The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Director:
Robert Redford
Stars:
Donald Sutherland,
Mary Tyler Moore,
Judd Hirsch
Ted Kramer's wife leaves him, allowing for a lost bond to be rediscovered between Ted and his son, Billy. But a heated custody battle ensues over the divorced couple's son, deepening the wounds left by the separation.
Director:
Robert Benton
Stars:
Dustin Hoffman,
Meryl Streep,
Jane Alexander
At the close of WWII, a young nurse tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Director:
Anthony Minghella
Stars:
Ralph Fiennes,
Juliette Binoche,
Willem Dafoe
Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See more »
Goofs
As the young Horton family crosses the Texas border driving to Iowa, there is merely a plain road sign, located amidst open flat fields of waiving grain, indicating that they are leaving Texas. Any highway trek from Texas to Iowa would find a roadway dip into the distinctive basin of the Red River and would require crossing the river over a substantial bridge joining Texas and Oklahoma. See more »
Quotes
Emma Horton:
Momma, that's the first time I stopped hugging first. I like that.
See more »
A well-observed, well-made drama (with occasional comedic moments), that may not be exactly "high art" (it's neither profound nor original), but DOES feature some great acting and manages to pull you in.
Debra Winger gives an extraordinary performance; she has a naturalness and expressiveness that you rarely see on the screen. When her character is happy, her whole face brightens up and her joy becomes infectious; when she's sad or confused or embarrassed, the emotions come across strongly, although she never goes over the top. Considering that she lost the Oscar to her co-star, Shirley MacLaine, who is reasonably good but far more one-note, I'd say we had a major Academy Award injustice there. Jack Nicholson is fun to watch and has some amusing lines, and most supporting roles, like those played by John Lithgow and Danny De Vito, are also first-rate and completely believable.
So overall it's a good film, directed almost flawlessly, although in the final 20 minutes it needlessly wallows in melodrama. (***)
29 of 39 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
A well-observed, well-made drama (with occasional comedic moments), that may not be exactly "high art" (it's neither profound nor original), but DOES feature some great acting and manages to pull you in.
Debra Winger gives an extraordinary performance; she has a naturalness and expressiveness that you rarely see on the screen. When her character is happy, her whole face brightens up and her joy becomes infectious; when she's sad or confused or embarrassed, the emotions come across strongly, although she never goes over the top. Considering that she lost the Oscar to her co-star, Shirley MacLaine, who is reasonably good but far more one-note, I'd say we had a major Academy Award injustice there. Jack Nicholson is fun to watch and has some amusing lines, and most supporting roles, like those played by John Lithgow and Danny De Vito, are also first-rate and completely believable.
So overall it's a good film, directed almost flawlessly, although in the final 20 minutes it needlessly wallows in melodrama. (***)