Housekeeping (1987)

Director:

Bill Forsyth

Writers:

Marilynne Robinson (novel)
Bill Forsyth (screenplay)

Release Date:

January 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The story of a woman slightly distracted by the possibilities of life.

Plot:

In the Pacific Northwest during the 1950's, two young sisters whose mother has abandoned them wind up living with their Aunt Sylvie...

Plot Keywords:

Aunt | Sister | Orphan | Coming Of Age | Flood

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

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

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:7 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Diane Keaton was originally cast as Sylvie but left due to creative differences.

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.

Soundtrack:

SPARROW IN THE TREETOP

A keyhole to look through

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.