Uma Razão para o Amor

Lucille Odom (Kathryn Erbe) is about to graduate from high school. One day she returns home to find her mother Helen (Jill Clayburgh) had run off. Her father Warren (Albert Finney) is a stubborn southern patriarch who can't accept it. Ethan Hawke plays Lucille's best friend who hopes to be more. Rae (Suzy Amis) returns with her new husband Billy McQueen (Kyle MacLachlan).

It's a meandering low simmering family drama. There isn't much style in the directing. It has a lazy southern living feel in this slice of life. Albert Finney isn't playing a likable character. Kathryn Erbe is just too old for the role. It's really noticeable when she's paired up with Ethan Hawke. Overall there is some good actors doing material that wants to be better.

Director Bruce Beresford brings Josephine Humphrey's beautiful novel with sensitivity and amazing insight. His use of locations and the stunning backdrop is done with an eye for the landscape, just as his depiction of the characters is done with an instinct and empathy for humanity. Those characters are portrayed wonderfully by Albert Finney and Jill Clayburgh as very real people and not simply as caricatures of typical Southerners. Outstanding in the role of the young girl Lucille is the gifted Kathryn Erbe. She is nothing less than superb and would have been a true star making role if the film had been more successful at the box office. Although the film was not seen by many, Erbe's performance is some of her finest work and her incredible talent shines even among the members of this veteran cast. She is deeply moving in this film and Erbe makes Lucille one of the most memorable young women in cinema history.

An exquisite little film from director Bruce Beresford, from Josephine Humphrey's wonderful novel. An ensemble cast does terrific work with Albert Finney and Jill Clayburg outstanding in their roles. The true gem of a performance comes from Kathryn Erbe in a part she gives depth and beauty. As the young high school girl coming-of-age, she is nothing less than superb. Once she steps before the camera, she is mesmerizing in her loveliness and her gifts as an actor are electric on screen. It is certainly a performance deserving of an Oscar nomination and I expected such after I saw this in the theater. By all rights, this should have been a star making role for Erbe and though she has done very well in her distinguished career, for some reason Hollywood powers did not take note of the stunning talent she displayed in this movie. She is worthy of far more recognition than she has received if only an Emmy for her wonderful portrayal of Detective Alex Eames in Law and Order: Criminal Intent. She gave that understated character complexity, sensitivity, and humanity while too often in the shadow of her co-star. She held her own, however, and Eames is some of her finest work. Perhaps the casting couch was simply not worth it to Erbe and she chose to act without compromising her honor. Whatever the reason, one can only watch this film and wonder why she isn't given roles played by much less talented actresses today. The script is also well written, intelligent, and often moving. One of the most touching films about the South, youth awakening to the real world, and life itself. A beautiful film with some outstanding acting that some how slipped under the radar and never was as acclaimed as it should have been.

`Rich in Love' is one of those unfortunate middling films. If not for Kathryn Erbe, there would be little worth writing about--unless of course one loves to see the south in film. Perhaps an expansion and toughening up of Erbe's role and that of Jill Clayburgh's would make this a much better film. As it is there is too much stereotype in every character, and too much soap to support it. It's the plot's very few dark moments that most awaken the viewer. As does, of course, the very original, likeable and snappy acting of Kathryn Erbe. It is a flaw in the film, I think, that her independent life can be questioned, with effect, by the packaged entities around her. Her conforming to them makes her role less convincing--and takes something away from her superior acting.

This wonderful film explores matters of the heart neither in a sentimental way nor in a cynical way--rather honestly, giving respect to the feelings, hopes and thoughts of the characters. Set in present-day South Carolina, Albert Finney portrays a retired contractor, who appears to have retired from life before he retired from his job. His performance is so spot-on as to be transparent, allowing the viewer to enter completely into his character and almost "be him." The story opens with his wife leaving him, and the core of the film focusses on how he and his younger daughter, deal with this unexpected event. Miss Erbe is as good as Mr. Finney and surpasses him in delineating a "real" Southern human being, not the typical stereotype or the northerner in disguise (see: Susan Sarandon in The Client or Charles Mitchell in Cookie's Fortune--good performances but about as southern as Sherlock Holmes). The plot has several strands, including Miss Erbe's dealing with budding sexuality (she plays a graduating high school senior), the older sister's arrival on the scene, and others you MUST see for yourself. This movie was directed by Bruce Beresford and should have received a much wider audience when released in theatres. But its subtlety, lack of sex and violence, and its refusal to sacrificequa lity for