Verbrecherische Herzen

Crimes of the Heart We all have crimes of the heart.....sad, true, and blissful....at times...this film covers all the territory. Based on the successful play this film gathered an ensemble of some of the most talented actors and actresses of our time, which includes Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper, Diane Keaton, and Jessica Lange. Taking place in the south, we follow the story of a family's relationship and how they are dealing with their sister shooting her husband. With the strong female cast we can't help but to feel their pain through their emotions, relationship with each other, and how they deal with life. Great strong character choices, yet sisters with something even greater in common....love of family, and loyalty. There are many lessons to learn in this film and one of the most important is you can't turn your back on your family, even when you run away they will be there for you. The acting is superb, the honesty is great and in all a wonderful film to see. A true classic!! When family gathers....everything comes out.

Based on the successful play this film gathered an ensemble of some of the most talented actors and actresses of our time, which includes Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper, Diane Keaton, and Jessica Lange. Taking place in the south, we follow the story of a family's relationship and how they are dealing with their sister shooting her husband. With the strong female cast we can't help but to feel their pain through their emotions, relationship with each other, and how they deal with life. Great strong character choices, yet sisters with something even greater in common....love of family, and loyalty. There are many lessons to learn in this film and one of the most important is you can't turn your back on your family, even when you run away they will be there for you. The acting is superb, the honesty is great and in all a wonderful film to see. A true classic and if you haven't seen the play, read it or rented it.....do it now...you won't be disappointed.

An entertaining outrageous black comedy, it is supported by three excellent leading performances, although Sissy Spacek is by far the best, and the camera-work from Dante Spinotti is excellent, with creative camera angles and good use of panning. The film tries to bring in a nostalgic sense too though, and does not quite succeed, and the drama of the material does not mix well with the comedy. The choices of music are not too good either, and Tess Harper comes across as very annoying in an over-the-top way, but the virtues of the film are better than its shortcomings. The film comes across as rather lightweight with its black comedy treatment, but it certainly raises some issues with families and coping with one's past, among other ideas. It is not however a film to watch for its messages, but one to simply enjoy for its amusing parts and cinematic virtues, which include some good sound recording too.

Honestly, there's not a lot to say about this film. Sissy Spacek, Diane Keaton and Jessica Lange star as three Southern sisters who reunite when one (Spacek) shoots her husband. The sisters are, of course, incredibly different and their personalities collide over the course of a few days, dealing with what Spacek's character has done while old feuds come to the surface. Clearly based on a play, most of the action takes place in the same house and the film puts everything on the shoulders of the three central women.

Keaton plays Lenny, the matriarch of the trio (both of their parents are deceased and their grandfather who raised them is in the hospital) who is socially inept and often gets stepped on by her siblings. Lange is Meg, the popular and outgoing wild girl, man-eater and failed actress. Spacek rounds it out as the potentially insane and murderous Babe. Tess Harper steals her few scenes as Chick Boyle, who lives next door to the house, but the whole thing is centered around the three sisters and that's what makes it work. The film never takes itself too seriously, despite it's morbid themes and narrative, and the women all do a marvelous job of bringing the laughs mostly without overdoing it.

Crimes of the Heart is a film that on paper doesn't appeal to my tastes at all, but I often found myself cracking up at the ridiculousness of these characters. The women play the characters as straight as possible, approaching them as characters rather than jokes, and this helps make it an enjoyable experience as opposed to a grating one, although Keaton does overdo it at times. The characters are erratic and very large, which opens itself up to potential disaster, but in selecting the proper actresses for each role they were able to make it an entertaining little movie. It's a simple, light and enjoyable film; certainly nothing memorable and I'm sure I won't be thinking about it at all in a few days, but a nice experience while it lasts.

Usually when I sense that the actors had a great time making a movie, the result isn't particularly noteworthy. ("Cannonball Run" comes to mind.) But "Crimes of the Heart" is an exception. If Jessica Lange, Diane Keaton and Sissy Spacek weren't absolutely delighted to tackle the lead roles in this film, they are much better actors than I thought.

The material is reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor, who wrote some of the most humorous, offbeat Southern fiction extant.

The three sisters are so controlled by their visceral reactions that one wonders if any of them have ever had an intellectual moment. Although it would be maddening to have such people for friends, they're great instruments for movie comedy.

One final note: If anyone thinks Sissy Spacek is goofy-looking (as I used to), they will change their mind when they see her in this. She is absolutely gorgeous here.