Pieces of April (2003)

Director:

Peter Hedges

Writer (WGA):

Peter Hedges (written by)

Release Date:

19 February 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

She's the one in every family.

Plot:

A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.

Plot Keywords:

Thanksgiving | Thanksgiving Dinner | Apartment | Dysfunctional Family | Oven

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 17 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Katie Holmes	...	April Burns
Derek Luke	...	Bobby
Oliver Platt	...	Jim Burns
Alison Pill	...	Beth Burns
John Gallagher Jr.	...	Timmy Burns
Patricia Clarkson	...	Joy Burns
Alice Drummond	...	Grandma Dottie
Vitali Baganov	...	Half Asleep Man
Lillias White	...	Evette
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Eugene
Adrian Martinez	...	Man in Mohair Sweater
Susan Bruce	...	Tish
Jamari Richardson	...	Boy on Bicycle
Leila Danette	...	Woman in Stairwell
Stephen Chen	...	Lee Loung Tan
Sally Leung Bayer	...	Lee Quong Tan
Sean Hayes	...	Wayne
Sisqó	...	Latrell (as SisQo)
Marcus Lovett	...	Parade Announcer
Jack Chen	...	Lee Quong
Jacqueline Dai	...	Lee Lang
Rosa Luo	...	Lee Wai Yam
Birdie M. Hale	...	Woman outside Bodega
Armando Riesco	...	Tyrone
Christine Todino	...	Waitress
Anney Giobbe	...	Young Mother
Elizabeth Douglass	...	Young Girl
Rusty De Wees	...	Joy's Biker Guy (as Rusty DeWees)
Vincent Roselli	...	Timmy's Biker Guy
Ficchi	...	Bernadette the Dog

Directed by
Peter Hedges

Writing credits (WGA)
Peter Hedges		(written by)

Produced by
Alexis Alexanian	....	producer
Lucy Barzun Donnelly	....	co-producer (as Lucy Barzun)
Dianne Dreyer	....	associate producer
Caroline Kaplan	....	executive producer
John S. Lyons	....	producer (as John Lyons)
Jonathan Sehring	....	executive producer
John Sloss	....	executive producer
Lucille Smith	....	co-producer (as Lucille Masone Smith)
Gary Winick	....	producer
Holly Becker	....	supervising producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Stephin Merritt

Cinematography by
Tami Reiker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Mark Livolsi

Casting by
Will Cantler
Bernard Telsey
David Vaccari

Production Design by
Rick Butler

Art Direction by
Shannon Robert Bowen
Aleta Shaffer

Costume Design by
Laura Bauer

Makeup Department
Julie Delaney	....	hair department head
Mike Potter	....	makeup department head
Mike Potter	....	wig maker
HolliPops Smith	....	hair department head
Joanna Stewart	....	key makeup artist (as Joanna J. Stewart)

Production Management
Jake Abraham	....	post-production supervisor
Lucille Smith	....	unit production manager (as Lucille Masone Smith)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vebe Borge	....	first assistant director
Augie Carton	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Betsy Baker	....	set dresser
Jack Marcus Brodsky	....	properties and furniture courtesy of
Steph Brynner	....	assistant art director
Devin Butler	....	scenic artist
Denise Carbonelle	....	sculpture: April's apartment courtesy of
Carole Hedges	....	ceramic turkeys courtesy of
Leo Holder	....	graphic artist
Shane Klein	....	on-set dresser
Tim Okamura	....	paintings: April's apartment courtesy of (as Tim C. Okamura)
Tim Okamura	....	scenic artist (as Tim C. Okamura)
Christina Polumbo	....	scenic artist
Jimmy Simak	....	art department assistant (as Jim Simak)
Devin Butler	....	painter (uncredited)
Danny Rovira	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert Fernandez	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mariusz Glabinski	....	post-production sound services: 701 Sound
Piotr Glabinski	....	post-production sound services: 701 Sound
Marlena Grzaslewicz	....	post-production sound services: 701 Sound
Bryant Musgrove	....	boom operator
Aaron J. Rudelson	....	production sound mixer (as Aaron Rudelson)
Steve F.B. Smith	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Ira Spiegel	....	post-production sound services: 701 Sound
Chad Birmingham	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Leslie Bloom	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Nancy Cabrera	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Mariusz Glabinski	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Piotr Glabinski	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Marlena Grzaslewicz	....	adr editor (uncredited)
Marlena Grzaslewicz	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)
Dan Korintus	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)
Matthew McKenzie	....	adr recordist: Toronto (uncredited)
Colin McLellan	....	adr recordist (uncredited)
Eric Rolnick	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
Ira Spiegel	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cat Crosby	....	key grip
Hardwick Johnson	....	thanks: Camera Service Center (as Hardwrick Johnson)
Sam Levy	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Teddy Maki	....	still photographer
Stephen Mann	....	thanks: action camera cars
Nathaniel Miller	....	first assistant camera
Kate Phelan	....	gaffer
Charlie Tammaro	....	thanks: Camera Service Center
Jason Vandermer	....	second assistant camera
Graham Willoughby	....	gaffer
Lou Massa	....	co-key grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jaclyn Brodsky	....	casting associate
Craig Burns	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Amy R. Burt	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Amy Burt)
Bobby Frederick Tilley	....	assistant costume designer (as Bobby Tilley)

Editorial Department
Rachel Biles	....	associate editor
Milan Boncich	....	colorist
Emily Gardiner	....	post-production coordinator
Carlos Rodriguez	....	colorist
John Dowdell	....	colorist (uncredited)
Michael Hatzer	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Linda Cohen	....	music supervisor
Alison LaCourse	....	music editor
Alex Steyermark	....	executive music producer

Other crew
Bettina Bilger	....	intern
Brian Brown	....	caterer: Shooting Stars Cattering
Jeffrey A. Brown	....	location manager (as Jeff Brown)
Lisa Brown	....	caterer: Shooting Stars Cattering
Chika Chukudebelu	....	intern (as Chika I. Chukudebelu)
Wendy Cohen	....	production resources
Mara Hade Connolly	....	assistant production accountant (as Mara Connolly)
Adrian Correia	....	set production assistant
Dianne Dreyer	....	script supervisor
Jacqueline Eckhouse	....	production legal: Sloss Law Office (as Jacqueline Eckhouse Esq.)
Kerin Ferallo	....	production coordinator
Peter Friedlander	....	assistant: John Lyons
Jennifer Gaylord	....	production legal: Sloss Law Office (as Jennifer Gaylord Esq.)
Dave Hall	....	location assistant
Emily Hart	....	intern
Sebastian Ischer	....	intern
Richard S. Kaplinski	....	intern
Marion Koh	....	intern
Matt Longwell	....	assistant location manager (as Matthew Longwell)
Berndt Mader	....	office production assistant (as R. Berndt Mader)
Maria Maggenti	....	dog supplier: Ficchi
Kevin McGill	....	caterer: Shooting Stars Cattering
Karrie Myers	....	intern
Josh Newport	....	location assistant
David Pfluger	....	tape to film shooting
Thomas R. Polleri	....	location scout (as Tom Polleri)
Paul Polow	....	set production assistant
Taylor Roe	....	intern
Thomas Roughan	....	set production assistant (as Thomas 'Bravo' Roughan)
Jonathan Roumie	....	location consultant
Brian Sachson	....	intern
Ruedi Schick	....	tape-to-film supervisor
Beth M. Schniebolk	....	assistant production coordinator
Mandy Tagger	....	production coordinator: InDiGent
Adele Thaxton	....	intern
Matilde Valera	....	production accountant

