An Unremarkable Life (1989)

Director:

Amin Q. Chaudhri

Writer:

Marcia Dinneen (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Patricia Neal	...	Frances McEllany
Shelley Winters	...	Evelyn McEllany
Mako	...	Max Chin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jenny Chrisinger
Charles S. Dutton
Lily Knight
Rochelle Oliver
Michael O'Neill
Madeleine Sherwood

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Continental

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Frances and Max sit down to play a game of Monopoly in real screen time. However, Max proceeds from the GO space to Park Place in just three rolls of the dice (an impossibility), while Frances somehow gets out of the JAIL space without rolling doubles (another impossibility).

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

A bittersweet love story, satisfying, with a great mature cast

I'm tired of all the films being released about young love, older guys and younger women, ad nauseum. An Unremarkable Life is a welcome sight for those of us who don't mind if the cast is "up there" in age and can appreciate the leisure pace of the story. It brings back fond memories of films like On Golden Pond, The Whales of August, Travelling North, and the more recent Innocence.

Patricia Neal (as Frances) and Shelley Winters (as Evelyn) are sisters who have shared a house together for 15 years, and life is quite routine for them. Evelyn is stern and very emotionally dependent on Frances, actually finding comfort in Frances' lack of a "life." Frances is a friendly loving person though, just feeling that she has had "an unremarkable life" and often laments on her days of flying a plane. One day while her car is at a repair garage, she meets a mechanic played by Mako. A nice friendship begins and Evelyn feels her relationship with her sister is threatened....but a beautiful film like this obviously won't let us down and go for a sad ending, it's handled just right and will satisfy those wanting to enjoy a nice romantic film. The story and conclusion, while melodramatic to "too serious" viewers, is quite sweet and satisfying. Will Frances choose between her sister or an opportunity for true love? Ahh, somehow you know it will work out!

It's a tale of sibling devotion, old-fashioned values, bigotry, longing, and sacrifice. It's a perfect film to cuddle up with someone special and let it take you away. Patricia Neal is charming as ever, Winters shows her dramatic yet vulnerable edge so well, and Mako is a perfect gentleman. It's a delightful mix of characters and an engrossing experience. An Unremarkable Life is a real gem and worth the effort to seek this one out. A true classic to discover. I'm hanging on to my bargain no-frills DVD dearly in hopes that one day it's given the deserved DVD treatment!