Under Heat

This film tells of the reunion of a hard luck family. Years ago the father committed suicide and it affected all of the members of the family. Now, the mother is facing breast cancer, Dean, the younger son is returning home to tell his family that he has AIDS and Milo the older, divorced, son with two daughters is trying to kick a Heroin addiction.

All of the performances are caring and competent and the story is well told. Yes, there are tragedies but the viewer is left with some hope for at least some happy endings.

Under Heat is an incredible story that suffered in the translation from novel to screen due to artistic differences between Peter Reed (the director, who also shares a writing credit) and Michael Brown (author of the book, who shares a writing credit). The story itself interweaves two sons' dilemmas of AIDS and heroin addiction with their mother's breast cancer. The minor flaws with the film deal with these gaps between the novel and the picture. Reed, as director, took complete control over the script: he made multiple writing requests and undertook changes himself. The acting is well-done overall. Lee Grant, the mother, and Roger Knepper, Milo, both do a good performance in the movie. Unfortunately, Peter Reed died of AIDS the same year the film was released.