The Grass Harp (1995) User Reviews

a delicate, bittersweet tale of Southern eccentricity...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 25 December 2023]

...based on a short story by Truman Capote, and is mainly set in 1940. The film meanders at times, and the sad ending (right from the story, probably) is a bit of a letdown, but its still worth seeing for an excellent cast and graceful staging.

As the story begins in a prologue set in 1935, a young boy (Edward Furlong) is sent to live with his two spinster aunts following the death of his parents. These aunts might be sisters, but they are decidedly different; one is a hard-nosed businesswoman who owns many of the shops in town (Sissy Spacek), the other (Piper Laurie) is gentle and childlike, keeps house, and makes a homeopathic dropsy cure. After a few years pass, the two sisters have a falling out over taking the homeopathic cure into a factory setting, Laurie, Furlong, and maid Nell Carter decamp to the woods while waiting for Spacek to change her mind.

That is the main thrust of the plot, but there are all sorts of familiar faces in here as well: Walter Matthau as a retired judge and suitor for Laurie, Mary Steenburgen as a tent revivalist with 15 children, and brief cameos from the likes of Jack Lemmon, Roddy McDowell, Charles Durning, Scott Wilson, and Doris Roberts. This film is very little known, but it's worth tracking down for Laurie's performance especially.

Superb gentle story

[Acapulqueno · 8/10 · 26 July 2005]

Directed by Walter Mathau's son Walter, this is a superb adaptation of on one of Truman Capote's best stories about how Southern misfits in the 1930's help each other survive. Both Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek, as the wealthy Talbo sisters, are perfectly cast and neither has ever been better. Walther Mathau, under his son's direction, in his most sympathetic roles, plays a retired judge. Every member of the spectacular cast is completely understandable: Jack Lemon and Mary Steenburgen are a pair of hilarious but unrelated con-artists. Nell Carter is the Talbo sister's very feisty cook, Joe Don Baker is the bumbling sheriff, Charles During the preacher, and Roddy McDowall is the gossipy barber. Look for Doris Roberts (Ray Romano's 'mom') as Mrs. Richards and for the director himself, Charles Mathau, as a barbershop regular.

Nice Story

[aimless-46 · 7/10 · 4 March 2007]

"The Grass Harp" (1995) will remind a lot of viewers of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Not a huge surprise given that both stories involve Truman Capote's childhood (Harper Lee based the Dill Harris character on Capote). Both films also use small Alabama towns for their locations.

Capote loosely based his 1951 "The Grass Harp" novella on the eccentric maiden cousins of his childhood. For the film Piper Laurie plays good Aunt Dolly and Sissy Spacek bad Aunt Verena (who is even less likable than Pollyanna's Aunt Polly). Spacek gets to do something out of character and nicely underplays this one. Laurie gets to have even more fun and turns in a joyful performance. She is a little too good to be true but Laurie manages to sell the character with a remarkable performance. In the 1950's Laurie was an extremely pretty (and hot) young starlet but it is obvious from this and her performance in "Carrie" (playing Spacek's mother) that there was a lot of substance in that pretty package.

Edward Furlong (best know as John Conner in "Terminator 2") avoids the "Pollyanna" trap and is pretty easy to take. The coming-of-age side of the story works quite well.

"The Grass Harp" is a bit underrated, probably because the screenplay fails to capture the lyrical quality of Capote's storytelling, giving the viewer a surfeit of sentimentality compounded by a too sweet score. The title is a reference to the musical sound of blowing grass, a metaphor about intergenerational connections and the primary theme of the story.

The film would have benefited from a little more restraint. This is not a fatal flaw but the film would have been more powerful with Mockingbird's toned down production design and less colorful characters; maybe even going so far as to release it in black and white.

Those looking for action adventure and hot romance should look elsewhere. But there are a lot of "Mockingbird" fans out there who should really enjoy "The Grass Harp".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

lovely

[Kirpianuscus · 21 September 2018]

The sort of adaptation preserving the entire flavor of novel. As an imersion in the atmosphere and colors and sensitivity of splendid novel of Truman Capote. The basic pillar - the performances. And the love for recreate a lost world in each detail. Great and delicate. Precise and wise calculated adaptation, hommage to a way to discover life and to the true magic.

A surprisingly wonderful movie

[lefty1 · 7/10 · 30 October 2006]

If you're looking for an action-packed movie you probably won't enjoy this beautiful piece of film-making. You absolutely have to change gears to appreciate the wonderful and sensitive story it tells. Watching this movie is very much like watching an extended episode of The Waltons, right down to the narration and beautiful music. Good performances by all, and I especially enjoyed Piper Laurie's portrayal of sensitive and delicate Dolly Talbo, who lives under the thumb of her younger sister, played by Sissy Spacek. Ironically, Piper Laurie played Spacek's mother 19 years earlier in Carrie. The movie tells a tale of life and love in a small Southern town, and days gone by.

Having said that, the one criticism I have of the movie is that I didn't really CARE about the characters. I enjoyed very much watching the characters interact, and being reminded of life in a world that has almost completely disappeared. But I was more amused by them than passionate about them.

While this film may not be perfect, it's a wonderful movie; more intelligent than at least 90% of what comes out of Hollywood. As another reviewer suggested, if you have a couple of hours of quiet time, sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy.

Spoiler? Hints of Homosexuality

[arieliondotcom · 7/10 · 21 August 2005]

This was a sweet movie which tells yet another slant of the autobiographical notes of Truman Capote's life, some of which is reminiscent of his novel "Other Voices, Other Rooms." In both works, there are women raising a young, delicate boy (the young Truman, no doubt), young girls interested in the boy who only has a passing curiosity about them, and homosexual men (the barber in this movie, honey) who color the Southern landscape with just another shade of differentness. "Love is a chain", and Capote seems always to be searching for the ties of that chain and whether, in the end, his life could have a brighter less melodramatic tone which could have spared him so much of the sadness his works and his real life seem to reflect as he searched for love and acceptance on the fringes of society and never seemed to really have found it.

This movie is a FEAST for the Eyes and Soul!

[silverwings · 10/10 · 24 April 2005]

After watching The Grass Harp I felt I had just experienced a feast! If you are tired of the McDonald's diet of recent Hollywood formula movies than you will welcome this gourmet quality film!

Based on Southern writer Truman Capote's boyhood, the story reveals the nuances of small town life with humor and wit. The lush visuals and lyric pace create a leisure mood befitting the 1930's when life was simpler. The golden sepia tones of the scenes subtly transport us into the memories of Collin, through whose eyes the story is told. The Southern ambiance, social graces and simple pastimes of a bygone era are beautifully recreated in the world surrounding the characters.

I love the barbershop scenes, where locals gather to socialize and get the latest news. You just want to hang out in the shop and shoot the breeze with Walter Matthau and Roddy McDowell. Joe Don Baker is the perfect southern sheriff and his sidekick Ralph (a rooster) adds a hilarious touch of eccentricity to his tough good-old boy demeanor. Charles Durning is hilarious as a self-righteous preacher that can't wait to kick Mary Steenbergen and her brood of a dozen kids out of town.

Piper Laurie is the heart and soul of the movie as Dolly Talbo. The timid and ethereal Dolly has been living under the thumb of her overbearing sister (Sissy Spacek) but manages to create a unique life of meaning for herself. Edward Furlong plays their teen nephew Collin who comes to live with them.

Dolly and her housekeeper (Nell Carter) take Collin under their wing and try to help him adjust to life in this small southern town. As Dolly advises Collin about the girl he has a crush on, she too falls in love for the first time in her life.

Piper Laurie glows like a young girl around the young-at-heart Judge Cool (Walter Matthau). Their scenes together are sweet and heartbreaking.

The movie is beautiful, both visually and emotionally. It is funny, sad, and touching. Don't rush this viewing. Sit down with a glass of wine and savor.

The Grass Harp is a feast for the eyes and soul!

An orphan lives with distant relatives in the South

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 7 April 2017]

"The Grass Harp" is a story on film from a 1951 book by Truman Capote. It is set in the familiar South of Capote's upbringing. Capote had a very dysfunctional childhood, and some of his stories are from his experiences. His subjects often are taken from people he knew and met growing up. And, from his experiences, he gives us a sense of the effects of a childhood void of the normal affections and closeness of a family with two parents.

