Mark (
Eric Stoltz) explains in the opening narration that he's always viewed his life as a movie, so it's only natural that he's asking us, the audience, to judge him for some as yet unnamed crime. Mark imagines that his family's pets, and even the plants, are talking to him, demanding to be fed. At 11:30 a.m., he wakes up Lorna (
Felicity Huffman), his wife. She's been sleeping late a lot. She's dealing with severe depression, and trying to come to grips with a childhood trauma. Mark takes Walt (Dyllan Christopher) to soccer practice, where he runs into Danni (
Kim Dickens), an attractive young "soccer mom." Mark explains to us the process by which he comes to sit next to her and engage her in conversation. "What's up with the belly ring?" he asks her. At the next week's soccer practice, he invites Danni to the grocery store with him to get drinks for the team. And chocolate. During their trip, Danni explains that she and her husband have just reconciled after a separation. She admits that she's been with other people, and says she doesn't feel that monogamy is "natural." Mark, Lorna, and Walt go to Thanksgiving dinner at Lorna's parents, where she has a cathartic confrontation with her stepfather (
Lane Smith) about his abuse, and with her mother (
Celia Weston) about her ignoring Lorna's sexual assault at the hands of a family friend when she was seven. Mark imagines it as a scene from
Raging Bull, and fantasizes about seeking revenge. Lorna seems better, but begins hanging out with a washed-up producer, Steven (William H. Macy), who spends his days boozing and smoking pot. Steven's wife, Annie (
Justine Bateman), propositions Mark, but he demurs. Later, Mark calls Danni with a proposition of his own. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide