User reviews

Michelle Pfeiffer plays a middle-class 60s housewife who idolizes Jackie O. When JFK is assassinated, she leaves her husband and road trips to his funeral to show solidarity with her icon. Along the way she meets a black man (Dennis Haysbert) and his young daughter. She immediately befriends them but realizes they are hiding a secret. Soon she is swept up in their lives and finds herself on the run from the FBI.

This is the best performance I've ever seen by Pfeiffer. She is practically unrecognizable--her southern accent is perfect and her Jackie O-inspired look is classic. She adds a welcome dose of humor to a film that is often emotionally overwhelming. The movie alternates between adorable and disturbing, but never gets too extreme either way. The plot gets a bit contrived at times, but the movie serves to question the comfort of routine middle-class existence, so it works. I am surprised this is not a well-known film. It is one of the best ones I've seen from the early 90s.

My Rating: 8/10.

This little picture unexpectedly blew me away. Both Pfeiffer and Haysbert clearly gave it their all in these roles. This film deserves cult status -- don't sleep on it!

An obsessed beautician heads for DC when JFK is assassinated. Along the way, she loses her husband, but finds something within herself she never knew was there; courage and fortitude.

Fraught with dangers only our parents remember, this film shows you what the US was like back in the late 50's, early 60's. It also teaches us that we haven't changed that much, as a nation, in the last 50 years.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert, and Stephanie McFadden endear with their honesty in this gripping drama by Jonathan Kaplan (Project X, the Firm, and Bad Girls). The performances are heartening and lends us hope that things genuinely CAN improve in the future. Not necessarily that they will, but that it is possible, should we apply our hearts to the problem.

This is a great film, though you have to be in the right mood for it.

It rates an 8.2/10 from...

the Fiend :.

"Love Field" was a film that came and went without much fanfare. It was shown on cable recently, so we decided to take a chance with it. Jonathan Kaplan makes an impression with his unusual take on the subject of the race relations in the United States of the early 60s that pays a great deal of respect to the era in which it takes place. The film shows how things were in this country in the years where segregation was still enforced in the land.

If you haven't watched the movie, please stop reading now.

Lurene, the young woman at the center of the story was in awe of Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy. The former first lady had such magnetic quality and charisma that it was easy to see why she was so admired and imitated by all women in America in the early 60s. After all, Mrs. Kennedy was royalty in a country that supposedly has no class differences. Jackie's sense of style was imitated by most women; after all, she was an elegant, vibrant and youthful woman who all wanted to adore.

The story presents a situation that rings false from the beginning. Lurene was only a step above of what would be considered white trash, therefore, her relationship with Paul Cater and Jonell, is hard to believe because of the woman's background. Lurene is kind hearted, but one wonders to what extend would someone in her station in life would have done in a real situation like the director presents in the picture.

As far as what we watch in the film, making allowances for Lurene's open mind and understanding about segregation and discrimination, the movie is easy to watch. In pairing Michelle Pfeiffer with a handsome Dennis Haysbert, who has already been seen in a similar role in "Far from Heaven", one can see why these two lost souls were attracted to one another. We can understand Lurene's sense of decency, as well as Paul's falling for Lurene when reason and logic would tell him to stay away from this white woman. Even in the big Northern cities where racial discrimination was not as blatant as in the deep South, integrated couples were a rarity in the early 60s.

Michelle Pfeiffer makes a compelling Lurene, the girl who is a decent human being. This role is a stretch for Ms. Pfeiffer, an actress not associated with dramatic parts that make such demands on her. Dennis Haysbert is good as the troubled Paul, a man that only wants to do his best for this daughter he is bringing back to Philadelphia. Stephanie McFadden is sweet as the young girl who can't comprehend what's going on around her. Finally, Louise Latham, as Mrs. Enright, is the only one that shows any decency to the situation in which she gets involved against her will.

While the movie doesn't break any grounds in racial relations, at least it has the courage to show how wrong segregation was and how prevalent it was in the United States.

I love the relationship between the three characters. A very well directed movie.

I loved this movie! Pfieffer's child-like naiveté is beautifully balanced with the mature competence of Dennis Haysbert's character. This is the first time I'd ever seen Haysbert and I've been a fan ever since. Something about that man...the viewer understands why she falls for him. I ached for both characters. The movie stirs up some feelings about injustice, racism, oppressed women -- a memory of those times but not nostalgia for them. The ending soothes and satisfies all that was stirred up. Love Fields uses only a few people and not a lot of scenery to tell its story, but its quite enough. It is, essentially, a love story -- unexpected, but so right. The period (mid-60's)is well-established and well-maintained. See this movie!

Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance anchors 1992's LOVE FIELD, a surprisingly moving marriage between character study and buddy movie that draws the viewer in with the draw of vividly human characters involved in a somewhat over the top story that manages to hold our attention due to the extreme likability of the two main characters. Pfeiffer plays a Dallas beautician named Lurene in 1963, who is so devastated by the assassination of JFK that she decides, against her husband's wishes, to travel to Washington DC to attend JFK's funeral and, en route, befriends a black man (Dennis Haysbert)traveling with his daughter, and the relationship that develops between the two when circumstances find the three of them on the run together. The story taken on an unexpected richness because these two people are part of the racially turbulent 1960's and because of the beautifully evocative performances from the stars. Pfeiifer, in particular, gives us a sad and slightly pathetic creature, wearing a platinum blonde Mariyln Monroe wig that seems to represent her desire to be someone else, her Lurlene is slightly ditzy, bored,lonely, but with a heart as big as all outdoors and the quiet dignity that Haysbert brings to his character in this tense situation is on target. Brian Kerwin also scores in the most significant role of his career as Lurene's abusive brute of a husband, but it is the performances and chemistry of the two stars that make this journey a memorable one.

The movie was interesting but I'm calling BS. Let me lay it down for you.

The year is 1963 and JFK is in office. Lurene Hallett (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a Dallas woman that loves the Kennedys. When JFK was assassinated she wanted so desperately to attend the funeral that she defied her husband and snuck out to catch a bus to Washington DC.

Paul Cater (Dennis Haysbert--better known as Allstate's spokesperson or the president in 24) is on his way home with his daughter, Jonell (Stephanie McFadden). He ends up on the same bus as Lurene, sitting right behind her. His daughter is withdrawn and it looks like things aren't what they seem between Paul and Jonell.

Now, here's where the movie simply gets it wrong. Lurene starts to engage in idle chit-chat with Paul and Paul somewhat reciprocates. Eventually it turns into them being on the lam together through various southern states with a stolen car. I'm skipping a lot of details but I don't want to be a spoiler nor do I want to make this review much longer than it's already going to be.

Here are my gripes:

Firstly, no way would Lurene be associating with a black man on a public bus in the south. Even if she was liberal at that time chances are she wouldn't have been that daft and would know the social faux pas of talking with a "colored" man for a reason other than an immediate need.

Secondly, even if Lurene engaged him, no way would Paul reciprocate. Even if he was a bold and defiant black man he would know that talking with a white woman in the south would mean almost certain death. Furthermore, he had his daughter with him so that was even more of a reason to be in self-preservation mode.

Thirdly, even if we conceded that actions one and two happened, no way would it go beyond that--which in the movie it did. It went way beyond that.

If this movie took place in any later era, like the 70's for instance, then I'd be more apt to believe it. Yes, there'd still be problems with the association between these two but at least it'd be more believable. This happened in 1963, and even though there was some progress by that time things hadn't progressed nearly enough for a white woman and a black man to be seen together in the south.

I give Love Field a little bit of credit because they did approach the grave danger Lurene put them both in. Paul was in trouble and he was trying to lay low and it was largely due to the naiveté of Lurene. She was so aloof and reckless that she was apt to get both of them killed. Today, that same behavior wouldn't even warrant a second look but not in 1963. Lurene was a walking weapon and didn't even know it and for that I say BS.

This movie is not only tells the story of the accidental connection of two people, one black and one white, who would probably have never met in their normal lives, it also presents a vivid portrait of the time in which they lived. Set against the background of the JFK assassination and the aftermath, the protagonists meet and help each other through turning points in their lives. At first wary of each other, they come to understand the forces which have shaped each other's personalities and then come to appreciate the humanity and longing they have in common. Segregation and prejudice on both sides are explored without preaching. Finally it ends if not happily at least on a note of hope.

Michelle Pfeiffer is Lurene, bringing her neighbor down to Love Field in Dallas to meet the Kennedys. and the neighbor DOES! but then... as we know, it all went downhill from there. the death of President John Kennedy affected everyone differently. Lurene jumped on the bus to attend the funeral. and meets Paul (Dennis Haysbert) and his daughter on the bus. and then... more things go haywire. and they all have to get through it together. Lurene means well, but keeps making things worse. it's hard to watch, as they get in more and more trouble. we can really feel their pain as they navigate the obstacles. like her crazy husband. and the cops. and the racists. they are on a trip that feels like it'll never end. it's very well done, if you have the stomach for it. Directed by Jonathan Kaplan. Written by Don Roos. has written and directed film and television.

