LEVITY

Compare the Romanian drama of an ex-convict, “Everyday God Kisses Us on the Mouth,” with LEVITY, an American variation on the idea of a marked man trying to atone for what he lost when he took a human life. Billy Bob Thornton, in a performance both echoing and contrasting with his breakthrough in “Sling Blade,” plays that man, Manuel Jordan, who killed a teenage boy in a botched convenience-store holdup 22 years ago. To his own surprise, Manuel learns that his life sentence has been commuted, and he's back on the streets, an aimless, conscience-stricken shell. Manuel finds a tentative haven at an inner-city community center run by a tough but caring pastor, and he befriends a self-destructive young woman who resides at a nearby group home when she's not out clubbing. But the yellowed newspaper article about his victim, a youth named Abner, remains Manuel Jordan's constant companion and cross to bear. Without revealing his identity, Manuel locates and acquaints himself with Abner's older sister Adele, but as their relationship deepens he can't bring himself to reveal who he really is. Then Adele's own son, also named Abner after the sibling she lost, becomes embroiled in a downward spiral. In this crisis, Manuel perceives a fragile chance to make amends for the unforgivable.