Places in the Heart gave us not only one of Sally Field’s best film performances but also the immortal misquote “You like me—you really like me” as she won her second Best Actress Oscar (the first being for Norma Rae). It’s a film that recreates the Great Depression quite convincingly, yet even in situations like a bank threatening repossession or a hungry vagabond begging for work, that lost chivalry of years gone by is ever present. It depicts both the relative helplessness of women at that time and their indomitable strength, combined in Field’s Edna Spalding, who evokes a deep sense of quiet desperation as she attempts to keep her family and home together. My grandfather grew up in that kind of environment, with cornbread, country music, and cotton picking day after day, and it’s interesting to see that lifestyle brought to the screen so realistically.

Danny Glover is perfect as Moze, and though Edna’s forgiveness for his stealing her silver is taken straight from Les Miserables, he donates his assistance in return, not always agreeing with her but supporting her endeavor through the whole film. Also, John Malkovich gives an impressive and understated performance as the blind Mr. Will, who is fairly persnickety at first and warms up throughout the film. He never really has a sudden moment of character change, but Mr. Will is nicely developed through brief moments or details, such as his doing things in the dark or the scene in which he asks Edna what she looks like.

The main thing I don’t like is the subplot involving Edna’s sister and two-timing brother-in-law, played by Lindsay Crouse and Ed Harris, respectively. Both are great actors and the drama is well-handled, but the entire plotline felt out of place to me since it has no bearing or effect on the main story of Edna that we all care about. I appreciate that the filmmakers didn’t go for the explicit nudity that so many think is necessary to be Oscar material, but it nonetheless seemed like filler. (Lost alert) That being said, it was nice to see Terry O’Quinn, who played the husband of Harris’s mistress, in an early role.

Stand-out scenes include the destructive storm, which reminded me of the beginning of Twister, and the sweet and quiet moments, such as young Frank asking his mother to dance. The KKK scene is both frightening and frustrating and perhaps a bit too easily resolved. The end is the true highlight, with the final church scene being a beautiful representation of the total, unbiased communion of heaven. That last shot almost brings me to tears.

For excellent acting and a touching story of perseverance, everyone ought to see Places in the Heart. It’s one of those inspiring downers, in which much goes wrong but much is set right as well.

Best line: (Edna Spalding, in the scene that most likely won Field the Oscar) “Now you listen to me. If we lose this place, and you’re going back to begging for every meal, and Mr. Will, they’re gonna put you in the state home, and I’m going to lose what’s left of my family. I’m not going to let that happen. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care if it kills me. I don’t care if it kills you. I’m not going to give up.”

Next: #248 – X-Men: First Class

© 2014 S. G. Liput

95 Followers and Counting

Here is yet another indicator that my list disagrees substantially with the critical community. Citizen Kane, like The Godfather, is considered one of the greatest films ever made and topped both AFI’s original and their revised top 100 list. It’s not the kind of movie I enjoy watching often, but I recognize its importance and influence on future filmmaking, as well as the reasons for its well-deserved accolades.

The brain child of first-time star and director Orson Welles, Citizen Kane is replete with flashbacks, indirect storytelling, and unique camera angles that made Welles a true pioneer for his time. The clarity he achieved with people or objects at various distances in the same shot, the placement of the camera on the floor or the ceiling, the way he told the whole story right at the beginning before going into it in further detail—all of these elements distinguish the film as an artistic masterpiece.

Commonly considered an unflattering fictionalized depiction of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst and others, Citizen Kane also holds an interest for me for Welles’s detailed yet ambiguous portrayal of a flawed man. Kane is at once sympathetic and unlikable, starting at the former and moving toward the latter as the film progresses, and it is this duality that I enjoy while my VC does not. I admire films that give a well-rounded if inconclusive look at that enigmatic thing we call life. Also, I’m always captivated by seemingly inconsequential features that take on greater emotional weight later in the story, in this case, the snow globe, Kane’s list of principles, the jigsaw puzzles, and of course the infamous sled, which embodies one of the early up-to-the-viewer endings utilized in more recent films like Inception. I enjoy the way this technique builds pathos and makes one care for the characters, whether in a film like Citizen Kane, a cartoon like Up, or a TV show like Lost.

For all its grand style, superb acting, fine script, and classic scenes, the film overall is rather depressing, and, as was typical of old black-and-white pictures, rather slow and sometimes overly dramatic as well. It may not be the most watchable movie, but Citizen Kane deserves its place on my list, as well as its much higher ranking on others.

Best line: (Thompson, the reporter, with a great metaphor at the very end) “Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything… I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a… piece in a jigsaw puzzle… a missing piece.”

Next: #249 – Places in the Heart

© 2014 S. G. Liput

93 Followers and Counting