In this case, the young Collin Fenwick (played by Edward Furlong) is a quiet, withdrawn lad who has no outward signs of emotion as he is taken to live with relatives he has hardly met after the death of his mother. When his father dies in a road accident later (which he says, as the adult narrator telling the story, was probably suicide because his father couldn't live without his mother), Collin has no family except the cousins on his mother's side with whom he now lives. In time, he warms up to and becomes close with Dolly Talbo (played by Piper Laurie) and the Talbo cook, Catherine Creek (played by Nell Carter).

It's an endearing little story with a fine cast, including Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Matthau and Lemmon made 10 films together over 30 years. They gave us many laughs in the eight comedies they made.

This film is a mild comedy drama, and their roles here are not the usual funny ones. Matthau plays Judge Charlie Cool and Lemmon is Dr. Morris Ritz. Matthau's son, Charles Matthau produced and directed this film. The women are the principal characters, along with young Colin. Besides Dolly and Catherine, Spacek plays Verena Talbo. The film has other prominent players of the past, including Joe Don Baker, Roddy McDowell and Charles Durning.

The story and film are good by performance standards, and older viewers and fans of the name characters may enjoy it. But modern families and younger folks may find it quite slow going and not very exciting.

Shamefully overlooked on its first release.

[Aunt-Peg · 10/10 · 10 April 1999]

I was really surprised that The Grass Harp turned out to be the great film that it is. The book by Truman Capote is one of my favourites and I didn't think that it would work as a film.

It has been cast perfectly with Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie beautifully bringing to life the Talbo sister's Verena and Dolly respectively. Special mention too should be given to Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon & Roddy McDowall. All the cast are really quite terrific.

Great attention has been made to period detail and the film has a glorious soundtrack.

Full marks to the screen writers who have adapted the spirit of Capote's novel. And last but not least to Charles Matthau for his sensitive direction. A must see film shamefully overlooked on its first release.

Good acting... but something was missing

[Dccra1 · 6/10 · 3 July 2000]

With an amazing cast this movie couldn't go wrong. Good acting, actually, great acting, and that's what keep me glued to the set, but for me, something was missing. I didn't connect with the story, and I know that's what brought these great actors together. I'm sorry, but I think this going against the grain thing is wearing thin. Why didn't they just leave town and sell the medicine on their own? I guess I'm too ignorant to understand the symbolism of the tree fort. If I had been a towns-person in this film I wouldn't be on the side of crabby sister Sissy, trying to chase them out of the tree, but I would be someone sitting at home saying, "why in the hell are they up there?" I gave it a 6.

A bit too twee

[MOscarbradley · 4/10 · 8 January 2006]

An all-star cast, (Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Mary Steenburgen), makes this screen version of Truman Capote's novel watchable, and then some. But it's all too whimsical and twee to really work. It's directed by Walter Matthau's son Charles and he seems content to let the material speak for itself. It's straightforward and literal and unexciting. It's like something the Reader's Digest might have produced. However unlikely Truman Capote's source material there was poetry in almost every line. That's missing here despite the quaint Southern Gothic narration, and none of the cast are at their best or anything approaching it. Without anything like direction from Matthau they simply go through the motions. Still, it's a decent yarn and it tugs at the heartstrings and there you have it.

An Undiscovered Gem full of Wonderful Surprises and Great Performances

[TheFanReport · 10/10 · 24 April 2005]

Set in the 30's, The Grass Harp is a story about an orphan boy who is sent to live with his eccentric aunts. The story follows the plight of social "outcasts" with humor and insight.

On the surface this story is about love and our connections to others - both living and dead. Yet underneath run themes of social injustice, racial inequality, religion, morals and the struggles of social conformity vs. individual expression - but the film never preaches. It just reveals.

Director Charles Matthau accomplished the near-impossible task of adapting Truman Capote's classic book into a beautiful rendered film. Wisely, he approached this multi-layered story with a light touch, allowing the material and talent to shine. Matthau skillfully captures a myriad of complex relationships and emotions, allowing the characters to live and breathe without placing judgment on who they are.

The boy's coming-of-age story is entertaining, humorous and poignant. As the film unfolds, Collin encounters a diverse group of characters, from which he gains valuable insights about life. Now an adult he looks back (as the narrator) reflecting on this formative time.

