Into the Fire

Synopsis: Sean Patrick Flanery gives a powerful, intricate performance in Michael Phelan's emotional post-9/11 drama, INTO THE FIRE. Flanery stars as Walter Hartwig Jr., a lieutenant for the New York Harbor Unit. When a plane crashes into the river, Hartwig leads his team--which includes his right-hand man, Sandy Manetti (Pablo Schreiber)--on a search and rescue mission. Hartwig finds a dead woman wearing white floating underwater, and he freezes up, needing to be pulled out by Manetti--but not before ripping off an ID bracelet from the victim. The incident brings up frightening memories for Hartwig, who lost his sister to the sea as a child. With his job on the line, he sends the bracelet to the victim's surviving sister, Sabrina Hampton (Melina Kanakeredes), while he also befriends June Sickles (JoBeth Williams), an older woman who lost her firefighting son too soon. Set primarily in Manhattan and on Coney Island (as well as in Queens and on Staten Island), INTO THE FIRE is a poignant, heart-wrenching film that examines love and loss in today's complex world. First-time director Phelan captures the relentless intensity that drives men and women to become cops and firefighters, seeking to help their fellow human being while also battling their own inner demons.     Source: RottenTomatoes.com