THE PRIME GIG (2002)

A faint existential chill accompanies the hardball sales pitch of ace phone hustler Pendleton ''Penny'' Wise (Vaughn), who solicits high-end investors for a vaguely shady entrepreneur (Harris), while dallying after hours with the boss' girlfriend (Julia Ormond). There's never much doubt that Penny's got caught up in a cutthroat con game -- but that's just a framework for the coolly absorbing portrait of a callous ''closer'' who only loses his edge when he rediscovers his soul. Curiously, the film never got a full-blown theatrical release, despite the presence of multiple-Oscar nominee Harris. These days, not even the ''indies'' seem to know a good thing when they've got it.