In the film, Hurt plays the father of a dying woman living in a West Side mansion. The movie takes place in both 19th century and contemporary Manhattan.

Also cast in the film are Colin Farrell and Jessica Brown.

He won a Theatre World Award in 1978 and received a Tony Award nomination for Hurlyburly. His other theater credits include Artists Repertory Theatre productions of The Drawer Boy, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and No Man's Land.

Hurt won the Academy Award for Kiss of the Spider Woman and was also nominated for Children of a Lesser God, Broadcast News, and A History of Violence.