A Vida de Diane

Diane is a very moving portrayal of a 70 year old woman who takes care of everyone, from her older parents and cousins to her 30 something son (Jake Lacy) strung out on drugs. It is interesting and all too rare to see such a giving portrayal of a human being who is far from perfect, but tries so hard to be. As the film jumps through time we see the results of her efforts but are also confronted with things she cannot change, as people in the end are always going to fall back to what their true nature is.

The movie is directed by Kent Jones, a film critic and long time supporter of character actors like Mary Kay Place, who plays Diane almost too knowingly. The movie is full of only character actors, and so becomes a study of what it means to be a person who is often forgotten and over looked in our lives. Some actors start off in small roles and grow to become movie stars, recent examples might be Amy Adams, Sam Rockwell, Taraji Henson to name a few....but so many actors become people that we look at and say: "hey I know that persons face, but what's their name again?" Diane is an example of what it's like to be a caregiver in life, and a caregiver in acting. It is a film that I wouldnt call "happy" but I would call life affirming, with a really nice ending. Movies that truly mean something and portray ordinary people well are all too rare.

Greetings again from the darkness. In a film that is both grounded in realism as well as playing like an ode to underappreciated character actresses, our wonderment turns to full comprehension once we realize this is the work of Kent Jones. Mr. Jones is one of today's foremost authorities on film, having been a respected film critic, served as director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and delivered a tremendous documentary showcasing the conversations of two more publicized film experts with 2005's HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT. In other words, he's a man who loves cinema and has both a trained eye and an instinct for what makes a film worth watching.

Mary Kay Place (THE BIG CHILL, 1983) is Diane. Our first reaction upon seeing her is that she has the well-worn, hangdog look of a woman burdened by life. As we follow her around, we soon learn that's very true and that there is even more to her story. Diane is the kind of person who, rather than keep a list of things to do, keeps a list of people for whom she has to do things. And there are many on her list. Chief among these are her dying cousin Donna (Diedre O'Connell) and her drug-addicted son Brian (Jake Lacy). The self-imposed penance Diane pays all day each day stems from a story referred to as "The Cape" ... a long ago act of betrayal and indiscretion that has clung to Diane ever since.

The rest of the cast is filled with faces you'll recognize (and names you can't recall), many for their work in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's, including: Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Oscar winner for BONNIE AND CLYDE, 1967), Andrea Martin (MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, 2002), Joyce Van Patten (sister of Dick, ST ELMO'S FIRE, 1985), and Glynnis O'Connor (ODE TO BILLY JOE, 1976). But don't mistake this for some nostalgic tribute - each of these women offer up exactly what's needed for their respective characters. It's a joy to behold their work - and easy to take for granted.

This little Massachusetts community is tight-knit and speaks freely on the lives of each other. There are few secrets. Everyone asks Diane about Brian - her son that lies to her face, acts perturbed when she tries to help, forces her to listen to bible-thumping, and finally comes clean on why he's treated her the way he has. Filmmaker Kent's first narrative feature is an organic character driven story about aging, carrying a burden, striving to make amends, and suppressing true feelings by constantly serving others. When Diane writes in her journal, "My loved ones are gone and I'm left to be", it takes her (and us) closer to her soul than any soup kitchen possibly could. Casserole dishes can only heal so much., and a lead role for a respected actress serves us all.

GRADE: B

THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.

IN BRIEF: One of the most depressing yet insightful films about loneliness and old age, buoyed by a strong central performance by Ms. Place.

JIM'S REVIEW: Diane, Kent Jones' bleak character study, is a film to admire but it is also one that disturbs in its gentlest of ways. Far from being the feel-good movie of the year, the film is insightful as it ponders life-and-death issues, yet it grows monotonous in its approach of depicting dysfunction and despair. Literally, Diane travels down too many roads in search of hope and salvation, unable to find any solace, although Mr. Jones, as both director and writer, does successfully avoid the path of predictability on his journey into sadness.

We have all met a woman like the title character before, that saintly do-gooder who fills her lonely days helping others before introspectively helping herself. Mary Kay Place is Diane and she delivers a quiet and devastating performance of a widow whose life is out of sync. (More on this later.)

