"
Places in the Heart"
**** (out of ****)
In some ways writer / director Robert Benton's "Places in the Heart" (1984) is the 1980s version of "Gone with the Wind" (1939), the sprawling epic of, among other things, a woman's survival and growth into a different definition of "womanhood".
Sally Field's Edna Spalding doesn't have the pizazz of Scarlett O'Hara - the iconic character portrayed by Vivien Leigh - but she has the same grit, the same sense of obstinance in the face of adversity.
Both women lose the love of their lives. While Scarlett foolishly pined for Ashley Wilkes, Edna loses her husband Royce (Ray Baker) - a small Texas town sheriff - in an unfortunate gun accident. Alone and on the verge of poverty, Edna must find a way to keep her home and raise her two children, Possum (Gennie James) and Frank (Yankton Hatten).
Although both "Gone with the Wind" and "Places in the Heart" take place in two distinct eras - the Civil War and the Great Depression respectively - each woman is a "victim" of the time period's social politics. Edna has no "skills" other than taking care of her home and raising children. Royce was the sole financial provider and paid the bills. Edna doesn't know how much money her husband made or even how to fill out a check (!). By the end of "Places in the Heart" Edna will not only learn how to fill out a check but become a much different, stronger woman. Each film creates female characters representative of their historic time period to make a commentary on the then current state of social politics. Edna and Scarlett don't necessarily feel like old fashion women. They are women of the 1930s and '80s respectively.
It is possible however none of this was the intention of Robert Benton. Benton based much of the film on his own memories of his youth. As a title I initially thought "Places in the Heart" referred to romantic love, instead I think it refers to what is dear to our heart, both places and people. A sense of community.
With its Depression era setting the film is a telling of hardship, perseverance, family, community, and love. It can be interpreted as the story of America or as New York Times film critic Vincent Canby described it, "Robert Benton has made one of the best films in years about growing up American." However could films like "Places in the Heart" also be critiques of Ronald Reagan's America? It was a time when Reagan asked the country if they were better off than they were four years prior. And while for many people the answer to that question was a resounding yes - Reagan won re-election with a commanding 49 state win - it is worth noting there was a small parade of similar themed movies released in 1984 alone - "Places in the Heart", "Country", and "The River". Legendary New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael once referred to them as the "rural trilogy". Even the post-Siskel & Ebert version of the PBS movie review program Sneak Previews aired a special episode on how Hollywood looks at the working class. These movies and Hollywood's attitude may have been a reflection of the rough economic times of the early 80s, when Reagan's policies put the country in a recession in 1981. Even by the near end of 1984, unemployment was at a stubborn high of 7.3%, as pointed out in this New York Times article published two days before the election.
In addition to social class, "Places in the Heart" broaches another important topic, race. Quickly after the burial of her husband and learning about the large debt still owed to the bank, Edna meets a black man named Moses (Danny Glover). He goes around from house to house willing to work for food. After noticing all the acres of land Edna's home sits on, Moses proposes helping Edna grow cotton. Desperate, Edna agrees but considering the amount owed to the bank, it will be a Herculean feat to pick enough cotton to pay off the bank.
There is a powerful scene when Moses is attacked by the Ku Klux Klan, meant to demonstrate the harsh realities of the times. Nevertheless the scene comes out of left field. Nothing has lead up to this dramatic moment. Outside of a scene when the sheriff informs Edna he found Moses with her silverware (he stole it from her), we never see the townspeople react to Edna employing a black man. Once in a while a character will use the "N" word to describe Moses.
Much like "Gone with the Wind" has been criticized for its depiction of the relationship between black and white characters and its historical inaccuracies, "Places in the Heart" walks a fine line presenting a South steep in racism and one where it is non-existent. The topic is one never discussed between Edna and Moses. But that is contrasted with how the other white characters regard Moses. For some this may be a flaw of the film even though "Places in the Heart" is not primarily interested in telling a story about racism.
It may also affect some viewers reaction and interpretation of the Moses character and Danny Glover's performance. To the most critical eye the Moses character is fitting of the trope famously condemned by the race-baiting filmmaker Spike Lee, the Magical Negro - a submissive black character willing to selflessly help a white character. Such remarks however I believe diminish Glover's fine performance. There has been a tendency in Hollywood to create fun-loving, overly exaggerated free slave characters that may serve as comic relief but Glover's Moses character doesn't fall into that description. The character is sympathetic with Glover bringing out a sensitivity and relatability in Moses. We wish there was more screen time for him and sense there is a full character there waiting to be explored. The character should not be faulted for Benton's uneven handling of the race issue.
