Zweimal im Leben

While the story is bittersweet with a cast of talented actors who are great in their roles as a blue collar family dealing with the uncomfortable mid-life changes of the father figure who begins an extramarital relationship, what captured my eyes and heart were the nostalgic 1980s scenes around the Seattle/Puget Sound area along with the working-class style of a 1980s family.

From the Kingdome that was demolished in 2000, to a ferry ride on the Spokane ferry built in 1972 by the Todd Shipyards in Seattle, to the city skyline, to the simple street scenes, this movie offers a taste of a time gone by that no longer exists as it once did in the 1980s.

Along with the Seattle scenery is the style within the movie, from the kitchen cupboards in their home, to the dishes on the table, to the television set, to a lowkey heartfelt wedding put together by family and friends.

These are little things I remember from the 1980s and when the Puget Sound area was full of working-class families; the movie captures them beautifully in the background giving the film a touch of nostalgic realism that I appreciate as a GenXer from South Puget Sound.

"Twice in a Lifetime" is one of only two films I have ever seen that is successful in showing lead characters who are both likable and unlikeable at different points in the movie...that is, showing the full range of what makes us "human." The other movie, by the way, was "Shoot the Moon," and I was surprised to see that someone else on this board also found similarities between the two.

I see some thought that Amy Madigan's "Sunny" character was too over-the-top, but I found her riveting and compelling. Others obviously did too, as I believe she was the most nominated actor/actress from this film.

TWICE IN A LIFETIME is an emotionally-charged family drama that, despite a somewhat muddled screenplay, still works thanks to some solid gold performances. Gene Hackman plays a Seattle steelworker who loves the Seahawks and seems content with his life as he prepares for the wedding of his younger daughter (Ally Sheedy), but still feels something missing in his life. His private mid-life crises move him to leave his devoted wife (Ellen Burstyn) and begin a relationship with a local barmaid (Ann-Margret). His wife resigns herself to his decision but his elder daughter (Amy Madigan) does not and refuses to let Dad off the hook. The screenplay is safe and predictable, but what makes this film worth watching is the powerhouse performances. Hackman's quiet and powerful turn as a man dealing with being at a crossroad he doesn't know how to handle' Burstyn's beautifully-realized vulnerability as the woman who is at a loss as to what went wrong in her marriage and Madigan, in a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination, icy and gripping as the daughter who refuses to accept her parents' divorce. Watching these wonderful actors take you through the roller-coaster of emotions involved in the rending apart of a family, make this movie something very special.

It's as if scenarist Colin Welland realized, about halfway through writing this rather standard account of a husband and wife breaking up and then readjusting to their new lives, that he didn't have much of a story going on and went "Blimey! Better start padding things out". How else to account for the none too interesting forays into the lives of the couple's two daughters and their spouses? To mention nothing of lots of picture postcards of Seattle on rare sunny days. (Wonder how long the shooting sched had to be to dodge this gloomy burg's pervasive rain and overcast?) That the viewer sticks with it (well, this viewer) without putting a dent in the fast forward is mostly due to the plethora of fine acting by Hackman, Burstyn, Margret, Madigan, Sheedy, Lang and Dennehy. And when the acting is all first rate, even when delivered by the above pros, the director, in this case TV vet Bud Yorkin, must be given some recognition even though Yorkin's visual sense is strictly small screen, and thus totally at the service of Welland.

After 30 years of only reading about this movie, I finally watched this with my mom on Netflix disc. Gene Hackman plays a middle-aged man who feels his life is just routine. When he celebrates his 50th birthday, he does so at a bar without his family members-they had done so earlier-and meets Ann-Margret-a new barmaid there. Their affair is eventually revealed by someone who knows both. His wife-Ellen Burstyn-doesn't take it well, of course, but it's one of his daughters-Amy Madigan-who really flies off the handle when she finds out. I'll stop there and just say there's no false note here, it's portrayed quite honestly mostly from beginning to end. Ally Sheedy and Brian Dennehy round out the fine cast with good help from producer-director Bud Yorkin. This was a mostly fine drama. So on that note, Mom and me highly recommend Twice in a Lifetime. P.S. This review is dedicated in memory of Yorkin. Also, this was shot in Seattle where one of my sisters currently lives with her family.