to be killing people for hire. Seeking help, Alex turns to Dr. Josh Parks (John Ritter) for therapy. While in the psychologist's waiting room, he meets Sarah (Neve Campbell), a manic but beautiful young woman. Set reeling by his attraction to Sarah, Alex has to contend not only with his new feelings but also with his concerned wife (Tracey Ullman), his intuitive six-year-old son (David Dorfman), and his controlling father (Donald Sutherland). When Alex's tyrannical dad catches wind of his son's therapy and growing hesitation about their two-man operation, he gives Alex a new assignment--one that leads to a startling resolution.A consistently remarkable actor, Macy delivers an outstanding performance, carrying director Henry Bromell's debut with a somber world-weariness. The film admirably manages to avoid certain tired scenarios, presenting an intriguing and unusual relationship between Campbell's impulsive Sarah and Macy's sullen Alex while portraying him as neither pathetic nor heroic. Well-written and expertly photographed, PANIC is an effective and engaging drama about one man's struggle to escape the numbness of his life.
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