Glover has expressed an emotional connection to his character, saying in an interview, "All of a sudden, Places in the Heart was my grandfather's story. My grandparents who were sharecroppers when they were married more than 75 years ago and became tenant farmers and own their own farm. Moze became the picture I saw of my grandfather as a child coming up and visiting him during the summer. So I was able to use him in a sense and elevate that. It became a tribute."
Another good supporting character is Will (John Malkovich) a blind man who is also the brother-in-law of a banker (Lane Smith). Disguising his opportunistic impulse as Christian love, the banker means to take advantage of Edna's situation by suggesting she take in Will as a border. This, the banker explains, would provide Edna with a source of income. It would have been interesting to see the scene between the banker and his wife as they discuss their living arrangement with Will. If Moses is a "Magical Negro", Will is a cranky handicap character that wants to be left alone and exhibits a disdain for Edna's children
This was Malkovich's first significant film role and as with the Moses character, the viewer feels short changed as we do not get enough screen time for the character. I would have preferred more of a buildup to Will's eventual transformation.
Once all of these characters are gathered under one roof, "Places in the Heart" hits on its theme of community, bringing together a group of outcast - a woman, a black man, and a blind man - coming together to defeat the odds and bond with one another as a family. This, I believe, is the main message Robert Benton and "Places in the Heart" wants to get across.
For some reason Benton creates a subplot that serves as a counter to the main story that involves Edna's sister, Margaret (Lindsay Crouse) and her husband Wayne (Ed Harris). Wayne is having an affair with a married woman, Viola (Amy Madigan). Perhaps it is overreaching on my part but there are only two purposes I could think of that these scenes serve. One is to emphasis a spiritual element in "Places in the Heart" and comment on the Christian concept of forgiveness. The other is for Benton to make another commentary on family and the different ways in which a family unit can be broken. Either by death or infidelity.
But Benton may not have expertly drawn these connections together as many critics - Gene Siskel, Jeffrey Lyons, Neal Gabler, and Roger Ebert all criticized this aspect of the film. In Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times movie review he wrote of the subplot, "it's an unnecessary distraction, and it robs the movie of a lot of the sheer narrative power it would have had otherwise."
There are moments concerning the love triangle nevertheless that are quite powerful and emotionally stirring. I was particularly drawn to scenes where the characters loneliness and heartache is prominent. As with all of the performances throughout the movie the viewer can sense the longing and despair within.
Underneath "Places in the Heart" is a story about spirituality and hope. The movie begins and ends with religious words heard on-screen. The ending has caused some confusion for viewers as it blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. The film ends in church with characters taking their communion. Without spoiling anything, the scene is supposed to comfort us with a message of forgiveness where sinner and saint can sit next to each other and come together as a community.
When "Places in the Heart" was released in theaters it received much critical acclaim and award recognition. Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert praised it. Jeffrey Lyons and Vincent Canby each declared among the best films of 1984. It received three Golden Globe nominations with Sally Field winning in the best actress for a drama category. As well as earning seven Academy Award nominations with Sally Field once again winning for best actress. It was Field's second Oscar, coming after her performance in "Norma Rae" (1979). The Oscar win also provided us with the famous moment of Field joyously proclaiming the Academy likes her. In addition to Field's win, Robert Benton also won an Oscar for his screenplay. Other Oscar nominations included Best Picture, Best Director (Benton) and Best Supporting Actor (Malkovich).
I'm not sure how well this film is remembered today but after forty years "Places in the Heart" still seems relevant. The struggles of the working class feel endless. How many Edna's are there out there on the verge of losing their homes, desperate to provide for their families? The religious / spiritual aspect may not connection as strongly with society however. We don't see American mainstream movies today present such a sympathetic view of faith and family. Today's message movies lean more into identity politics.
Robert Benton, who is still with us at age 91, has had a long career in Hollywood writing screenplays for such films as "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967), "What's Up, Doc?" (1972), and "Superman" (1978). His directing credits include "The Late Show" (1977), the Oscar winning "Kramer vs Kramer" (1979), and later efforts such as "Twilight" (1998) with Paul Newman and the excellent "The Human Stain" (2003) with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, which I named among the best films of its respective year. Throughout his career he received two Best Director nominations, winning for "Kramer", and five Best Screenplay nominations, with his final one being for "Nobody's Fool" (1995).
One of the reasons "Places in the Heart" succeeds is because of Benton and the amazing performances he gets from his actors. Each scene feels as if it has been constructed with great care. We follow these characters every step of the way, experiencing all they experience. It becomes profoundly clear just how personal of a project this film was to Benton.
"Places in the Heart" is a deeply moving story about perseverance, family, community, and love. It features terrific performances most notably from Sally Field, Danny Glover, and John Malkovich. Director Benton's love and care for these characters shines through scene after scene, eventually making a powerful comment on forgiveness. Forty years later the film still works and most certainly stands as one of the best films of 1984.
Posts