Each character is uniquely distinct and true-to-life. The entire all-star cast is at the top of their game.

This is the best performance of Piper Laurie's career. She is delicate and mesmerizing as the fragile Dolly Talbo. Her scenes with Spacey and Matthau will break your heart.

For those of you who have only seen Walter Matthau in grumpy curmudgeon roles, you are in for a treat!

Matthau is wonderful as a Judge Cool, a Southern gentleman struggling to find meaning in his retirement years. As Piper Laurie's love interest he is tender and charming yet dignified. A man of integrity and honor, Judge Cool is the only "accepted" towns person with compassion for the outcasts.

As a collective, the ensemble cast captures the social pecking order with uncanny accuracy.

Jon Don Baker is great as the Sheriff, Nell Carter is a hoot as the eccentric housekeeper and Sissy Spacek is an amazing blend of steely resolve masking her conflicted feelings of vulnerability and insecurity.

Roddy McDowell is the delightfully sarcastic barber. Jack Lemmon and Mary Steenbergen are great fun as cons on the run. Mary as a traveling cowgirl evangelist out to save souls - never mind that she is a single- mother of fourteen kids…all by different fathers! She pulls it off with comic charm and sad poignancy. Lemmon is a "chemical engineer" (read quack potions salesman) with a scheme to get his hands on Dolly's herbal potion. Even though both Lemmon and Steenbergen are devious cons looking to score, they too are well-developed characters and oh-so-human in their desperate schemes to survive the Great Depression.

There is also one of the most delightful casts of furry creatures ever assembled: a host of cats, dogs, fish, and a scene-stealing Rooster named Ralph. It looked to me like Ralph was huffing around wishing he had more lines. I'd be all for him getting his own sequel.

Provides a public service by employing some great actors and actresses

[dan-conrad · 1/10 · 2 October 2006]

The plot outline is 100 per cent accurate, but by the time you get to the end of the movie, you may not care. Although the cast was stellar and the book was great, it did not translate to the movie. As much as I tried, I could not work up any feelings for the characters. I should have known something bad was afoot when I heard the infamous "Narrative Voice-over." Narrative voice-overs, sometimes known as idiot lectures, are usually a sign that the director does not trust the film by itself to advance its own storyline, and with such a stellar cast, this should have told me to hit the stop button way before the end of the film. I was truly amazed that a cast that includes Lemmon, Matthau, Spacek, McDowell, and several great sword carriers falls on its face. Read my other reviews; I love dogs, but this mutt, despite its pedigree, had to be put down.

Marvelous adaptation with magnificent performances.

[herbqedi · 9/10 · 7 April 2002]

This is a technically perfect adaptation of Capote's stunning story based upon partially on his own experiences. Laurie is all things Dolly should be: ethereal, giddy, of understated intelligence, committed, etc. Spacek had to stretch to play the cold-hearted sister, but that's what great actors do. It is leisurely paced, but that's totally in keeping with the story. Music, sets, and all are done with precision and with plenty of soul. Matthau and Lemmon have no scenes together, and for a change, Matthau plays the ethically superior character. Edward Furlong is perfect as the story's protagonist, and Mary Steenburgen steals each scene in which she appears.

I recommend this movie highly to all who enjoy character development and Southern-US Americana.

A Touching Drama From Truman Capote

[theowinthrop · 9/10 · 5 August 2005]

THE GRASS HARP was a novel by Truman Capote, based (in part) on his a youth, living with a pair of aunts in a southern town. Here his narrator hero is orphaned at an early age, and he is raised by his father's cousins (Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie). Spacek is the actual head of the family, running four prosperous businesses in the small town, such as the town department store and town hotel (complete with Presidential suite). She is a humorless, hard working woman, as opposed to her sister, who is a loving, free spirited type, who (with her friend and assistant (Nell Carter) collects herbs for a patent medicine remedy for "dropsy". Edwin Furlong (and, earlier, Grayson Frick) play the hero of the film, Collin (the narration is by Boyd Gaines). The hero quickly finds himself in love with Laurie, and just respectful towards Spacek. As he grows up, he finds himself defending Laurie's reputation (she is seen as quite eccentric). The town people also fear Spacek, but rather openly dislike her.

