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I was transfixed by this gem of a movie. All the players were without a doubt most outstanding and very professional. I am always happy to see Danny Glover in any movie. Sally Field was beyond perfect. The love scene in this movie was superflous and not really needed and seemed to me a bit off-center to the plot of the movie itself. The last scene in this movie got me right where I live. My heart constricted at the ending and, I am not ashamed to say, tears fell from my eyes. Right now as I talk about it my eyes tear up. I am happy that Sally Field won an Oscar for her portrayal of a depression-era wife and mother for she earned it ten times over. In the last scene a bible verse was quoted and I would love to know,again, what it was and where it is located in the bible. It had to do with glass and cymbals. Could anyone help out? Thanks.

This is a beautifully told story about life in a small Texas town during the Great Depression. Sally Field's husband dies and it's up to her to raise their children and harvest the cotton crop in time to save the farm. It's a fine story, but at the end, the film springs a surprise. Who'd have thought a movie could have a coda? The last scene of the movie is so powerful that when I left the theater I literally felt like my breath had been taken away. I suspect the scene is unique in the movies, and it affects me every time I see it. I've shown this film on videotape to friends a few times, and I always whisper, "Please don't say anything to me during this last scene." It never fails, though; my friends always begin jabbering away in astonishment right in the middle of the best scene in the movie. It's not a big problem, though. They always shut up in wonder and understanding just before the credits start to roll.

At the time this film was released I was 20 years younger. I liked it but it did not stay in my memory of good movies to watch. I just saw it again today and could not leave my seat. Was it the story? Yes. Was it the acting? Yes. More than anything it was the situations that the characters faced. Art imitating life and doing a very good job of it.

What I liked most is that I did not think that the performances took away from the story. It's about how your life can change in a split second. Change in a way that challenges you to look at yourself deeply. It's about personal values. It is the type of story that moves me most these days. Stories about humans. It is a stunning film.

I was sad to find I didn't love this as much as I had remembered from its release nearly 30 years ago.

The acting is terrific, and the film looks great. But the main plot has elements of familiar melodramatic clichés that bugged me more now in a way they didn't in 1984. The race to save the farm, and the 'we'll do it despite the odds!' dialogue felt a little too Hollywood this time around, as did the 'perfect' gallery of downtrodden, oppressed outsiders (the single mother, the African-American, the blind man).

At the same time, the subplot of the romantic triangle between Ed Harris, Lindsay Crouse and Amy Madigan, while wonderfully acted, really seemed to have very little at all to do with the rest of the film.

That said, all the acting (Sally Field, Danny Glover, John Malcovich) is terrific, and the details of time and place are rich and vivid is slightly (intentionally) softened by the haze of the passing years (Benton grew up in the town where the story takes place).

And that wonderful long last shot, which gives the whole film a larger context, is still a powerful and brave way to end a story.

Places in the Heart was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for John Malkovich and Best Supporting Actress for Lindsay Crouse . And it won two awards - Best Original Screenplay for Benton and, of course, Best Actress for Field.

It was a strong well made drama that took place in Texas during the Depression in the mid 30s. Sally Field gave a powerful performance as Edna Spalding, a wife and mother of 2 kids who became widowed after a drunk accidentally shot her husband. She had also the chance of losing her home because she had no money to pay off the mortgage. So she decided to make some money by planting cotton. She took in a black man played by Danny Glover, who helped her plant the cotton, and a blind man played by John Malkovich. All the performances were top-notch. Sally Field was just great and for this performance she won her Oscar. Danny Glover and John Malkovich give strong supporting performances.

Places in the Heart is a moving portrait of a specific time in American history. Injustice, prejudice, and discrimination are major themes of this story, as well as friendship acts of courage and commitment . Very entertaining , Oscar-winning period piece.