Blythe Danner movie caps Sarasota Film Festival

Brett Haley is grateful for both Blythe Danner and the Sarasota Film Festival.

Haley's a young writer-director. He's done several short films, but before now he's done only one feature. That was called "The New Year," and it was first shown in 2010 at the Sarasota Film Festival.

"I made that for $5,000," he said. "It premiered at the Sarasota Film Festival and it won the audience award."

When he began working on his latest film, "I'll See You in My Dreams," he had one actor in mind for the lead role, and that was Blythe Danner.

He managed to get the script to her. She liked it but she was wary.

"I think she had the fear that I was in over my head," Haley said, "and I can totally respect that."

But Danner signed on, as did other established stars -- Sam Elliott, Malin Akerman, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place and Max Gail among them. "Every one of them was my first choice for the role," he said.

The resulting film was so strong that it was selected for the prestigious Closing Night Film spot at this year's Sarasota Film Festival. Haley and Danner will be in town for the screening.

The film's obviously a huge leap forward for Haley's career. But even for Danner, who's been appearing in movies and TV shows from since the late 1960s, "I'll See You in My Dreams" is a new step.

"She always been in films, obviously, but she's never been in every single scene of a film before," Haley said. "She carries this film on her shoulders."

(Danner, the widow of writer/director Bruce Paltrow of "St. Elsewhere" fame and the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow, has had recurring roles of "Will & Grace" and has starred in such films as "Meet the Fockers" and "The Great Santini," among many other roles.)

In "I'll See You in My Dreams," Danner plays a 70-year-old widow whose life routine is disrupted by unexpected events. She starts dating again and gets involved in relationships with two very different men.

Haley's only 31 -- he was 30 when he was making the film -- but he said that in the process of writing the script, he and writing partner Marc Bash realized it worked best if they made the leading characters older people.

But, he said, it's not a film about old people, or about being old.

"I was interested in life and love and loss and learning," he said. "These characters do not sit around being old. They're active, they're playing golf, they're enjoying their lives. One thing I've been glad to see is that the film gets a lot of laughter when it's been screened."

He's excited to have the second feature film he's ever done also be the second film he's had selected to be part of the Sarasota Film Festival.

"The programming is top-notch," he said. "They don't pander. They get really edgy independent films.

"And with so many festivals, it seems as though the community isn't even aware that a film festival is going on in town. With Sarasota, everybody knows about it, everyone talks about it and everyone goes to it."

"I'll See You in My Dreams" has been the opening film at a couple of other festival, but this is the first time it's been a closing film. As far as Haley's concerned, that's better.

"With the closing film, I get the better party," he said. "Everyone's done with their work and they're having a good time."

Details: 7 p.m. April 18, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. (Red carpet 5 p.m., awards show 6 p.m., screening 7 p.m.) Tickets: $24-$60. Information: 941-366-6200, sarasotafilmfestival.com

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Blythe Danner movie caps Sarasota Film Festival ."