Walter Matthau is retired Judge Cool, a sensible elderly man who "good" people consider a nut (he openly admits that there was nothing wrong with a true love affair between a white man and an African-American woman which led to the white man being run out of town). Matthau is having problems in his home with an unsympathetic grown son and the son's wife. Matthau's wife has died years before. Others in this well cast film include Jack Lemmon as a Dr. Ritt from Chicago, whom Spacek brings back home - and whom accidentally sets in motion the delayed rebellion of Laurie and the others against Spacek's stiff and respectable regime. Joe Don Baker plays the local chicken rancher/part-time sheriff (who hates having to cow-tow to Spacek). Charles Durning is the local minister, who is out for only respectable religious leaders (with Bonnie Bartlett as his equally stuffy wife). Mary Steenburgen is the religious threat - an unmarried mother of twelve who has a mobile revival tent in the back country, but whom is pretty likable for all one's questions about her revivalism. Sean Patrick Flannery is Riley, a young man who lives unconventionally, but whom turns out to be a pretty good friend to Collin. Roddy McDowall (in one of his last roles) plays Amos, the local barber.

Basically Capote uses his characters to punch holes in what "nice, conventional" small town people believe is proper behavior. Spacek is the leader of these people, who believe in organized Christianity, hard work and business, and straight-laced morality. Laurie, Matthau, Carter, Flannery, Steenburgen, and Furlong are all believers in doing what is natural, and from the heart. So as they begin working together they become a model and a danger for the "nice people". But as the tale progresses, the nice people find that what they believe in does not emotionally satisfy them. Indeed Spacek suffers several losses in the course of the film that she never expected.

Charles Matthau, Walter's son, directed this (very nicely - it is one of the best ensemble movies of recent years). It was also a rarity in the 1990s decade of Matthau-Lemmon films. Whereas GRUMPY OLD MEN, GRUMPIER OLD MEN, OUT TO SEA, and THE ODD COUPLE II were all comedies, this film is dramatic and the two actors only shared one scene (with Roddy McDowall in his barber shop) in the film. Also, Lemmon's character is less likable than usual in this film.

The title, by the way, refers to a statement by Laurie's character about how the grass gives off a music like a harp, which is actually the voices of all the people who ever inhabited the earth. It becomes a running metaphor in the film up to the conclusion.

fantastic

[rossrobinson · 27 March 2004]

The Grass Harp i think has got to be one of the greatest movies ever told. I think it's a fantastic movie. Jack Lemmon is my favourite actor. i was a little disapointed as he only got a small part in the movie. But he has starred in movies as playing big parts as well as the other actors that starred in the grass harp. The all played good parts. I reconised Edward Furlong that played the kid in the movies, as he played the part of John Connor in terminator 2. He was not to star in the 3rd terminator film because he ended up on the smack. But he did a great job in terminator 2, which i think is one of the greatest movies i've ever seen, the special effects that was put into the movie. I give the grass harp 10 out of 10 because i think the movie is fantastic.

Good actors still make the movie boring

[scoop-6 · 3/10 · 1 February 1999]

Sissy Spacek - Stephens Kings «Carrie». Walther Matthau and Jack Lemmon many movies together, but «Grumpy old farts» and «The Odd Couple 2» is two movies which is amusing. Mary Steenburgen - «whats eating Gilbert Grape?». Edward Furlong - Terminator 2. None of these acters will be remembered for this movie. It is boring. The south in the year 1940. Collin is 11 years old. When his mother dies, he has to live with his relatives Vera And Dolly. Vera is a sad and boring woman, but Dolly is the opposite. «The Grass Harp» is a silent story abount human relationships, different opinions and such matters. It only gets boring and a little bit special.

I would rather see one of the best TV-series ever - «Ill Fly Away» which has everything that this movie don't have.

Truman Capote's Vision Comes to Life...Exquisitely!

[Mybookshelf · 10/10 · 24 April 2005]

A wonderful adaptation of a favorite book. The casting is fun and unexpected and once you see the film it is hard to imagine anyone else in the roles - they just ARE the characters.

The style and tone of the directing are pitch-perfect. The period and setting were captured in every detail. The cinematography looks like a painting and the score is hauntingly beautiful.

