There's death in the air in LA's San Fernando Valley.

Hotshot skier Teri Hatcher has a vist from her ex (Peter Horton) and then two other men (James Spader, Danny Aiello) who sedate her and despatch him. Nearby, failed director Paul Mazursky contemplates suicide.

He is saved by nurse Marsha Mason, who takes him to her half-brother (Greg Cruttwell) and his browbeaten secretary (Glenne Headly) - to find them being held up by Aiello, who has survived a double-cross by Spader.

Thanks to a beautifully crafted script, this complex, quirky, satisfying Coen Brothers-style black thriller makes you care about the characters and is a winner all the way.

All the performances are exceptional, with a notable American movie debut by Cruttwell, as a repulsively self-pitying yuppie, and a striking major-film first impact from Charlize Theron.