Feeling Minnesota explores the tormented relationship between two brothers, Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Jjaks, and the young woman, Freddie (Cameron Diaz), who comes between them. The story begins at the drab, unromantic wedding of Freddie and Sam, an embezzling accountant in a strip joint whom Freddie loathes. A tough young blonde who dreams of a better life in Las Vegas, Freddie is conned into marrying Sam as punishment for allegedly stealing from Red (Delroy Lindo), a small time crime boss.

Trapped and miserable, Freddie is soon intrigued by the arrival of Jjaks (Keanu Reeves), who reluctantly comes to the wedding at the insistence of his mother, Nora (Tuesday Weld). Just as he knew it would, Jjaks' encounter with his estranged family quickly disintegrates into the usual frustrating mess. His connection with the forlorn Freddie, however, is immediate and intense and before he knows what's hit him, the two are making love in the bathroom. Thus begins a passionate and painful love triangle as Sam and Jjaks go head to head for the girl they love. Dark, funny and poignant, Feeling Minnesota is the story of three volatile, imperfect people still holding out a desperate hope for love and a second chance at life.

Beaten down and disappointed at every turn of their lives, they cling to their belief that things might be better this time.

Canadian-bred Steven Baigelman, who previously pursued careers as an actor and a painter, makes his filmmaking debut with Feeling Minnesota, a film inspired by the line in a Soundgarden song: "I just looked in the mirror, things aren't looking so good, I'm looking California and feeling Minnesota." Set in a frigid landscape filled with small-time crooks, dirty cops, and broken dreams, Baigelman was partly inspired by his youth in Canada, across the Minnesota border.

Baigelman submitted the original script for Feeling Minnesota to a number of producers and was about to sell it to a well-known actor/director when Stacey Sher of Jersey Films convinced him that he should direct the film, with Jersey producing. Sher had responded passionately to the story of Freddie, Jjaks and Sam and describes the film "as a very moving, bittersweet love story, in a way almost like a modern Midnight Cowboy. One of the great things about Steven's script is that there are no black and white characters...everyone's very gray and very human. It's about people looking for love and looking for a way to put together the broken pieces of their wrecked American dream, all set in this absurd Minnesota of Steven Baigelman's imagination."

The team at Jersey Films felt that no one but Baigelman could do justice to the complexity of the characters he had created and encouraged him to direct it. It is a story that is very close to Baigelman's heart and one he feels that everyone can relate to, even if the characters and situations in the film seem extreme and emotionally heightened. Says Baigelman, "In some way, everyone was abused as a kid, even if it was just that other kids beat you up at school or you were the last one picked for baseball. It left a mark on all of us and that's sort of where this film begins. Whatever kind of messed-up childhood you had, you always go back to that place hoping it will be different this time. These people are all isolated in a way, they're all trying to make a connection."

The strength of the characters, the uniqueness of the story, and the script's evocative depiction of a mythical, gray Minnesota—filled with dirty snow and steamy pancake restaurants—attracted an amazingly accomplished cast for a first film. When Keanu Reeves read the script and agreed to star, financing was secured, and the rest of the cast soon signed on. Baigelman was thrilled with the casting of Keanu as Jjaks. Says Baigelman, "I feel like he's perfect for the role—his likability, his innocence, his sex appeal, his goofiness. He's a completely honest and moral person and so is Jjaks." Reeves sees Feeling Minnesota as a story about "the desire for love and acceptance; there's a lot of yearning in this piece. It's also about sympathetic people who are doing bad things, in their lives and in their communication with others."

Vincent D'Onofrio, who plays Sam and is much admired for his ability to bring humanity to seemingly unlikable characters, was with the project early on. He sees the film as a story of three people who share what he calls "crazy blood." Says D'Onofrio, "It's a contemporary drama and it's not often that you get to do that these days if you're an actor. It's about denial and hope and faith and resentment, the elements that make for good drama."

Cameron Diaz, who completely sheds the glamour she projected in The Mask, brings great empathy to the character of Freddie, a tough and determined young woman who refuses to give up despite a lifetime of betrayals and disappointments. Says Diaz, "To me, she's the hero. She's the smartest one out of all of them. She gets beaten up and knocked down and yet she's so strong and incredibly determined. That's why her relationship with Jjaks is so special. It's never happened before. It's something she's never experienced, never wanted to experience and then, for the first time in her life, she actually feels like she might be able to depend on someone."

The support and encouragement of the team at Jersey Films gave Baigelman the courage to direct what had become a very ambitious first feature. Having never made a film before, Baigelman applied to and was accepted into the Director's Lab at Robert Redford's Sundance Institute, where he and Vincent D'Onofrio (who plays Sam) presented the project in workshop form, a process that Baigelman says gave him the freedom to make mistakes before the cameras began rolling.

Baigelman found that he loved the challenge of directing: "I love soaking up new information and sort of falling on my face and getting up again. I loved working with the actors and being surprised by them and I loved seeing a shot that I had thought about for two years coming into fruition. I feel very honored and fortunate to have gotten an opportunity to do this."

Feeling Minnesota was shot on location in Minnesota and will be released domestically by Fine Line Features and internationally by New Line International.

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