Diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, an academic and artist (Jeff Allin) submits to an experimental procedure that saves his life but leaves him wondering why he bothered: as far as he can tell, the real man died on the operating table and the one who walked away has no idea what to do with his new lease on life. Unable to paint anymore, he shuts himself off from friends and family and begins a tentative flirtation with a wary young grad student that seems bound to fizzle after he loses his nerve sexually. Scripted by Chris Stezin, this 2009 drama is smart and articulate, and director Joe Banno avoids any pat resolution to the protagonist's existential quandary.