‘Chase’: Touching Work by a Strong Cast

For the graceful, poignant “Losing Chase,” Kyra Sedgwick signed on as executive producer, lined up her husband, Kevin Bacon, to direct and got the formidable Helen Mirren to play the juiciest role.

In front of the camera, Sedgwick then proceeded to extend her own range as an actress. No one could accuse her of relying on her beauty. To the contrary, under Bacon’s unobtrusive direction, Sedgwick plays beautifully with the considerably more experienced Mirren.

Sedgwick plays Elizabeth Cole, a Sarah Lawrence graduate in creative writing who’s been hired by Beau Bridges’ Richard Philips as a companion for the summer to his wife, Chase (Mirren), who is recuperating from a serious mental breakdown--”collapse” is her word for it--at their spacious, weathered old cottage in Martha’s Vineyard.

You have to wonder if Chase hasn’t been released from the hospital prematurely. She greets Elizabeth with maximum nastiness and scathing contempt. Elizabeth may be taken aback, but she’s not daunted.

In time we learn why she’s able to roll with the punches as capably as she does. Ever so gradually, Chase commences to stop resenting Elizabeth’s quiet take-charge presence and to respond to her unfailing calm and kindness. Elizabeth not only charms Chase’s two young sons (Michael Yarmush, Lucas Denton) but also reconciles them with their mother.

Soon Richard feels he can return to work in Boston. Yet there’s a hitch: As daily existence in the Philips household grows more idyllic, Chase, an unsparingly honest woman, realizes that she is falling in love with Elizabeth.

What happens after this is for sure not going to please everyone. Yet if “Losing Chase” strikes you as conservative it nonetheless rings true to the lives and characters of its people, which is more important than being politically correct.

*

“Losing Chase” evolved as a 90-page novella for a Bard College senior project by Anne Meredith, who happened to be a friend of Sedgwick’s brother Nicco, who in turn brought it to his sister’s attention. Meredith then adapted her novella to the screen.

In the hands of a lesser actress Chase might seem a little underwritten, but the role gives Mirren plenty of space to suggest by the sheer force of her presence the plight of a woman of tremendous individualistic spirit who nonetheless felt compelled, as have millions of other women, to marry a nice, devoted, none-too-imaginative man “just to fit in,” only to feel her life suffocating her.

Mirren is just the actress to persuade us that Chase could evolve from a haggard, hateful wretch to a stable, attractive woman. Chase also proves strong enough to enable Elizabeth to confront her own troubled past.

As a loving man out of his depth, Bridges is as impressive as Mirren and Sedgwick. Yarmush, as the mercurial older son, and Denton, as the sweet-natured younger one, round out a potent ensemble.

“Losing Chase,” which was shown on Showtime in August, is an elegant, thoughtful film and an accomplished directorial debut for Bacon that inspires admiration and invites reflection.

* MPAA rating: R, for brief language. Times guidelines: The film has some strong language, adult themes and is too intense and complex for small children.

‘Losing Chase’

Helen Mirren: Chase Philips

Kyra Sedgwick: Elizabeth Cole

Beau Bridges: Richard Philips

Michael Yarmush: Little Richard

Lucas Denton: Jason Philips

A CFP Distribution release of a Cinepix presentation. Director Kevin Bacon. Producer Milton Justice. Executive producer Kyra Sedgwick. Screenplay by Anne Meredith. Cinematographer Dick Quinlan. Editor Alan Bamgarten. Costumes Jocelyn F. Wright. Music Michael Bacon. Production designer Lindsey Hermer-Bell. Art director Dean A. O’Dell. Set decorator Megan Less. Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes.

* Exclusively at the UA Westwood, 10889 Wellworth St., Westwood, (310) 475-9444, and Los Feliz 3, 1822 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 664-2169.