Trivia
When asked by a Hollywood columnist if she was upset she didn't receive an Oscar nomination for her performance,
Anne Bancroft quipped, "I should have gotten an Oscar just for memorizing all those lines."
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Quotes
Thelma:
People don't kill themselves, Jessie. It's doesn't make sense, unless you're retarded or deranged, and you're as normal as they come, Jessie, for the most part. We're all afraid to die!
Jessie:
I'm not, Mama. It's exactly what I want. It's dark and quiet.
Thelma:
So's the backyard, Jessie.
Jessie:
So quiet, I don't know it's quiet, so nobody can get me.
Thelma:
Dead might not be quiet at all, Jessie. What if it's like an alarm clock, and you can't wake up, so you can't shut it off... ever!
Jessie:
Dead is everbody and everything I ...
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This film is an adaptation of a play - and it shows. It all takes place in one small house, and there are really only two characters, Jessie and her mother. Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft do an incredible job in their respective roles. The writing is fantastic. Jessie is intent on killing herself, and tells her mother what she is planning, in order to explain herself. Her mother, of course, is appalled, and struggles to convince her to change her mind, and also to try to understand why Jessie wants to do something so drastic and final. Both roles are emotionally laden, and extremely well-drawn. The result is a film that is complex, interesting, sometimes funny, and heart-wrenchingly sad. It is, no doubt, a tear-jerker, but it is well worth seeing.