''Ash Tuesday'' (also known as ''Beyond the Ashes'') is a 2003 comedy drama film directed by Jim Hershleder, written by Tony Spiridakis, and starring

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series '' Breaking Bad'', from 2009 to 2011, and in its prequel series ''Better ...

, and

Tony Goldwyn Anthony Howard Goldwyn (born May 20, 1960) is an American actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. He made his debut appearing as Darren in the slasher film '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986), and had his breakthr ...

. The film is an ensemble piece about several New Yorkers coping with the effects of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, and was one of the first films to incorporate the events of 9/11 into its story. The film had its world premiere at the 2003

Tribeca Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was fo ...

Plot

The film is narrated by Punch, a cab driver who experiences an unexplained ringing in his head. Samantha, an introverted new transplant to New York, works at a dive bar where singer Gina Mascara provides the night’s entertainment. After Gina and Samantha get to know each other, they sleep together and begin a relationship. There is also homeless poet, Karl, who becomes drawn to Liz, a music critic who hasn’t left her apartment since she saw one of the planes crash into the Twin Towers.

Cast

Reception

In his review for eFilmCritic.com, Erik Childress wrote, "No one is ever going to mistake ''Ash Tuesday'' with the deep subtext inherent in ''

25th Hour ''25th Hour'' is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and starring Edward Norton. Adapted by David Benioff from his own 2001 debut novel '' The 25th Hour'', it tells the story of a man's last 24 hours of freedom as he prepares to go ...

'', but it still co-exists as a nice ensemble piece that takes on considerable more depth once all the dots take connection. Spiridakis succeeds by not revealing all his cards too soon nor even by the film's end as it will take a few keen observations to see how the parallel paths all come to intersect." Of the cast, Childress opined, "Garofalo and Esposito somehow find a way through the clowniness to create sympathetic portraits of people who may be relying on excuses to govern their behavior", and "Jennifer Carpenter (in her film debut) does a nice job in conveying the secrets of a soul on a journey with no clear destination. The way she handles the brash Gina in her revelatory moments of truth are standout highlights." Ronnie Scheib of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewed the film negatively, writing it "feels like an existential play poorly adapted for the screen." He added, "Only Giancarlo Esposito’s role — that of a down-and-out street poet extravagantly smitten with Janeane Garofalo’s spinsterish shut-in — dovetails with helmer Jim Hershleder’s hyper-real approach."

Home media

The film was released on DVD by Vanguard Cinema on August 30, 2005.

References

External links

''Ash Tuesday''
in the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

* {{Rotten Tomatoes, ash_tuesday 2003 films 2003 comedy-drama films 2003 independent films 2003 LGBT-related films 2000s English-language films American independent films American LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films Hyperlink films Films about homelessness Films based on the September 11 attacks Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City 2000s American films