Big Bad Love (2001)

Big Bad Love: Directed by Arliss Howard. With Arliss Howard, Debra Winger, Paul Le Mat, Rosanna Arquette. Barlow is a hard-drinking, heavy-smoking, long-haired, and deeply unhappy aspiring writer who pulls a dozen rejection slips out of his mailbox every day while trying to get through his life with some semblance of purpose.

“A surreal movie based on a short story collection by Mississippi writer Larry Brown. Arliss Howard directs and stars as Leon Barlow, a drunken writer who struggles with the demands of his ex-wife (Debra Winger), his children and his best friend (Paul LeMat). He is a failure on almost every level – certainly personally and professionally – and Howard doesnu0026#39;t shy away from his protagonistu0026#39;s shortcomings. The resulting film is a meandering look at the creative process, and how one man messed up his life. Itu0026#39;s a well crafted directorial debut from Howard who handles this quiet tale of an artistu0026#39;s redemption with a firm hand.”