The exquisite performances make you forget you are watching world class famous stars. They just crawl inside the skin of the characters and bring them to life. Mr. Capote would have loved it.

The movie made me laugh and made me cry. I wish the DVD had deleted scenes and extras because I was left wanting more.

I am off to buy the soundtrack.

A must watch

[marktowne82 · 9/10 · 14 October 2023]

Drawing from the childhood experiences of Southern author Truman Capote, this tale skillfully unveils the subtleties of small-town life, infused with humor and cleverness. Its opulent visuals and lyrical pace evoke a tranquil atmosphere reminiscent of the 1930s, when life possessed a simpler charm. The warm, sepia-toned scenes gently transport us into the recollections of Collin, the story's narrator. The film adeptly resurrects the ambiance, social customs, and uncomplicated pastimes of a bygone era, enveloping the characters in this beautifully reconstructed world.

The barbershop sequences, where locals convene for socializing and the latest gossip, are particularly endearing. You'll find yourself yearning to linger in that shop, engaging in casual banter with Walter Matthau and Roddy McDowell. Joe Don Baker excels as the quintessential Southern sheriff, and his quirky sidekick Ralph, a rooster, adds a comical dash of eccentricity to his rugged, good-old-boy persona. Charles Durning delivers a side-splitting portrayal of a self-righteous preacher who can't wait to expel Mary Steenbergen and her dozen kids from town.

Piper Laurie shines as the heart and soul of the film, portraying Dolly Talbo. Timid and ethereal, Dolly has long endured the dominance of her overbearing sister (Sissy Spacek) but manages to carve out a unique and meaningful life for herself. Edward Furlong portrays their teenage nephew Collin, who comes to live with them.

Dolly and her housekeeper, played by Nell Carter, take Collin under their wing and assist him in adapting to life in this small Southern town. As Dolly imparts wisdom to Collin about his romantic interests, she herself experiences the joys of first love in her life.

Piper Laurie radiates with youthful exuberance when paired with the young-at-heart Judge Cool, portrayed by Walter Matthau. Their on-screen chemistry is both heartwarming and bittersweet.

This film is a masterpiece, offering both visual and emotional splendor. It traverses the spectrum of humor, sorrow, and poignant moments. I recommend not rushing through this viewing; instead, settle in with a glass of wine and savor every frame.

The Grass Harp is a visual and emotional feast that lingers in the heart and soul long after the credits roll.

Loved it

[mitchtheglitch · 10/10 · 14 October 2023]

A captivating rendition of a cherished book. The choice of actors may raise eyebrows initially, but once immersed in the story, it's impossible to envision any other faces for these roles. They truly become the characters.

The direction nails the essence spot-on. Every nuance of the era and environment is meticulously portrayed. The visual storytelling is akin to a masterpiece painting, with a soundtrack that resonates deep within.

The stellar performances are so immersive that you forget these are internationally acclaimed stars. They fully inhabit their characters, making them leap off the screen. It's a portrayal Mr. Capote would've surely appreciated.

This film takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, eliciting both laughter and tears. It's a must watch.

Watching this in 2023

[clairebear393 · 10/10 · 17 October 2023]

Directed by Walter Matthau's son, Walter, this film is a superb adaptation of one of Truman Capote's finest stories, depicting the survival of Southern misfits in the 1930s. Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek, portraying the wealthy Talbo sisters, are impeccably cast, delivering their best performances. Walter Matthau, in one of his most sympathetic roles, plays a retired judge under his son's direction. The entire ensemble cast excels, with Jack Lemmon and Mary Steenburgen as a hilariously unrelated pair of con artists, Nell Carter as the feisty cook, Joe Don Baker as the bumbling sheriff, Charles Durning as the preacher, and Roddy McDowall as the gossipy barber. Keep an eye out for Doris Roberts (known as Ray Romano's 'mom') in the role of Mrs. Richards and the director himself, Charles Matthau, making an appearance as a barbershop regular.

