In writer/director Alan Rudolph's TRIXIE, two-time Academy Award nominee Emily Watson plays Trixie Zurbo, a likable and feisty woman who refers to herself as "a private defective." She's a working-class gal on her first case as she tries to find a mysterious tape that has something to do with a slimy politician, Senator Avery (Nick Nolte). In this sweet screwball comedy, Trixie has never met a sentence that she couldn't fracture. ("You've got to grab the bull by the tail and look it in the eye." "I've got an ace up my hole.") One of the movie's chief delights is listening for what will come out of her mouth next. Her penchant for mixed metaphors becomes catching, and other characters begin to speak Trixie's brand of gibberish.

Other members of the excellent cast include a greasy-haired, self-proclaimed ladies' man (Dermot Mulroney), a badly-dressed, crooked developer (Will Patton), a drunken comic (Nathan Lane), an underage barfly (Brittany Murphy) and a wasted, would-be singer (Lesley Ann Warren). All of the cast nicely complement Watson, as it is her movie, and watching her is a real treat. From BREAKING THE WAVES on, she has shown that she is an actress with an amazing breadth who never gives anything less than her all. Even in underwritten roles (ANGELA'S ASHES), she makes her parts special and compelling. With TRIXIE we learn that she can be funny as well as dramatic.

TRIXIE runs 1:57. It is rated R for some language, sexuality and violence and would be fine for most teenagers.

The film will be playing as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival (http://www.sfiff.org), which runs April 20 to May 4, 2000. It is scheduled to be released nationwide in the United States this June.