So much can be said without speaking a word. This is the message of "The Last Lullaby."

The film will show at the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival, which began Wednesday and continues through Sunday, Sept. 21.

The protagonist, Price (portrayed by Tom Sizemore), hardly speaks through the entire feature-length film. Yet, the audience can almost feel him fight his emotions with his better judgment.

Price’s problems begin in a liquor store when he notices a pistol in a shopper’s pocket.

His killer instincts beg Price to follow the armed civilians to their cabin, where Price finds they have kidnapped a young woman.

In a frenzy of flailing bullets, Price kills the kidnappers, only to capture the woman and trade her for the ransom money the kidnappers were demanding.

He plans to stay in retirement, but his stunt has attracted the attention of a new, rich acquaintance.

The man needs a woman killed but Price declines. Then the man offers Price $1 million.

Price is back in the hitman business one last time, or so he thinks. While stalking his prey – a red-haired witness to a crime – her beauty stills his trigger finger.

Slowly, he finds the woman shares much with the killer. She has trouble sleeping at night because she witnessed a murder. Price can never sleep. She loves to swim. Price swims when he can’t sleep.

The climax of the film comes in a swimming pool. Price and his would-be victim, Sarah (Sasha Alexander), are swimming together. She is making small talk but he stares into space. He realizes he has the choice not to kill her. Advertisement

[ Berry-Bell and Hall Mortuary ] He realizes she likes him and he likes her, and they might even fall in love.

Sizemore’s performance is beyond expressive. He makes a connection with the audience, dragging through every thought without saying a word.

The film is dark, emotionally rich, languid and, like Price, says a lot while staying quiet. The most meaningful scene in the film shows Price standing in front of a hotel pool, staring into the glassy, cold surface. It is a symbol for Price’s lonely, cold life without Sarah.

The film’s director, Jeffrey Goodman, made the movie to move at a slower pace so the audience could experience emotions rather than have the scene whip in front of the viewer without invoking a second thought.

"The Last Lullaby" is Goodman’s first feature-length film. It is not, however, his first version of this powerful story; the feature is based off a short film he finished in 2003.

"My goal was to make short films until I was ready to make a feature-length," he said in an interview last week.

The success of the short film and a suggestion from the screenplay’s author pushed Goodman to make a feature-length version of the short film.

Max Allen Collins, the author of "Road to Perdition," wrote the screenplay and the short story on which the film is based.

Goodman discovered Collins’ short story, called "A Matter of Principal," in a large book of pulp fiction stories, he said.

The film will show on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Movie Experience at Tower Plaza. For more information on "The Last Lullaby," visit www.thelastlullaby.com or www.tviff.com.