Two Small Bodies

Maddeningly, TWO SMALL BODIES keeps dissolving back to its basic confrontation between grizzled detective and guilty-looking suspect. The dubious conceit of this piece, which is little more than a straight filming of a two-character play, is to present the same scene over and over again, ringing enough changes each time to suggest some kind of reflexive sophistication.

Veteran investigator Lt. Brann (Fred Ward) resolves to break down the icy reserve of a mother, Eileen Mahoney (Suzy Amis), whose two small children have disappeared from home without a trace. Promiscuous Eileen, who works as a hostess in a strip bar, is hardly a candidate for mother of the year....