The Myth of Fingerprints (1997)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Bart Freundlich

Writer:

Bart Freundlich (written by)

Release Date:

17 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

An ambitious debut for writer/director Bart Freundlich charting the unrest with a family who gather together for thanks giving.

Plot Keywords:

Thanksgiving | Exhibitionism | Family Relationships | Dysfunctional Family | Mustard

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Randee Allen	...	Waitress
Arija Bareikis	...	Daphne
Justin Barreto	...	Young Jake
Chris Bauer	...	Jerry
Nicholas Bourgeois	...	Young Warren
Tom Cumler	...	Man at Train Station
Blythe Danner	...	Lena
Hope Davis	...	Margaret
Christopher Duva	...	Tom
Kelsey Gunn	...	Young Leigh
Laurel Holloman	...	Leigh
Brian Kerwin	...	Elliot
James LeGros	...	Cezanne
Julianne Moore	...	Mia
Polly Pelletier	...	Young Mia

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | France:U | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Andover, Maine, USA

Company:

Eureka Pictures

Quotes:

Jake: I know your true passion theory about two people destined to be together, but we can't all be filled with that much faith, trust and emotion. It just means if you have someone you're not alone. You're not going to find that in some fairy tale romance. Sometimes you have to sit through low times where you don't necessarily feel overwhelmingly, totally in love all the time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Myth of Fingerprints (#12.7)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Lost in Space

thanksgiving

Ok, in all I loved this movie. I kept returning to a comparison of the other kids come home for another painful thanksgiving with the people you feel you have outgrown movie, Home for the Holidays. The Myth of Fingerprints was much darker, and in that way a little more real. No slap stick or cotton candy can be found in this film. However, this can also be looked at as a detriment. Other than an old movie shown twice in the film we see no evidence that this family ever liked, or even had any sort of playful feelings for each other. The joking atmosphere that mists about most families is conspicuously absent in this movie. So much so that you are nearly shocked to see Warren (Noah Wylie's character) attempt to comfort his sister Mia (Julianne Moore)when she is so obviously upset by something. You expect him to do as the rest of the family did: leave her there. They try to be a family. Warren, Leigh, and their mother (Blythe Danner) are the most accessible of this wacked out crew seeming to be the most feeling and tender. The father, Hal, and Mia are emotionally unavailable and distant, but Mia shows glimmers of hope every once in a while especially in her exchanges with her brothers and childhood sweetheart. Hal on the other hand remained a complete mystery to me. We see him trying to steal his son's girlfriend in one scene and watching home movies getting teary eyed at the sight of his young children in the next. I was barely aware that the eldest brother Jake was in the film, he was of little consequence but for one scene with Mia which is cut short in favor of sex with his girlfriend. They were all such very different people with one important thing in common. They loved their family and had no idea why. I think that's what it comes down to for all of us. After leaving home the first time we come back we look around and think, "Who the hell are these people?" I don't know if we ever figure out the answer to that question ever again. But I do know that one day, years after we asked it for the first time, we realize that whether we know who they are or not they are part of us and we love them. Even if we have to confront them, dislike them, or are forced to sever ties with them. It's just the way it is. "You have to remember the good things. They remind you of who you are." - The Myth of Fingerprints