My favorite

[superfilmfanatic · 10/10 · 27 November 2023]

The Grass Harp quickly rose to the top of my list of favorite films, thanks to its compelling narrative and deeply engaging characters. The movie has an extraordinary way of making you connect with and feel for its diverse cast of characters, each portrayed with remarkable depth and sensitivity. They bring a level of thoughtfulness and nuance to their roles that elevates the film from merely entertaining to genuinely impactful. This is especially evident in the portrayals by Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek, who play the aunts of the orphan protagonist. Laurie, as the free-spirited aunt, is a highlight, infusing her character with a vibrancy and depth that is captivating. Spacek, as the other aunt, matches this with an equally impressive performance, full of emotion and complexity.

One of the film's most striking aspects is its ability to vividly recreate the atmosphere of the era it depicts. It's this attention to detail and ambiance that immerses the audience in the story, making the setting almost a character in its own right.

The Grass Harp is a film that appeals not just to those looking for a holiday movie but to anyone with a tender heart and an appreciation for well-crafted cinema.

Deep flick

[milesanthonysmith · 9/10 · 27 November 2023]

This movie, adorned with a stellar cast, delivers performances that are truly remarkable. The actors' compelling portrayals were the highlight for me, keeping me absorbed from beginning to end.

At first glance, the film appears to be a narrative about love and the bonds we share with both the living and the deceased. Yet, it subtly explores deeper issues such as social injustice, racial inequality, religious nuances, moral dilemmas, and the conflict between societal norms and personal expression, all without being preachy. Instead, it simply unveils these themes through its story.

Each character stands out, portrayed realistically and vividly by a top-notch ensemble cast. Visually stunning and emotionally resonant, the film strikes a balance between humor, sorrow, and warmth. It's a movie to be experienced leisurely, perhaps with a glass of wine to truly appreciate its depth.

A delightful movie.

[ruthgee · 8/10 · 3 July 2000]

A delightful movie from Truman Capote's memoir of his boyhood in the South. It is both tender and poignant. The acting is excellent. Piper Laurie as the orphan's free-spirited aunt is superb. Sissey Spacek as the other aunt is excellent. The atmosphere of that time, comes alive. A worthwhile movie for those with a tender heart.

Those Talbo Sisters

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 16 October 2012]

Young director Charles Matthau assembled a fine cast in The Grass Harp, a film based on young Truman Capote's memoirs of living and growing up in small town Alabama in the Thirties and Forties. I have no doubt that his father who has a supporting role here persuaded a whole load of his friends to take roles in this. Nothing wrong with a little nepotism in a good cause because a beautiful film was the result.

Young Grayson Fricke goes to live with a pair of spinster aunts, Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek and their maid Nell Carter after being orphaned around the age of 10. He grows up to be Edward Furlong and it is their eyes that follow the action we see in The Grass Harp.

The film concentrates on a certain summer when Piper Laurie who is the kind, loving, and somewhat eccentric aunt has invented a special tonic that Sissy Spacek who lives only for the money she hoards tries to get her to market it. Encouraging her in this is Jack Lemmon a fancy conman from Chicago.

Rebelling against the pressure, Laurie goes to live in an old tree-house and Furlong, Carter and a motley crew of others join her. This kind of behavior just ain't tolerated in Alabama even now, let alone back then. What happens is the rest of the story.

Although this is listed as a Lemmon-Matthau collaboration, in point of fact the leads here are Spacek, Laurie, and Furlong. Both of these guys have some memorable supporting roles with Matthau as a retired judge and Lemmon the conman. They have one scene in Roddy McDowall's barbershop where Matthau is correctly sizing Lemmon up for what he is. This is the only time I recall Lemmon playing a villain except for an early live television broadcast where he was John Wilkes Booth.

Mary Steenburgen is truly special here. She plays a woman of easy virtue who's been pumping babies out for over a decade. She comes to town as a revival preacher and the good folks are upset that such a person is doing the Lord's work. The local minister Charles Durning actually has sheriff Joe Don Baker confiscate the love offerings. Seems like Baker gets a lot of dirty jobs as sheriff.

Remember this is based on Truman Capote's memoirs and there is a gay subtext here. Sean Patrick Flannery plays the local bad boy who more than anything else the budding gay Furlong wants to be friends with. He's not quite understanding his feelings and small town Alabama at that time he's not got any place to go for guidance. When Steenburgen and Flannery become an item, Furlong is at first resentful. And hopefully Flannery is the last in a long list of men for Steenburgen, but I kind of doubt it.

You can tell by the cast you're in for something special in The Grass Harp.