In 1963 Dallas, a Jackie Kennedy-obsessed beautician hopes to travel by bus to JFK's funeral, but gets involved instead with a troubled black man and his estranged little girl. Handsome production, nice details, but a curiously minor film that never quite kicks into gear. Occasionally, the way the racial prejudices are shown--from both black and white characters--is heavy-handed, though director Jonathan Kaplan does subtle work as well, performing a nimble balancing act while the screenplay works overtime being "heated" and "emotional". Michelle Pfeiffer's performance is alternately grating, unconventional, sweet and perplexing; we don't get to know her Lurene too well, and the actress has to rely on shtick for some of her major scenes; Dennis Haysbert as her traveling companion is a tower of quiet strength, and his handsome, aw-shucks smile isn't over-used. The plot is wrapped up neatly at the end, a tricky feat since the finale takes place some 12 months from the rest of the story--a gimmick that doesn't always work, but here it satisfies the viewer by showing lives changed and what might lay ahead. Potentially a heady mix of race-relations and something even deeper (and no-less complicated): forbidden love. Yet the picture somehow whittles down these complex issues into a road-movie formula. ** from ****

Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance anchors 1992's LOVE FIELD, a surprisingly moving marriage of character study and buddy movie that draws the viewer in with the draw of vividly human characters involved in a somewhat over the top story that manages to hold our attention due to the extreme likability of the two main characters.

Pfeiffer plays a Dallas beautician named Lurene in 1963, who is so devastated by the assassination of JFK that she decides, against her husband's wishes, to travel to Washington DC to attend JFK's funeral and, en route, befriends a black man (Dennis Haysbert)traveling with his daughter, and the relationship that develops between the two when circumstances find the three of them on the run together.

The story takes on an unexpected richness because these two people are part of the racially turbulent 1960's and because of the beautifully evocative performances from the stars. Pfeiffer, in particular, gives us a sad and slightly pathetic creature, wearing a platinum blonde Marilyn Monroe wig that seems to represent her desire to be someone else, her Lurlene is slightly ditzy, bored,lonely, but with a heart as big as all outdoors and the quiet dignity that Haysbert brings to his character in this tense situation is on target. Brian Kerwin also scores in the most significant role of his career as Lurene's abusive brute of a husband, but it is the performances and chemistry of the two stars that make this journey a memorable one.

Good movie, Michelle is very good on it.

What I liked most in this movie is how it shows to those who watch it the both sides of the American condition in the sixties.

Screenplay could be a little bit less obvious.

Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a naive, warm-hearted woman in Dallas who lives to follow the presidential couple. The move takes place during the assassination of JFK and Lurene(Michelle Pfeiffer) meets a black, mysterious man and his daughter. She falls in love with them but she's just about to find out that everything isn't as it seems.

I know this is all set around the assassination of President Kennedy, but every time I saw Michelle Pfeiffer here I just thought of Marilyn Monroe! Anyway, she's the contentedly married "Lurene" who tells husband "Ray" (Brian Kerwin) that she's a mind to attend the President's funeral. "Yeah, right", thinks he and goes to bed. She, on the other hand, is quite serious so shoves some stuff in a suitcase and gets the Greyhound bus towards DC. It's quite a schlep from their Dallas home, but on the bus she befriends - whether he likes it or not - "Paul" (Dennis Haysbert) and his shy young daughter "Jonell" (Stephanie McFadden). She quite quickly senses that all isn't quite right here, but given they are African Americans there are additional concerns she ought to be wary of before she goes an-interfering. She's a good-natured soul, though, and soon we learn a little of what's going on just as things start to come to an head that has them holing up trying to avoid the police and her pursuing husband! The confined space of the bus helps this a little and Pfeiffer delivers quite engagingly, but there's a real paucity of story. It plays to the prejudices of the time, especially those exacerbated by the murder of JFK that caused heightened tensions, but unlike the bus, it doesn't really go anywhere. There's a light humour amidst the rather wordy dialogue and the young McFadden acquits herself quite well, but Haysbert adds little with a role that could have been more potently presented. It all somewhat disappointingly peters out, I'm afraid.

The sound track behind this film would make a good atmospheric Cd. There are fine performances by the principles. The film has many good moments and several dark ones that include such racist behaviour by southern police officers, that if that is reflective of how they are,one would not want to go to the southern states of America ever. The film is crosscut with the assassination of J F K Kennedy moving from Dallas to Washington, the funeral of the President then the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. Remembering the paranoia in America at the time about conspiracy, Red plots, Castro involvement or Mafia killing and the condemnation of the Dallas police force that followed because they seemed to prefer Kennedy dead and wanted only to put it to bed as quickly as possible. The police would have been very twitchy, but that wouldn't excuse the kind of pure nastiness portrayed here.