Crimes of the Heart (1986)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

Beth Henley (play)
Beth Henley (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Meg just left one. Lenny never had one. Babe just shot one. The MaGrath sisters sure have a way with men!

Plot:

Three sisters with quite different personalities and lives reunite when the youngest of them, Babe, has just shot her husband...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Grandfather | Reunion | Pulitzer Prize Source | Small Town

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Diane Keaton	...	Lennora Josephine 'Lenny' Magrath
Jessica Lange	...	Margaret 'Meg' Magrath
Sissy Spacek	...	Rebeca 'Babe' / 'Becky' Magrath Botrelle
Sam Shepard	...	Doc Porter
Tess Harper	...	Chick Boyle
David Carpenter	...	Barnette Lloyd
Hurd Hatfield	...	Old Granddaddy
Beeson Carroll	...	Zackery Botrelle
Jean Willard	...	Lucille Botrelle
Tom Mason	...	Uncle Watson
Annie McKnight	...	Annie May Jenkins
Gregory Eugene Travis	...	Willie Jay (as Gregory Travis)
Eleanor Eagle	...	Little Lenny
Jessica Ezzell	...	Little Meg
Natalie Anderson	...	Little Babe

Runtime:

105 min | Germany:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Caswell Beach, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Crimes of the Heart S.A.

Trivia:

Jessica Lange was pregnant during shooting.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lucille Botrelle: The damage to the spinal column's not yet been determined. But his breathing's stabilized and his liver's been saved.
Lennora Josephine 'Lenny' Magrath: Oh, well, that's good news.
Lucille Botrelle: None of this is good news Lennie Magrath! It's all a grueling nightmare and you mark my word those resposible will pay dearly!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 44th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1987) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Don' Fence Me In

The McGrath sisters sure have a way with men!

Putting three powerful actresses into one film isn't necessarily a guarantee that the project will work, however, this is one of those rare exceptions.

Beth Henley's play about three eccentric sisters in the south is adapted well to the screen, thanks in part to the careful direction of Bruce Beresford. Diane Keaton plays Lennie, the eldest sister, who's feelings of awkwardness prevent her from being happy. Jessica Lange is Meg, the fast-moving middle sister who packed up and left town for the big lights of Hollywood, only to be disappointed. And Sissy Spacek is Babe, the kooky youngest sister, recently charged with shooting her husband.

The sisters are tormented by their cousin and neighbor, Chick, played by Tess Harper. Her own desire to be an upstanding member of the ladies league, combined with her desire to outshine and belittle her cousins, make her the villain in this story.

The sisters are reunited when Babe shoots her husband. As she says, she 'didn't like his stinkin' looks.' Babe is slightly unbalanced. After shooting him in the stomach she went out and made herself a pitcher of lemonade. What was most bizarre was that she then had the nerve to offer him a glass!

Over the course of several days the sisters confront the demons that have been troubling them. Lennie has 'shrunken ovaries' and therefore cannot have children. She believes that this is keeping her from getting a man. Meg is tortured by her own selfishness. The rumors about her convincing Doc Porter (played by Sam Sheppard) to hang around in during a hurricane, only to suffer a life altering leg injury, are all true.

The film reads like the play from which is came from. The scenes are often long. The dialogue marches on from subject to subject. The characters are well fleshed out, however most of the information we get comes from suggestions and flashbacks made by the characters. One must listen to the dialogue in this film in order to truly follow the story.

The acting is first rate by all four leads. Sissy Spacek and Tess Harper are definate standouts. They each received nominations at the Oscars that year. Lange and Keaton play their parts well. The cast works as an ensemble, with no upstaging, but rather opportunities for everyone to shine.

Crimes of the Heart is a first rate piece that may not be appropriate for all movie goers, simply because it requires the viewer to pay attention to detail. The action is slow moving, making room for some wonderful dialogue.

Enjoy this film as it offers some great acting with a pretty decent script.