By JOHN WILDMAN, Contributing Writer

W atching an actor play multiple roles in a film has recently become about as entertaining and surprising as getting a ticket after double-parking to make a Fedex deadline. This metaphor is more than appropriate for two reasons: One, Teri Garr inhabits the roles of two sisters in Cecilia Miniucchi's EXPIRED in such a way that not only does she neither self-consciously, nor subconsciously point a finger at herself, but she truly the supports the main characters (played by Samantha Morton and Jason Patric) and the story arc of the film. And two, the film itself is a tough, rare portrait of two parking cops - lonely, fractured souls reaching out to one another while trying to accept her social weaknesses and the other's angry mistrust and latent cruelty.

What was the biggest draw for you to be a part of EXPIRED - the overall story/script or the two roles you played? I really liked the script. I thought it was a very good representation of women and men and how they communicate.

Is there a special challenge to sharing scenes with actors known for their different approaches to acting (like Samantha Morton and Jason Patric)? Acting is acting. They are both such good actors that it was just a pleasure to work with them.

You may have delivered one of the most low-key performances of two roles in a film. Was there a conscious effort to focus on the integrity of those two performances, rather than calling attention to them? I tried to make the performances as real as I could. For the character of the mother I spoke with and spent time with a woman who had suffered a left brain stroke.

As Samantha Morton's character's mother, you're playing someone who can't really speak. Is that more of a hindrance to doing your job as an actress or is it actually something you were happy to exploit? It was not easy to play someone who couldn't speak. Communication between a mother and her daughter - that's such an important thing. But Samantha has such an expressive face that it made it much easier to work with and work off of her reactions.

Among actors in the principal roles (you, Morton, Patric, and Illeana Douglas), you have the strongest and most respected comedy track record. Due to that, did everyone take their cues from you in the scenes that involved a delicate balance between the drama and the comic relief? Cecilia is pretty smart - she didn't need help from me as far as that was concerned. And most of what you see was in her original script.

What did you enjoy most about working with director Cecilia Miniucchi? Her accent. She was very open to ideas and I have to repeat that I thought she wrote a beautiful script for us to work with.