Independence Day

This, I suppose, largely forgotten movie just aired on Swedish late-night television. I don't expect many people saw it. I only happened upon it myself. But it managed to catch my interest.

It is a small, unassuming movie. Nothing remarkable, but well-acted and warm at heart. It paints a believable picture of small-town life, not just in America, but in most of the Western world. As I watched it I realized that it could very easily be adapted to Swedish conditions. You would really only need to change the names, and let it take place in the cold north of Sweden, with Stockholm the glowing city in the sun. The same longing for something more, and the same fear of the unknown exists right here. I guess it's universal.

Anyway, the movie is well worth watching. It is far better than its recent over-hyped and under-acted namesake.

...with her performance as Cliff De Young's battered wife. When I saw it in the Greenwood Theater in North Seattle the whole audience cheered and clapped when David Keith hauled De Young out of the bar and beat the crap out of him for hitting his sister (Weist) - Weist had grabbed the audience so effectively. The only "Independence Day" anybody remembers today is the flying saucer movie, so this film is nearly forgotten - a tragedy.

On the IMDb message board of The Sweet Hereafter, a writer asked users what was the most bone chilling moment in a film. I mentioned the little seen, small town drama Independence Day (a.k.a.: Follow Your Dreams, and not to be confused with the 1996 sci-fi blockbuster). Although Kathleen Quinlan and David Keith were the leads, I thought their somewhat interesting but not very compelling small-town romance was overshadowed by a subplot that could have been a main story in another movie.

As Keith's suicidal and physically-abused sister, Dianne Wiest gave a heartbreaking performance. The dramatic decision she makes that directly affects her abusive husband (Cliff DeYoung, who also does a great job with his despicable character) and indirectly affects the lead characters, definitely chilled my bones.

Weist's performance here was three years before her first of three supporting Oscar nominations, with 2 wins for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway.

Although I had mixed feelings for Independence Day, I would recommend checking out the movie for Dianne Wiest's outstanding supporting performance.

Carefully-considered character piece, a solid drama and a genuine sleeper, has a would-be auto racer returning to his small hometown in Texas after his dreams have hit a dead-end; he meets up with a girl his knew back in high school, a waitress and shutterbug who still lives with her parents and has aspirations to go to an art school in Los Angeles. Subplot with the young man's suicidal sister, trapped in a bad marriage to an abusive lout, nearly takes precedence over the main story, though all the performances are equally strong. Kathleen Quinlan is the sassy, headstrong photographer who makes firm statements about herself and her future--and then second guesses her own words and instincts (the contrivance with Quinlan waiting for the school's letter of invitation to come in the mail can be overlooked). As her new beau, David Keith is still being used as a substitute for Kurt Russell, yet his character's quiet strength (and his slow-building frustration and anger) shows him off to a fine advantage here. As the alternate couple, Dianne Wiest is a wonderful "born victim" who turns the tables, but Cliff De Young--while completely convincing as Wiest's repugnant husband--fails to come up with anything fresh (he's the eternal substitute for Dabney Coleman). Barely released by Warner Bros. in 1983, the film attained a small cult on cable and video, and it's a worthwhile film for fans of human drama. **1/2 from ****

This movie is pretty darn good. Quinlan does a good job as a woman who grows up in a small town and has big dreams of moving to a big town. The true break-out performances, though, go to Diane Weist and Cliff De Young as the abused wife and abuser. Wait 'till you see how she gets him back! Good movie, watch it when you get a chance.