to explore, so Denise ends up going with Cheryl. While the women celebrate, Jay is revealed to be still in the throes of his depression; having put on a brave face for Denise's benefit. He walks into the ocean, taking his own life. Denise is further distraught to discover that Jay's fans blame her for not intervening in his death. Numbed by the loss, Denise retires with her family to a hippie commune in northern California and tries to make sense of everything that has happened. Some time later, Joel visits Denise at the commune and takes her and the children to dinner. That night, he criticizes how far down she's allowed her grieving to take her and says that it's destroying her and her talent. Denise angrily lashes out, telling Milner that he'd be nothing without her success. He agrees; however, the more he agrees with her, the angrier she becomes. She strikes him then collapses in tears, grieving for Jay. Milner consoles her and the two are reconciled. With Joel's help, Denise creates the platinum-selling work "Grace of My Heart". As she lays down the piano track for the song, her life is recounted in pictures, leading to the moment when her own mother receives a copy of her album in the mail with a handwritten note. Seemingly proud of her daughter's success, she smiles. Cast Production The story is loosely based on the career arc of singer-songwriter Carole King, who, like Denise, started out writing songs in the Brill Building for artists like Aretha Franklin, The Drifters, and Little Eva. The character Jay Phillips is loosely modeled on Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. Allison Anders said she was inspired to make the film as a fan of the girl group The Shangri-Las. She was also inspired by the Alan Betrock book Girl Groups: The Story of A Sound, which contained photos of "Carole King and Gerry Goffin then others like Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann...it was interesting to read what Alan had to say about what that time was like back then and how they were all really just kids when they had been apart of that." Martin Scorsese is credited as Grace of My Heart'''s executive producer, and the film is co-edited by Scorsese’s longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Reception Release Grace of My Heart debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 1996.