Thanks
Steve Abraham	....	special thanks (as Dr. Steve Abraham)
Gary Baker	....	special thanks
Chris Barra	....	thanks: Xeno Lights
Susan Batten	....	special thanks
Kamau Benjamin	....	special thanks
Carl Berg	....	special thanks (as Dr. Carl Berg)
Merri Biechler	....	special thanks
Jane P. Brawley	....	thanks: deputy commissioner, New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting
Steve Briemer	....	special thanks (as Stephen F. Breimer)
Stephanie Broadnax	....	thanks: The Palisade Interstate Park Commission, Bear Mountain, New York
Joannie Burstein	....	special thanks
Diana Burton	....	special thanks
Niamh Butler	....	special thanks
Joseph Calritos	....	special thanks
Andrew Cathcart	....	thanks: Meow Mix, New York City
Justin Christopher	....	special thanks
Ana Cintron	....	special thanks
Myfa Cirinna	....	thanks: Entertainment Partners Inc.
Vin Crapanzano	....	thanks: St. Thomas Aquinas College
Tomas Crespo	....	thanks: Organic and Natural Food Market
Elaine Crowley	....	thanks: New York City Parks
Joe Dapello	....	special thanks
Chris Delosangeles	....	special thanks
Steve Dontanville	....	special thanks
Berrain Eno	....	thanks: Arthur's Dress Shop
Mary Clare Evans	....	special thanks
Anthony Famigietti	....	special thanks
Brian Fiarello	....	thanks: Krispy Creme of East Meadow, New York
Van Fleet	....	thanks: Arthur's Dress Shop
Marc H. Glick	....	special thanks
Wendy Goidell	....	special thanks
Claudia Gonson	....	special thanks
Kenny Goodman	....	special thanks
Richard Greenberg	....	special thanks
Desmond Guthrie	....	special thanks
Frankie Hailey	....	thanks: The Salvation Army
Carole Hedges	....	in memory of
Laurel Hedges	....	special thanks
Lucas Hedges	....	special thanks
Robert B. Hedges	....	special thanks (as Rev. Robert B. Hedges)
Simon Hedges	....	special thanks
Karl Heiselman	....	special thanks
Belinda Houchens	....	thanks: Kings Korner Gifts Scottsburg, Indiana
Randy Johnson	....	thanks: Randy's Garage
Susan King	....	special thanks
Peter Krimitsos	....	thanks: Blauvelt Coach Diner
Scott Laule	....	special thanks
Michael Leslie	....	special thanks
Jill Lichtig	....	special thanks
Rich Lichtig	....	special thanks
Ken Lipper	....	special thanks
Austin Lopez	....	special thanks
Derrick Loris	....	special thanks
Tod A. Maitland	....	special thanks
Jaime Marks	....	thanks: The Puck Building
Ryan McMahon	....	special thanks
Douglas McWilliams	....	special thanks
Lisa McWilliams	....	special thanks
Megan McWilliams	....	special thanks
Tory Metzger	....	special thanks
Ruth Moore	....	special thanks
Harold W. Morris Sr.	....	thanks: Willis Avenue United Methodist Church (as Rev. Harold W. Morris Sr.)
Bruce Page	....	thanks: Greenbush Presbyterian Church
Mary-Louise Parker	....	special thanks
Tim Patmont	....	thanks: Patmont Motor Works
Adrienne Patsos	....	thanks: Barbizon Lighting Company
Michael Peretzian	....	special thanks
Scott H. Ramsey	....	thanks: Xeno Lights (as Scott Ramsey)
Bob Ricca	....	special thanks
Ann Roth	....	special thanks
Carin Sage	....	special thanks
Kirsten Schatz	....	special thanks
Ira Schreck	....	special thanks
Larry Schwartz	....	thanks: The Puck Building
Eric Scott	....	special thanks
Mike Scott	....	special thanks
Pat Scott	....	thanks: commissioner, New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting (as Patricia Reed Scott)
Lawrence Shaffer	....	thanks: The Salvation Army (as Major Lawrence Shaffer)
Raymond Ted Shelton	....	special thanks (as Raymond T. Shelton)
Eric Shonz	....	thanks: Entertainment Partners Inc.
David Shuchat	....	special thanks
Sydney Sidner	....	special thanks
Alin Splichel	....	special thanks
Erwin Stoff	....	special thanks
John A. Narcissa Titman	....	special thanks
Leslie Topping	....	special thanks
Brooke Webster	....	thanks: Meow Mix, New York City
Sally Willcox	....	special thanks
Jim Zachar	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• United Artists (presents)
• IFC Productions (presents)
• InDigEnt (Independent Digital Entertainment)
• Kalkaska Productions (in association with)
• Well Done Productions (copyright owners)

Distributors

• United Artists (2003) (USA) (all media)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM) (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (as MGM Distribution Co.)
• Bodega Films (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Compañía General de la Imagen (CGI) (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Gateno Films (2004) (Peru) (theatrical)
• Intercontinetial Films (2004) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Premium Cine (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Solo Film Verleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (all media)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Impuls Home Entertainment (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Mediafilm (2004) (Italy) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• 280: design  titles
• 701 Sound  post-production sound services
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  production insurance (as AON/Albert G. Ruben)
• Action Camera Cars  thanks
• Amana  thanks
• Aperture Magazine  thanks
• Arthur's Dress Shop  thanks
• Barbizon Lighting Company  thanks
• Blauvelt Coach Diner  thanks
• Bumble & Bumble  thanks
• Butterball Turkeys  thanks
• CSC  lighting supplied by
• Camera Service Center  thanks
• Cinetic Media  financing and distribution advisory services
• Coca-Cola Company, The  thanks
• Color Wheel  thanks
• Entertainment Partners  payroll services
• Entertainment Partners  thanks
• Greenbush Presbyterian Church  thanks
• Kiehl's Since 1851  thanks (as Kiehl's)
• Kings Korner Gifts Scottsburg, Indiana  thanks
• Kodak  thanks
• Krispy Kreme of East Meadow, New York  thanks
• MAC Cosmetics  makeup provided by
• Magic Lantern  public relations
• Meow Mix  thanks
• Metro Concepts Music  thanks
• Movie Time Cars  thanks
• Moving Images Inc.  color correction
• New Jersey Film Commission  thanks
• New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theater & Broadcasting, The  thanks
• New York City Parks Department  thanks (as NYC Parks)
• Nonesuch Records  soundtrack published by (uncredited)
• Notre Dame Church  thanks
• Ocean Spray Company  thanks
• Oddball Film and Video  footage: Chinese Dance television footage courtesy of
• Orbit Digital  avid services provided by
• Organic and Natural Food Market  thanks
• Palisades Interstate Park Commission, The, Bear Mountain, New York  thanks
• Patmont Motor Works  thanks
• Puck Building, The  thanks
• Randy's Garage  thanks
• Salvation Army  thanks
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG)  thanks
• Shooting Stars Catering  catering
• Sloss Law Office  production legal
• Sound One Corporation  adr
• Sound One Corporation  post-production sound mixing
• St. Thomas Aquinas College  thanks
• Suffolk Realty Corporation  thanks
• Swiss Effects  tape to film transfer
• Town of Orangetown, New York  thanks
• Township of West Caldwell, New Jersey  thanks
• Willis Avenue United Methodist Church  thanks
• Xeno Lights  thanks (as Xeno Lights)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sensuality, drug content and images of nudity

