Robert Altman throws his chips into the film noir ring with this stylish, moody thriller that features a spot-on performance by Kenneth Branagh as Rick Magruder, a successful Savannah, Georgia lawyer. After a party celebrating a major victory, he offers Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz), a shy waitress whose car has been stolen, a lift home. Their relationship develops quickly and it isn't long before he sleeps with her. Soon after, however, Rick learns that Mallory's cat has been killed, which she attributes to her religious fanatic father, Dixon Doss (Robert Duvall). As Rick attempts to track Dixon down and protect Mallory from him, a new chain of events is unleashed which threatens to ruin his career and endanger the lives of his two children. Meanwhile, a hurricane looms in the distance, adding even greater tension to Rick's quickly deteriorating situation. As is typical with all of Altman's films, a high-profile cast converges to deliver solid individual performances. Standouts include--in addition to Branagh's hedonistic lawyer--Duvall, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Berenger, Daryl Hannah, and Davidtz. The first John Grisham-inspired film that wasn't adapted from one of the author's novels, THE GINGERBREAD MAN is more film noir than courtroom drama and is rendered suspensefully by maverick director Altman.

A lecherous Georgian defense attorney (Kenneth Branagh) falls "hook, line, and sinker" for a fragile woman (Embeth Davidtz) who claims her religious zealot father (Robert Duvall) and his followers are stalking and harassing her. After having her father committed, the lawyer finds himself drawn into a web of family intrigue and deception. Altman's rich and typically atmospheric direction lends weight to novelist John Grisham's story.

THE GINGERBREAD MAN is the first John Grisham story adapted to film that wasn't taken from a previously published novel.

Robert Altman almost sued producer Polygram when it threatened to take the film away from him and re-edit it. The version that remains is Altman's final cut.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Letterbox - 1.85
Pan & Scan - 1.33:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital - 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Robert Altman - Director
Trailers
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Biographies

Kenneth Branagh: British Director-Actor
Embeth Davidtz: Actress
Robert Downey: American actor, CHAPLIN (1992), IRON MAN (2008)
Daryl Hannah: American actress, SPLASH
Tom Berenger: American Actor
Robert Duvall: American Actor/Director
Famke Janssen: Model/Actress
Jesse James: Actor
Mae Whitman: American actress
Troy Beyer: Actress/"Rooftops"
Julia Ryder Perce: 
Danny Darst: 
Sonny Seiler: 
Walter Hartridge: 
Vernon E. Jordan: 
Lori Beth Sikes: 
Rosemary Newcott: 
Wilbur Fitzgerald: 
David Hirsberg: 
Paul Carden: 
Michelle Benjamin Cooper: 
Christine Seabrook: 
Bob Minor: Supporting Actor/Stunts
Myrna White: 
Jim Grimshaw: 
Stuart Greer: 
Nita Hardy: 
Ferguson Reid: 
Benjamin T. Gay: 
Mark Bednarz: 
Bill Cunningham: 
Chip Tootle: 
Sonny Shroyer: American actor, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD (1979)
Mike Pniewski: 
Jay Pearson: 
L.H. Smith: 
Wren Arthur: 
Angela Costrini: 
Gregory Alpert: 
Lydia Marlene: 
Bill Crabb: 
Jin Hi Soucy: 
Richie Dye: 
Chad Darnell: 

Robert Altman: Director/Screenwriter/Film Producer, NASHVILLE (1975)

Jeremy Tannenbaum: 

Robert Altman: Director/Screenwriter/Film Producer, NASHVILLE (1975)

Mark Isham: Composer, WATERWORLD (1995)

Geraldine Peroni: Editor

"...Hypnotic....A Grisham thriller has rarely been this sexy or this much fun..."
"...A neo-noir thriller that unwinds with off-kilter promise..."
"...Altman plays a John Grisham mystery in a seductive new key with THE GINGERBREAD MAN....[The film illustrates] the delicacy of Mr. Altman's brooding, richly atmospheric style..."
"...[Altman] does fine work, both with his camera and with his troupe..."
"...[Altman] proves that age hasn't mellowed his temperament or his talent....[The filmmakers] create a dark, eerie canvas for this tale of spiraling chaos..."
"...THE GINGERBREAD MAN is beautifully photographed....Altman had a fine time composing difficult shots..."
"...Grisham has a sure sense of time and place, and Altman and his actors invest the material with a kind of lurid sincerity..."