Mr. Jones' screenplay creates vivid realistic characters in his story about this enigmatic woman, ably handled by his cast. He slowly unveils Diane's past life as we follow her daily routines. Her to-do list occupies her waking hours: visits to her dying cousin in the hospital, volunteer work at the local soup kitchen, frequent drop-ins to her drug-addicted son. Yes, her days are depressing, as she attends funerals of her friends and family on a regular basis. The film rages against the dying of the light and shouts out that we are all in the winter of our lives. So suffer we must...and we will.

The film's dark subject is well matched by Mr. Jones' greatest asset, his masterful use of natural dialog, as he captures everyday conversations between aging family members and friends. There is a remarkable honesty on display, full blown discussions about health and aging, past discretions and their repercussions, and the inability to save loved ones from their demons, amongst other talk of mundane subjects like pasta casserole recipes and hands of gin rummy.

But it is the film's lack of plot and the episodic structure of the film that sends it off track. The direction is in need of stronger pacing. Finely established characters and their relationship with Diane come and go quickly, without much warning or care. Mr. Jones' use of time jumps, sometimes indicating the passage of months or years, and a few jarring dream sequences in the third act confuse rather than enlighten his fine storytelling. (In fact, as the film races to its slightly unsatisfying conclusion, there is an essential mother-son moment that remains unclear as to its inclusion. One just doesn't know if it is another time shift based in reality or a wistful fantasy scene.)

That said, while there is an overabundance of doom and gloom in this tale, the ensemble of character actors in supporting parts make the film all the more appealing. Andrea Martin, Phyllis Somerville, Deirdre O'Connell, Gyynnis O'Connor, Joyce Van Patten, and the great Estelle Parsons make memorable contributions in smaller roles. Jake Lacy plays Brian, Diane's wayward son, with such conviction and skill. His encounters with Ms. Place are the most powerful and emotionally gut-wrenching in this compelling film.

But the movie belongs to Ms. Place and she is in every scene. This talented and underrated actress delivers heartfelt vulnerability and an inner strength that masks her character's broken spirit. Whether Diane is drunkenly dancing alone in front of a neon-lit jukebox in a dingy bar or scrawling poetic thoughts into her private diary about her solitary existence, the character remains a lost and tragic figure. Ms. Place is so nuanced in her wonderful interpretation of a woman trying to escape from the harsh present and her sinful past, with no positive future before her.

Diane chronicles an indelible portrayal of a woman who outlives her friends and family without much joy or happiness in sight. This seriously-minded film is unsettling in its view of the possible harrowing future that seems so commonplace for so many elderly citizens these days. So I must recommend this film with a caveat: Depending on the fullness of your own personal life, or lack thereof, a visit to this thought-provoking film may (or may not) be your best cinematic option. With so much to laud, it remains your call, dear moviegoers.

For me, there's a limited appeal to a movie such as "Diane," which so authentically represents the life of an ordinary woman. Nothing extraordinary happens. She visits the same places and the same people over and over again, almost always either talking about her health and relationship problems or those of others in her circle. If they run out of current shortcomings to discuss, they dredge up past ones. Repeated use of the same camera positions for the same spaces reinforces this repetitive circling, too. When Diane is looking for her drug-addled son again, for instance, the camera again frames her through a doorway from the kitchen. There's a telling scene, where one of Diane's friends searches her mind for another topic to discuss when Diane refuses to talk about her son temporarily. Eventually, they share recollections of the food of the restaurants that have occupied the space they're currently in. It's one of the few moments in the movie when they're not gossiping over their clique.

Mary Kay Place is fine in the titular role, which garnered her some talk of an Oscar nomination that never came, but "Diane" is largely an inversion of the usual parts given to such a character actor--making a protagonist of the mother in a drug-addiction drama, or of the friend in another drama about a cancer patient, etc. I appreciate that the filmmakers didn't resort to the usual introduction of a new romance to alleviate this dullness, though. Indeed, her past extramarital affair is largely glossed over in a sort of anti-climax. Besides, Diane's life is already overfilled with interpersonal relationships. The one somewhat interesting activity she manages to do alone, for she can't even drink by herself for long before her friends show up to take her home, is writing in her diary. It's a pastime that stands in stark contrast to the rest of the routine of this highly interdependent character. There's little to write about, either, besides everyone getting sick and eventually dying. Sure, it's respectably true to life, but it can be bad enough to already be living some variation of this narrative; to see it on the screen, may make such quiet desperation worse.

Unusual movie, it's like you meet a stranger (woman) and she let you know of the kind of (tough) life is is having at the moment. Quite well done, but the movie ends unexpectedly!