Synopsis: Martha Horgan is mentally slow. She lives with her Aunt Frances and has a reputation for brutal honesty, which causes her to loose her job and several friends. Mackey, a trouble carpenter who has come to fix Aunt Frances's porch, unintentionally becomes intimately involved with Martha. And a stir of emotions and confusion enter Martha's life.

Cast:
Debra Winger .... Martha Horgan
Barbara Hershey .... Frances Beechum
Gabriel Byrne .... Mackey
David Strathairn .... Getso
John Terry .... Steve
Chloe Webb .... Birdie
Laurie Metcalf .... Anita
Maggie Gyllenhaal .... Patsy
Jake Gyllenhaal .... Edward
Myles Sheridan .... Paul
Richard Riehle .... John
Viveka Davis .... Mercy

Favorite Quotes:
• "Help me, Martha..." - Getso

Notes:
• Director Stephen Gyllenhaal is the father of famous young stars Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal. Both make small appearances in A Dangerous Woman.
• David would work with director Stephen Gyllenhaal again in Losing Isaiah and co-star Barbara Hershey in Paradise.
• Co-star Debra Winger received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in A Dangerous Woman.
• David and Debra Winger took part in the Guthrie Center's Stories (And Poems) That Delight benefit in 2005.
• Debra Winger's husband, actor Arliss Howard, has worked twice with David (Beyond the Call and A Map of the World).

Critical Praise & Commentary:
• "Winger happens to look up as Strathairn slips money from the dry cleaners' till into his underwear. But Strathairn successfully accuses her of pilfering. What's a harassed 'screwball' to do?" -Desson Howe, Washington Post

• "Frances pays a local dry cleaner to give Martha a job where, since she's so starved for attention and kind treatment, she has a crush on Birdy, one of the other clerks who treats her nicely--much to the amusement and later the scorn of Birdy's no good boyfirend Getso (played by the wonderful David Strathairn--who's such a good actor that for the second straight time I didn't recognize him)." -Linda Lopez McAlister, The Women's Show

• "Strathairn adds further proof that he's one of the great contemporary character actors. His slow and underplayed expiration after Winger attacks him stands out as the most striking sequence in the film and one of the most distinctive death scenes in memory." -Todd McCarthy, Variety