Where the Heart Is

Pity the poor reviewer who disliked / didn't understand this wonderful film. What a sad life he must lead!

This movie has more to say about life and relationships than most I've ever seen, yet it's not dark or preachy like the "ordinary people" type of film. It is mostly humorous, though not technically a comedy.

The whole thing feels a little like a fantasy, perhaps Shakespear's "Midsummer Nights' Dream." Beautiful, intelligent women abound, with wonderful cinematography and a non-insulting screenplay that doesn't miss a beat.

I look forward to seeing it every time this film is re-run on cable. It's like re-reading a favorite, treasured book.

This "farce" about a wealthy millionaire who puts his spoiled children out of their plush lifestyle, forcing them to live in a Brooklyn slum building he owns is a strange little item. There was possibilities in the storyline but Coleman's children (which include Uma Thurman) are so flighty they get on your nerves quickly. Circumstances occur that force Coleman to enlist his children's help and the movie gets unglued at the end. Both Dabney Coleman and Joanna Cassidy, both fondly remembered from the "Buffalo Bill" tv series of the mid 80's, deserve better.

A film that doen't get mentioned with the best of John Boorman is this sweet and poignant motion picture about the rise and fall and rise of a whalthy family. The family is made up of eccentric characters that are memorable in their individual characterizations. Where the Heart Is(1990) is a bright and wonderful movie that is one of Boorman's overlooked and underrated. The performance of Dabney Coleman is probably the best he has given in a long career of making motion pictures. One of the best films of the 1990s which I would love to see on DVD.

The ending ties things up a bit too neatly, but this is a ravishingly beautiful film. Good ensemble work by all the cast (although the lovely Uma has obviously had some acting classes since this role)...However, the art direction is the true star - it's definitely worth checking out for that alone. This may not be Boorman's best work, but it didn't deserve the panning it got from the mainstream media when it came out.

One of John Boorman's finest films. Dabney Coleman rises above his paper-cutout character status of the "bad guy" to become a basic family man with real family problems and the "kids" played by Hannah, Glover and Amis are really fun characters. The plot actually has twists in it that make the whole thing fun to watch and the ending has a "rightness" to it which lets you come away from the film with a good feeling about life and people. A really good way to spend a couple of hours.