Tough, unyielding screen-version of Marsha Norman's play which can hold a lot of interest for select viewers, the theme of suicide being an uncomfortable one for the mass-market. Director Tom Moore doesn't try to disguise the stage origins of the material but, because of his mundane, straightforward handling, the piece doesn't grip the viewer the way live actors on the stage can. It has also been handicapped by the casting, with Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek portraying mother and daughter. They're marvelous actresses--and both are fine in this movie--but I never felt they were related (Kathy Bates played the daughter on stage, but was probably too old to be cast alongside Bancroft). Because she always does wonders with roles of conflicted young women, it is Spacek who comes off as the stronger of the acting duet. She really nails the part of this hapless, yet coldly focused and determined girl who wants to kill herself. Bancroft has a tendency to overdo certain scenes; she's theatrical instead of logical. The script really needed to be reworked for the screen (and for these particular ladies) and the daughter doesn't give us much of a chance to catch up to her emotionally, and so many viewers may feel shut out of the proceedings early on. **1/2 from ****