While much of the state awaits the arrival of actor Johnny Depp and shooting of "Public Enemies," director Michael Mann's take on John Dillinger, a Milwaukee-based movie debuts this week.

"Flawed," a psychological thriller written by Nathanial Ross and directed by Mark Kagan, was shot in various locations around Milwaukee late last summer and features actors from the area.

"Flawed" begins a one-week run Friday at Showtime Theater, 8910 S. 102nd St., just west of Highway 100 and Loomis Road. All showings begin at 7 p.m.

In addition to writing the screenplay with David Sell, Ross stars as Nicholas Pierce, who is serving life in prison for the murders of five area residents.

Pierce, who never confessed to the murders or talked about the case, agrees to do so only if he can talk to Phillip Bradley, who is his friend, mentor and former criminal psychology professor. Bradley must attend the "interrogation" with five current students, hand-picked by Nick through vague questionnaires.

Nice plans on sculpting the students' minds as he explores the gruesome truth of his past and exposes "flaws" within the law

"It's an excellent story," said co-producer Marty Alivo, who was involved with the movie "Dare to Dream, The Alan Kulwicki Story."

"I wasn't sure I wanted to be involved, but my friend Jim Cryns introduced me to Nate. We met on a Sunday and we were casting by Tuesday. We started shooting two weeks after that."

Alivo said the movie would have been done sooner, but there were some issues with editing.

"The first cut was done by an editor from Los Angeles and it was three hours long," said Alivo, who also plays agent John Mathews in the film. "We got it down closer to 2 hours."

In addition to several local actors, Alivo enlisted the help of local sportscasters Lance Allan (WTMJ-TV) and Tim Van Vooren (WITI-TV) to play reporters. "Those guys are pros," Alivo said. "Lance opens the movie and Tim closes it out."