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.

Small town New England, where the skies are grey, trees cast skeleton shadows, and folks drive endlessly to nowhere. A group of baby booming women gather for spirited, neighbourly warmth, as the ravages of time loom ominously on their well lived lives. Their men, the ones that are left, shuffle in the background.

Diane has things to do, it says so in long hand on her daily reminder note. But her mundane errands belie a couple of hardships: dealing with an adult son with a history of addiction, and a dying cousin hanging on to a lifelong grudge. As Diane, Mary Kay Place strikes a nuanced balance of vulnerable strength, a woman tough enough to bully her offspring into sobriety, good-hearted enough to bring true friendships to many, and broken enough to dance drunk solo in front of a jukebox.

Filled with excellent turns from a bunch of Golden Girls - actors who cut their chops back on the sets of "Love American Style" and "Mannix" - this film brings enough community spirit to perfectly complement Place's solo tour de force. Friends start to drop. Diane continues her lonely drives. The clouds never break. Nothing much changes, and it's all in Place's stony face.

Not for everyone, "Diane" is a moody chunk of cinema which is oh so rewarding for those willing to stick with it..

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.

DIANE is an very realistically observed, emotionally nuanced drama of sixty-something Boomer women living in small-town up-upstate New York, Western Massachusetts, or thereabouts, and centered around an Oscar calibre performance by Mary Kay Place. Although the viewer may be captivated by the spell of the film's flow of personal and interpersonal detail, a thematic core may be abstracted from it; and some nice formal flourishes enrich the film. Thematically, the film illuminates the individual and group altruism of its world of Sixtyish Boomer women, a kind of unspoken sisterhood of social nurture. Formally, the emotional density of its many micro dramas is periodically offset by lovely scenes of calm country highway driving. Commercially, one fears that the film may suffer from a lack of conventional "hooks," but it's appeal -- word of it accurately and well spread -- should be intense for the sizable audience of Boomer women, not to mention alert demographically diverse cinophiles.

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.