James Foley

Taken as a whole, the films of director James Foley expertly examined the dark, conflicting edges of human morality and the dubious characters that occupy our world. As a reliable and stylish visionary of distinctly American films such as "At Close Range" (1984) and the starkly comic adaptation of David Mamet's fierce salesman drama "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992), Foley impressed audiences with his mastery of character betrayals. But it was "Glengarry Glen Ross" that put the director on the map, affording him the reputation as a nuanced interpreter of verbally rich material. Born on Dec. 28, 1953, Foley was born in Brooklyn, NY, but his parents moved the family to Huguenot, Staten Island for almost three years before finally settling in West Brighton. Foley went to school at the University of Buffalo in the early 1970s, studying psychology. After graduating, he made plans to obtain a social work degree from The New School in New York. But inspired by the films of the maverick 1970s, Foley instead took a film course and ultimately applied to film school. Despite the proximity to New York University, Foley opted for the film program at the University of Southern California instead; graduating in 1979. He was close to directing a project under the banner of one of his idols, director Hal Ashby - whom he had met at a party - when Ashby's own creative misfires ended prospects for the project - forcing Foley to move on to direct his own first feature solo, "Reckless" (1984). A wrong-side-of-the-tracks teen drama, the failure of "Reckless" served as a humbling start for Foley, who was initially touted by The Los Angeles Times as the next hot director, before the newspaper changed its story to include his failure at the box office. He was still eager for a second feature and teamed up with actor Sean Penn on "At Close Range" (1986), a much more assured effort about a son's tragic fascination with his estranged father's Philadelphia gang ties. Penn, as usual, shined opposite h