A Place for Annie (1994)

A doctor fights for custody of her HIV positive foster daughter with her inept, junkie mother. Finally they come to an agreement that they should all live together.

Director:

John Gray

Writers:

Cathleen Young, Lee Guthrie

Stars:

Sissy Spacek, Mary-Louise Parker, S. Epatha Merkerson

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sissy Spacek	...	Susan Lansing
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Linda
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Alice
Jack Noseworthy	...	David
Joan Plowright	...	Dorothy
David Spielberg	...	Dr. Palmer
Richard Gilbert-Hill	...	Dr. Scott
Stephen Keep Mills	...	Dr. Reilly (as Stephen Mills)
Robin Pearson Rose	...	Edna
Lauree Berger	...	Sandy
Linda Carlson	...	Gerry
Wendy Robie	...	Dr. Horton
J.P. Bumstead	...	Judge
Rebecca Donner	...	Elaine
Claudette Sutherland	...	Carol

Storyline

Baby Annie is HIV positive and has been left in the clinic by her drug addicted mother. To prevent that she's deported to a home where they'd just wait for her to die, nurse Susan takes charge of Annie at her home. Two years later she plans too adopt her -- but suddenly Annie's mother reappears and demands her back. And under the law, Susan, as foster-mother, has no claim to the child.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | nurse | birth mother | parenthood | patient | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hallmark Hall of Fame: A Place for Annie (#43.3)

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannell Entertainment,Gross-Weston Productions,Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951)

User Reviews

Very touching...

After "Our Sons" with Julie Andrews and Ann-Margret, this is my favorite AIDS movie. There's no need to lavish praise on an actress like Sissy Spacek; her gift is evident as soon as she enters a scene. Spacek uses her customary savvy and elan as Susan Lansing, a nurse who falls in love with and takes in an AIDS-afflicted infant whose mother has abandoned her. The nurse sets up her home with a nanny and her own son as standby only to have the mother return and reclaim her child. Her name is Linda, a bitter, spent drug addict, and she manages to make everyone in the Lansing household ill at ease, threatening to take her baby away. She is, of course, not in any position to care for her child, and Susan, realizing this, begs her to stay. An uneasy truce develops between all concerned for the baby Annie, and it is here that the movie moves us through Linda's disappointments and despair, and the only vestige of hope she has been handed--that Annie will not be touched by disease and have a mother like Susan to raise her.

Lightweight is the way I would describe Mary-Louise Parker's past work; I cannot remember any performance prior to this that was this vivid. She plays Linda like a wounded dog whose howl catches in her throat when she wants to cry. She's defensive and hostile, but her most touching moments are painfully stifled. Parker's presence runs dark and deep; she makes sure the undertow of Linda's grief lurks beneath every frame.

With Joan Plowright as the nanny, and Jack Noseworthy as Susan's son, David. Would that more parents had children like him?