IMDb > Housekeeping (1987)
Housekeeping
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Housekeeping (1987) More at IMDbPro »

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Housekeeping (1987) -- Open-ended Trailer from Columbia

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   792 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Marilynne Robinson (novel)
Bill Forsyth (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Housekeeping on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
January 1988 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The story of a woman slightly distracted by the possibilities of life. more
Plot:
In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950's, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins more
NewsDesk:
Home
 (From The AV Club. 17 September 2008, 9:04 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
A keyhole to look through more (25 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Christine Lahti ... Sylvie
Sara Walker ... Ruth
Andrea Burchill ... Lucille
Anne Pitoniak ... Aunt Lily
Barbara Reese ... Aunt Nona
Margot Pinvidic ... Helen
Bill Smillie ... Sheriff
Wayne Robson ... Principal
Betty Phillips ... Mrs. Jardine

Karen Elizabeth Austin ... Mrs. Paterson
Dolores Drake ... Mrs. Walker (as Delores Drake)
Georgie Collins ... Grandmother
Tonya Tanner ... Young Ruth
Leah Penny ... Young Lucille
Brian Linds ... Deputy Sheriff
more
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Additional Details

Runtime:
116 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Rankcolor)
Sound Mix:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Diane Keaton was originally cast as Sylvie but left due to creative differences. more
Quotes:
Ruth: It must be his boat.
Sylvie: That or he's some sort of lunatic. Either way, I'm not going back to find out.
more
Soundtrack:
SPARROW IN THE TREETOP more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful.
A keyhole to look through, 22 August 2002
Author: Standfast from Half Moon Bay, CA

This is a film of a rare, intimate perception that is aimed with pinpoint precision at a few unusual characters and the places they inhabit. At first its subjects seem simple, but like many people do, these characters are merely shielding themselves, hesitant to reveal much of their real natures except as as rare gifts in intimate moments. It must have been tremendously challenging to create and portray natural introverts like these characters, but as an introvert myself (I assert that characteristic without any touch of self-disparagement), I found this story rewardingly resonant of my own experience, especially of childhood memories, although indeed my outward circumstances had little in common with this story.

Almost never has any film conveyed a sense and feeling of a few small places so clearly and so effortlessly. We cherished the village in "Local Hero", but Fingerbone is an incomparably more realistic and deftly drawn place (despite occasional overreaching, e.g., the town's name, and a train accident that stretches credulity in more than one way).

For anyone willing to watch, dusk and the blue pre-dawn illuminate and suffuse these characters' lives. Sylvie sits by herself in the "dark", but there are wonderful secrets to discover in places that seem a void to others. Even well-meaning intrusions, like interruptions to meditation, can seem tragic.

Even more distinctly than Forsyth's other work, this film certainly wouldn't appeal to everyone, but it is a beautiful and evocative character study that has the courage to deal with personalities, events and emotions too obscure or inaccessible for most mainstream filmmakers. Forsyth deserves credit for having gotten this made in the first place, as well as for the eclectic perception that gave the film its many unique and worthwhile qualities.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Housekeeping (1987)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Housekeeping at Ebertfest alwaystina69
I emailed a request for this movie at the Criterion site. latte_artist
A note to All Who Love this Film READ THE BOOK too! mad19571
DVD- long long long overdue blegdog
final scene ossetra
Gilead is good too! greenridge10
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