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Chile:14 | Australia:M (cable rating) | Peru:14 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Bear Mountain, New York, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Shot in just 16 days on a budget of $100,000. Costs were kept this low by the film company InDigEnt cutting a deal with the unions. This meant that Peter Hedges was paid $10 to direct the film, and another $10 to write it. All the actors worked for $248 a day.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bobby goes out, April is shown with a bandage on her finger, long before she actually cuts it.

Quotes:

Joy Burns:I only have one *nice* April memory. only one. She was about three or four. And she was sitting at the window. An she turned to me and said "oh mother don't you just love every day?"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Episode #26.9" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Deck the Halls

A tale that somehow endears itself to the viewer

The premise of the movie is a simple one and basically summarizes the whole movie, "A wayward daughter invites her dying mother and the rest of her estranged family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner."

The movie starts us off on that Thanksgiving morning. First, we are introduced to April, and her boyfriend Bobby who are living together in a shanty apartment in New York, and then to April's mother, father, and brothers and sisters in another location, who are preparing to make the trip to visit her. We aren't provided with any back story, except what we gather about the past from conversations that April's mother has with the rest of the family during their voyage.

Honestly, I was finding myself slightly bored during the beginning of the movie. The film, although over an hour, manages to span over just one day, lending it a slow feel. The cinematography was somewhat unimpressive. The soundtrack is sparse, with most scenes not having any music at all, and the music that is present is humming just outside the viewer's awareness most of the time rather than being the main focus in any one scene.

I found myself easily able to make prejudgments about each of the main characters based on their limited dialogues and their reactions to things going on around them. I stereotyped Beth as the movie's prim and proper "good younger daughter". She gave unsolicited advice with surprising frequency, and always seemed to try to distinguish herself as being the opposite of the "wild child" elder sister that she obviously secretly envied, if not admired. Timmy played an easygoing middle-child, cleverly juggling his role of responsibility as the one only other "man of the house" with the conflicting role of unimportance being in the middle tends to lend to a person. Bobby was the soft-hearted but firm father. You could almost feel his tension when you looked at him, empathize with his struggles to hold his family together, knowing that he would someday have to do it all alone.

Finally, we come to April's mother, Joy. Whether Joy is an ironic name for her or not, I will leave for you viewers to decide. She comes across as jaded and sarcastic, with a sly sense of humor and a stubborn streak. Most of all though, she seems tired, the toll from her illness clear on her; the toll from her strained relationship with April, clearer still.

Then of course, there's April herself. She's fierce, independent, and loyal. It isn't hard to see why she could've gotten into trouble in the past, but it also isn't difficult to see how she probably got out of it.

This movie definitely has its funny moments, mostly stemming from the encounters with the characters that Apirl meets as she struggles to pull together her Thanksgiving dinner. Her family also has some adventures during their trip, starting (almost) with picking up April's partially senile grandmother from the nursing home.

Despite its simplicity- or maybe because of it- this film will tug at your heartstrings in a way that you don't expect. At least, it certainly did mine, partially because I could personally identify with having a strained relationship with my own mother, even if it was just for a time. I found myself close to tears during some moments, which is rare.

I think the message of the movie is, that love has power, that family is still family even when some of you don't fit in, some of you don't like each other too much, and some of you try too hard to be perfect, ultimately failing. Most fail, however, when they don't try at all. It all sounds trite and very cliché, but this film somehow delivers itself in a way that makes the message both memorable and believable. The cast had to carry so much and each member carried his/her share with significant grace.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody- hopefully this movie will help you to remember what the season is supposed to be about.