I’ve wanted to see Pieces of April for quite some time now… The trailer looked good — Katie Holmes in very un-Joey dress, her black boyfriend, Patricia Clarkson as the mom — and then the movie brought Clarkson accolades this past year (she was nominated for some award, I believe). Friday night, the film was all I wanted it to be and more. So so good and very real, in that movie kind of way… Every time April had issues with meal prep, I recalled the same problems in my own kitchen experience: slimy poultry, broken oven, dull peeler, unmashable potatoes, on and on. Then you’ve got the family’s drive to NYC in their station wagon — ours was a Pontiac Lemans growing up — that somehow exemplified Everyfamily even as they struggled with both physical and relational dysfunction. And the end, oh the end! Heartache and sadness, poignancy and unity. Redemption. Something about the end just punched us in the gut and we were in tears. Good stuff. Good movie.
Jeremy and I got sucked into “Alias” sometime in Season 1 and we’ve faithfully stayed with it, even though it’s somewhat diminished in quality recently. But tonight reminded me why I like the show… Good spy girl in love with hot CIA agent (currently married to EVIL traitor lady), fights for Passenger-sister she recently discovered, two steps forward and one step back in relating to spy-daddy, utilizing funny Marshall’s geeky genius expertise, killing bad guys and retrieving Rambaldi devices. Ah, all in a day’s work! Syd is a girl who deserves a glass of wine at the end of the day. One more thing… Channel 8, if you ever again cut out at the LAST MINUTE of a very suspenseful television program I’m enjoying to give me unnecessary storm information, I will begin watching 10-11 News for good.
10 Comments
andrew Apr 19, 2004 9:04 AM
just so everyone knows…i watched two seasons of alias, a combined number of 45 episodes at 45 minutes a piece, which comes to 33.75 hours of actual viewing. this does not count the bathroom breaks, dvd switching, and other asundry activities. i slept about 9 hours a night and was able get the entire two seasons done in 3 days. it’s like an evening soap opera with guns.
charity Apr 19, 2004 9:53 AM
i loved pieces of april as well. especially wayne! (who is “jack” on will and grace). didn’t you love bobby too? he was the only character who was willing to get hurt because he loved april, while everyone else felt they had been her victim… or something like that.
Jason Apr 19, 2004 10:08 AM
That’s a *great* observation, Charity. I never picked up on that before. I absolutely adored “Pieces Of April”. So many scenes stick in my memory – Clarkson in the bathroom and recognizing herself in the mother leaving her child, April explaining the meaning of Thanksgiving, and the final montage of reunion. After the movie was over, I immediately went back and rewatched the last 10 minutes, because it’s absolutely perfect.
I love your comments, Rebecca, about the movie being “very real, in that movie kind of way”. Cinema has this extra layer of reality to it that no other artform has… which is probably why I spend so many hours a day experiencing it.
lindsay Apr 19, 2004 12:55 PM
i also enjoyed ‘pieces.’. technically, one aspect that added to its reality was the way it was filmed. to my memory, every single shot was made from the viewpoint of a person. i felt like i was standing in every single one of the scenes.
Renae Apr 19, 2004 1:27 PM
What I loved (okay, one of the things I loved) about the movie was that none of the characters were hopelessly, or at least unredeem-edly, nuerotic. There was an unexpected sweetness to April’s and a quietness to the story that, mingled, were really, really appealing.
I’m hoping this is the direction that movies/stories will continue to move–relatively normal people in relatively normal situations, but not so normal, I guess, that they hold no interest, a fine line that (Lost in Translation is another good example of what I’m talking about). I am getting so sick of these nuerotic characters who are just relentlessly awful to each other (even in comedies, especially in comedies). The drama drama drama that is created by such characters is unrealistic and, like I said, getting old.
Jason Apr 19, 2004 2:11 PM
Renae… that’s why I love Iranian cinema, the “rural” movies of Zhang Yimou, Studio Ghibli’s work, etc. More often than not, they focus on these completely ordinary, unassuming characters going about their everyday, mundane lives – and somehow manage to find the magic, wonder, and tragedy that lies therein. Even “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Spirited Away”, movies that abound with otherworldly and magical imagery, are ultimately very simple, coming of age stories when you get right down to it.
Bethany Apr 19, 2004 2:55 PM
Nae, are you saying Lost in Translation is a good example of this done well, or of it going too far and being dull/boring?
I too love Pieces of April. It was unexpectedly sweet and funny. I did find the ending a bit jarring — the photograph thing. I felt a bit robbed of the moment. Like I thought that it either should have ended right when she opened the door and it was that first still frame “photo” of April, or not done that at all. Minor quibble, though, with a great movie. And it was made for only $300,000! Take heed, ye indie filmmakers.
Renae Apr 19, 2004 5:01 PM
You’re right, Bethany, my meaning was unclear. Drat! Lost in Translation is a good example of good goodness.
rt Apr 19, 2004 7:34 PM
loved bobby! he was so sweet and great. jason, i agree with you on that bathroom scene where clarkson recognizes herself and april in the little girl and her mother — it was amazing and completely choked me up. i’m now gearing up to watch the dvd specials.
dena Apr 19, 2004 8:37 PM
so many of you have already praised the movie, I feel like I would have nothing new to say! Hooray for “pieces”, and here’s to more movies like it!!