Crimes du coeur

Tedious story of neurotic Southern women, each of whom should be in the loony bin. Great shame, as each of the three principals is a fine actress who's done great work in other films. The movie's only virtue is providing a topic for academic discussions: Is it possible to enjoy a film if you do not like even one of the main characters?

Faltering singing star Meg Magrath (Jessica Lange) return home to Hazlehurst, Mississippi for a visit. Her sister Rebecca "Babe" (Sissy Spacek) had just been arrested for shooting her overbearing husband. Her other spinster sister Lenny (Diane Keaton) has been caring for their elderly grandfather who raised the girls after their mother's suicide. The grandfather is in the hospital on his death bed as the court case against Babe moves ahead. Chick Boyle (Tess Harper) is the nosy cousin and Doc Porter (Sam Shepard) is the dashing neighbor.

There is an incongruity between the slapstick wacky comedic tone and the darkness of the material. They work together seamlessly in the great black comedies. In this case, I am conflicted about the shooting incident. The carefree attitude about the case seems out of touch with the seriousness of the charge. The simple fix should be that Babe only fires a warning shot. The husband can still over-reach by demanding attempted murder charges but the girls would be well within their rights to take the case lightly. Anyways, the mother's suicide provides plenty of dark material all by itself. The lax attitude is a cause of annoyance to me. Otherwise, these are great actresses and I do love their chemistry. They have easy sisterly relationships and their back-and-forth are great. I just dislike the careless attitude towards shooting the husband.

Honestly, there's not a lot to say about this film. Sissy Spacek, Diane Keaton and Jessica Lange star as three Southern sisters who reunite when one (Spacek) shoots her husband. The sisters are, of course, incredibly different and their personalities collide over the course of a few days, dealing with what Spacek's character has done while old feuds come to the surface. Clearly based on a play, most of the action takes place in the same house and the film puts everything on the shoulders of the three central women.

Keaton plays Lenny, the matriarch of the trio (both of their parents are deceased and their grandfather who raised them is in the hospital) who is socially inept and often gets stepped on by her siblings. Lange is Meg, the popular and outgoing wild girl, man-eater and failed actress. Spacek rounds it out as the potentially insane and murderous Babe. Tess Harper steals her few scenes as Chick Boyle, who lives next door to the house, but the whole thing is centered around the three sisters and that's what makes it work. The film never takes itself too seriously, despite it's morbid themes and narrative, and the women all do a marvelous job of bringing the laughs mostly without overdoing it.

Crimes of the Heart is a film that on paper doesn't appeal to my tastes at all, but I often found myself cracking up at the ridiculousness of these characters. The women play the characters as straight as possible, approaching them as characters rather than jokes, and this helps make it an enjoyable experience as opposed to a grating one, although Keaton does overdo it at times. The characters are erratic and very large, which opens itself up to potential disaster, but in selecting the proper actresses for each role they were able to make it an entertaining little movie. It's a simple, light and enjoyable film; certainly nothing memorable and I'm sure I won't be thinking about it at all in a few days, but a nice experience while it lasts.

Putting three powerful actresses into one film isn't necessarily a guarantee that the project will work, however, this is one of those rare exceptions.

Beth Henley's play about three eccentric sisters in the south is adapted well to the screen, thanks in part to the careful direction of Bruce Beresford. Diane Keaton plays Lennie, the eldest sister, who's feelings of awkwardness prevent her from being happy. Jessica Lange is Meg, the fast-moving middle sister who packed up and left town for the big lights of Hollywood, only to be disappointed. And Sissy Spacek is Babe, the kooky youngest sister, recently charged with shooting her husband.

The sisters are tormented by their cousin and neighbor, Chick, played by Tess Harper. Her own desire to be an upstanding member of the ladies league, combined with her desire to outshine and belittle her cousins, make her the villain in this story.

The sisters are reunited when Babe shoots her husband. As she says, she 'didn't like his stinkin' looks.' Babe is slightly unbalanced. After shooting him in the stomach she went out and made herself a pitcher of lemonade. What was most bizarre was that she then had the nerve to offer him a glass!

Over the course of several days the sisters confront the demons that have been troubling them. Lennie has 'shrunken ovaries' and therefore cannot have children. She believes that this is keeping her from getting a man. Meg is tortured by her own selfishness. The rumors about her convincing Doc Porter (played by Sam Sheppard) to hang around in during a hurricane, only to suffer a life altering leg injury, are all true.

The film reads like the play from which is came from. The scenes are often long. The dialogue marches on from subject to subject. The characters are well fleshed out, however most of the information we get comes from suggestions and flashbacks made by the characters. One must listen to the dialogue in this film in order to truly follow the story.

The acting is first rate by all four leads. Sissy Spacek and Tess Harper are definate standouts. They each received nominations at the Oscars that year. Lange and Keaton play their parts well. The cast works as an ensemble, with no upstaging, but rather opportunities for everyone to shine.

Crimes of the Heart is a first rate piece that may not be appropriate for all movie goers, simply because it requires the viewer to pay attention to detail. The action is slow moving, making room for some wonderful dialogue.

Enjoy this film as it offers some great acting with a pretty decent script.

Based on the successful play this film gathered an ensemble of some of the most talented actors and actresses of our time, which includes Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper, Diane Keaton, and Jessica Lange. Taking place in the south, we follow the story of a family's relationship and how they are dealing with their sister shooting her husband. With the strong female cast we can't help but to feel their pain through their emotions, relationship with each other, and how they deal with life. Great strong character choices, yet sisters with something even greater in common....love of family, and loyalty. There are many lessons to learn in this film and one of the most important is you can't turn your back on your family, even when you run away they will be there for you. The acting is superb, the honesty is great and in all a wonderful film to see. A true classic and if you haven't seen the play, read it or rented it.....do it now...you won't be disappointed.