Marcas de um Suicídio

This flick, which aired on Showtime under the title "Wild Iris", tells of a grandmother, her adult daughter, and a teenage son/grandson who live together in a SOHO wedding dress boutique. In spite of the pasty, made-for-tv "feel", "...Iris" showcases two excellent performances. Rowlands plays a mother in denial about her diseased relationship with her daughter, avoiding the truth while placating conflict with platitudes. Linney plays the daughter who tries to cope with good old mom using brutally frank honesty and vodka has her weapons of choice. Kudos to the pair of female leads.

This is not a Hollywood "feel good" movie. It centers around a daugher, played wonderfully by Laura Linney, who abuses alcohol while she bickers with her mother. Laura Linney is one of my favorite character actors and turns in yet another exceptional performance as a bitter and frustrated mother and daughter trying to cope with the aftermath of losing a husband and moving back in with her mother.

This is a "slice of life" movie where we get the opportunity to see characters evolve through their life experiences. We come to care about the people in this movie and see them make mistakes and sometimes learn from them.

If you these plot-centered movies such as "You Can Count on Me", you will enjoy this movie.

Not a cheery film, but riveting. Rowlands and Linney are both brilliant, and Laura Linney is especially so. She equals or exceeds her performance in You Can Count On Me, and she should have won the oscar for that film going away. If Linney does not soon win an Academy Award, there is no justice. She is one of the best actors working today, ranking right up there with Meryl Streep. She is totally convincing and incredibly moving in this role; as Iris, playing once more against type. I stumbled on to this film on one of the Showtime channels late at night. I've seen no promotion for it, and I'm shocked that I haven't. In its way, and certainly in the Linney and Rowlands performances, it's as good as Dinner With Friends, which had its premiere on HBO earlier the same night. Dinner With Friends was promoted hugely. Wild Iris is equally rewarding. I can't imagine why the Showtime publicity engines have not been running overtime. I'd be very proud to have produced this film with these two principals.

Iris Bravard (Laura Linney) is an alcoholic mother and widow, living and working with her dominating mother Minnie Brinn (Gena Rowlands), due to the lack of professional and financial options. Iris has a sweet teenager son, Lonnie Bravard (Emilie Hirsch), who feels the absence of his father. Lonnie is divided by his feelings for his mother and for his grandmother. Minnie `builds' marriages through wedding dresses and parties, but ironically has destroyed her daughter's marriage. Iris` husband Ronnie Dale Bravard (Scott Gibson) had not supported the treatment spent by Minnie to him and committed suicide eight years ago. Iris dreams of finding a job and leaving her mother's home. Although having a very sad non-commercial story, this movie is excellent. First of all, due to the performance of Laura Linney and Gena Rowlands, which certainly are among the best actresses in the worldwide cinema industry. I believe that presently I am one of the greatest fan of Laura Linney's work, mainly since after watching `You Can Count on Me'. Gena Rowlands (from `Gloria') has always been a synonym of a good movie. Watching them working together, is a dream for a movie maniac like me. Then, because of the screenplay and director, who conducts the plot without being corny. Although having space for a melodramatic point of view, Daniel Petrie (from the marvelous "Rocket Gibraltar") conducts the dramatic story very honestly without any final redemption of the characters, except Iris. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `Marcas de um Suicídio' (`Marks of one Suicide')

Laura Linney and Gena Rowlands provide a well told tale of mother/daughter dynamics, and the failure of family. I have to admit Laura Linney is a surprise; she has always been believable, but this role is a bit different, and it works.

Gena Rowlands is the manipulative grandmother, who owns a bridal shoppe, and knows everyone in town. There is a very amusing scene where she manipulates a scruffy neighbor (Fred Ward) into shelling out a great deal of money for his pregnant daughter's wedding.

The score is very beautiful, reflecting loss (Linney is a widow) and hope for the future. Linney's son, Lonnie, misses his deceased father, and attempts to reach out to his grandmother. Linney finds herself trying to find a job in a new world (she has not worked in quite some time) She clearly loves her son, but has bought into her mother's negative comments.

This film is noteworthy because it is sensitive and realistic, while not overly negative. How does a widow survive her husband's suicide, her mother's controlling psychosis, her son's depression, and her own alcoholism?. A very timely movie worth watching. 10/10