Drama, too? Southern Baddies; The Bad Ones? More

“The Girl in the River” is a complex murder case film that opens in theaters on Sept. 4. In a small Mississippi town two teen identical girls are abducted. Then the body of one is found in a river. Police Captain Erica Graysmith (TIFFANY HADDISH, 46) works with a veteran criminologist (Devon Sawa) and a young psychologist (Maggie Grace) to arrest the murderer and to find out if the other twin is alive.

“The Girl” is Haddish’s first serious dramatic movie. She has had much success as a stand-up comedian, and in comedic films.

Last month, I wrote, in detail, of Haddish’s background. Here is the capsule version: Haddish’s mother is an African American Christian. Haddish was about 20 when she found out her father was an Eritrean Jew. She converted in 2019 and had a bat mitzvah. She’s religiously observant—and now she’s a shining Jewish star!

“By Any Means” also opens in theaters on Sept. 4. Here’s the premise: Gregory Scapa, a notorious mafia hitman, (played by Mark Wahlberg), and Wayne Strider, a young Black FBI agent (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in Mississippi in 1966.

The film was written by SASCHA PENN, 55. (This Penn is not related to SEAN PENN). Penn grew-up in Boston. He is not shy about talking about being Jewish in interviews.

The most poignant interview, I felt, was the one where he talked about his family and the Holocaust. Sascha’s father, and his paternal grandmother, survived the Holocaust in Lithuania and moved to America. Sascha’s paternal grandfather died in the Holocaust. After the war, Sascha’s grandmother married a Jewish man who lost his wife, and his children, in the Holocaust.

In 2025, Sascha married actress LESLIE GROSSMAN, 54. She got noticed when she got a star role (1999-2001) in “Popular”, a WB series. She hasn’t soared high since, but she has steadily acted in recurring and guest TV roles.

Penn was the creator and principal writer of “Power Book III: Raising Kanan”, or simply “Raising Kanan”. It was a big hit, crime drama TV series (Starz). “Raising Kanan” premiered in 2021 and the fifth and final season of the series began in June and ended this August.

“Power Book III” refers to two previous “Power Book” TV series about Kanan, a drug dealer. Penn didn’t write those series.

“The Salt Path” is a British film that opened in U.K. theaters in 2024. It played film festivals in America, but the date for a full release in U.S. theaters kept on changing. It looks like it will really open on Sept. 4.

Here’s the basic “official” premise: Raynor Winn (Gillian Anderson), and her husband, Moth Winn (JASON ISAACS, 63), who has been diagnosed with degenerative corticobasal degeneration, are evicted from their farm and home after investing in a friend’s business venture, despite presenting evidence that could have prevented their eviction. Destitute and with their only source of income £40 weekly Working Tax Credit, they decide to walk the 1000km South West Coast [UK] Path.”

This film got pretty good reviews and while not a box-office hit, it did okay in Europe. The movie was based on a (book) memoir by Raynor Winn. A big controversy fired up when the movie opened. Several people said that Moth and Raynor distorted everything.

Long story short: these people said that Moth and Raynor lost their house because Moth had embezzled from his former employer. “The Observer”, a respected newspaper, ran stories that supported the claims that Raynor Winn was lying. “Liar or Not” became a hot story in the U.K.

Raynor Winn said she would talk to her lawyers. But she never brought a lawsuit against those saying that she was a liar.

Last May, I wrote about “The Sheep Detectives”, a comedy-drama film, when the film opened in theaters. It’s about the mystery of the death of a very kind sheepherder.

Because this was a mystery, the advance movie studio info hardly said anything about the plot. Even some cast members names were left out. All I could write, in a May column, was that the script was written by CRAIG MAZIN, 55, and actress MOLLY GORDON had a role— but no role name—nothing about her character.

The reviews were good and I finally saw it this week (on Amazon Prime). It was a very good film. I won’t say more about the mystery plot---except to say that Molly Gordon, 31, has a nice, juicy, important role as Rebecca Hampstead.

Next week: Molly Gordon—more about her and her other roles!