Diana (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maureen (Eva Amurri) are two average high-school students, chatting and killing time in the girl's bathroom one day when their conversation is interrupted by a noise from way off in the distance. It sounds like a bundle of firecrackers being set off, and causes them to quickly shut up and perk up their ears. The sounds are repeated, closer and louder, and before they have time to react to what is happening the bathroom door bursts open and a troubled, wild-eyed student is suddenly walking toward them, pointing a machine gun. This is the opening of In Bloom, the new, much-anticipated film from Vadim Perelman, director of House of Sand and Fog and the upcoming Angelina Jolie film, Atlas Shrugged. Based on Laura Kasischke's novel The Life Before Her Eyes, In Bloom follows two parallel timelines: one that begins in the weeks preceding that opening scene and one that jumps ahead a good fifteen years, focusing on a much-changed Diana, now being played by a jumpy and tense Uma Thurman.

The exact timeline of the film is left murky, with the scenes featuring Young Diana no different, stylistically, than the 'present day' scenes. Young Diana doesn't appear at all to be living in the past, and Older Diana doesn't inhabit any kind of futuristic world. It's a somewhat puzzling, but acceptable dramatic choice for Perelman to make, and he presses the intimate connection between the two timeframes by aggressively juxtaposing them. Scenes in Young Diana's world sometimes have a duration of only a few seconds, before we cut back to Older Diana's world for a few more seconds, and so on. Older Diana is an average teacher with a husband and an emotionally troubled daughter, but she still focuses much of her energy on replaying that day in her mind over and over, torturing herself for some reason that's unknown to us. Until the closing moments, Perelman chooses to hide from us exactly what happened in that bathroom, although it's not much of a mystery. I had already written the correct answer in my notes fifteen minutes into the film.

I was completely swept up in the emotion of Vadim Perelman's first film, House of Sand and Fog, which had its World Premiere as the closing night presentation of AFI Fest in 2003. I was a festival volunteer at the time and both the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood and an adjacent overflow theater were completely sold out. I was exhausted but desperately wanted to see at least a few minutes of the film, so I sneaked in near an exit to take a peek -- and ended up standing for the entire 126 minutes! I've never done that before or since; for me it remains a testament to the magnetic power of the story and the performances, especially Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly.

Did anyone stand in the back for the entire 90-minute running time of Perelman's latest, In Bloom, when it screened in Toronto this week? I don't know, but distributor Magnolia Pictures was sufficiently enthralled to acquire North American rights to the film, according to Anne Thompson of Variety. She notes: "This is the first collaboration between 2929 [Productions], owned by Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically integrated group of entertainment properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, and its specialty arm."

Based on a novel by Laura Kasischke, In Bloom stars Uma Thurman as a woman suffering from survivor's guilt years after a Columbine-like shooting tragedy. Evan Rachel Wood plays the same character in high school. The subject matter sounds dark and depressing, but Thurman hasn't had a serious dramatic role for years, so I hope the results are impressive and memorable.

Odds and ends from Tuesday:

• Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen) has signed on to play a young Uma Thurman in Vadim Perelman's (aka 'the dude who allegedly threw his dining room chair at a writer') thriller In Bloom. Produced by 2929 Prods., pic focuses on a teenager (Wood) who witnesses a horrific high school shooting, only to discover just how deep those emotional scars really are when she finds her life is a complete mess 15 years later. Uma Thurman will play the older version of said woman.
• I don't know what's more horrifying: That there are plans to remake Working Girl or that Jessica Simpson is in talks to star in the role made famous by Melanie Griffith? Simpson's rep has confirmed the actress is interested, though it's just one of several scripts currently on her plate. With the success of films like The Devil Wears Prada, I can see why they would want to remake Working Girl. But, Jessica Simpson? Should she take the part, this would mark Simpson's first lead role in a major film.
• M. Night Shyamalan is so fed up over the fact people expect a certain type of film from him, the dude contemplated removing his name from Lady in the Water, as well as the big-screen adaptation of Life of Pi, though he is no longer associated with the latter. Says Shyamalan, "I'd love it if everyone could look at Lady In The Water as a lyrical parable, but there will be people that won't get it because they are coming at it with a certain lexicon of what to expect already in place." Actually, Mr. Shyamalan, all people expect out of you is a decent movie. If you could set your enormous ego aside and craft the kind of film we know you're capable of, you won't have to remove your name from the credits or complain to everyone and their mother. Yes, it's that simple.