In the town of Empire Falls, lives are like rivers - eventually, they go where they must. Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Paul Newman, Robin Wright Penn, Aidan Quinn and Joanne Woodward lead an all-star cast in a two-part HBO miniseries event based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo.
This two-part miniseries event tells the humorous, poignant story of a declining New England town and its inhabitants, whose lives are deeply rooted in and influenced by the Knox River and its vacant mills, their class differences, and ghosts of the past. At the center of the story is Miles Roby (Ed Harris), for whom
the promising opportunities of youth have given way to the demands of family obligations, especially those concerning his cantankerous father Max (Paul Newman) and impressionable daughter Tick (Danielle Panabaker).
Unable to escape the town or the dominating shadow of Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward), who owns the restaurant he runs, Miles copes with a recent divorce from wife Janine (Helen Hunt) while piecing together the shared events that shaped the lives (revealed in flashbacks) of his mother Grace (Robin Wright Penn) and Francine's late husband C.B. (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Through Miles' experiences, the film pays tribute to the resilience of lifelong friends and neighbors, inextricably bound for generations into a rich and varied social fabric.
Directed by Fred Schepisi, and shot entirely on location in Maine, Empire Falls premieres in two parts this May. Part One premieres Saturday, May 28 at 9 p.m., with Part Two premiering Sunday, May 29 at 9 p.m. (after an encore of Part One at 7 p.m.).
