Search - The Autumn Heart on DVD

Emotional, funny independent family drama

Sanpete | in Utah | 10/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tyne Daly is the blue-collar mother of three grown, distinctly blue-collar daughters, each strong in her own way (and loud--the setting is Boston). Ill and apparently thinking she may soon die, Daly asks her daughters to find their brother who left with his father at age six, sixteen years earlier. The sisters are initially resistant, feeling their father abandoned them, and are even less pleased when they learn their brother is studying at Harvard, but they agree for their mother's sake to make contact. Turns out father and son have done very well and become very white-collar while the women have remained not so well off.

The narration at the beginning made me think this might be a preachy film about the evils of divorce, and there are elements of that, some even delivered by a preacher. But the bulk of the film is more about a clash of cultures, sisterly and other family relations, and reconciliations. The story unwinds somewhat in the fashion of a mystery, though a good deal of what we might expect to learn never comes to light.

The cultural differences are a source of tension and comedy, with one sister in particular, flamboyant and irrepressible, bringing humor to almost every appearance. Though all the acting is strong, Ally Sheedy, as the most bitter sister, remains central by her place in the script and the intensity of her acting, which some have found to be overdone, others to be a tour de force.

Much of the drama is open to such a division of response by viewers: it's seen as contrived, predictable, superficial, maudlin, or as real, unpredictable, with genuine heart. I think there is ample ground for all of those reactions. The film won the audience favorite award at the Nantucket Film Festival but was panned by some critics. I find Sheedy an engaging screen presence and was drawn in by her portrayal. The film did remind me of some "family-friendly" films but was harsher and edgier at times. It's marked by several emotional outbursts and resolutions that will make some cry and others cringe. Not everything rang true to me, but most was true enough, and I generally enjoyed it.

The DVD presents a full-frame version. Though unrated, there is not much that would raise attention with a rating board: some swearing, occasional drunkenness, smoking, a little casual drug use. Oh, and a fairly chaste male strip tease. It would probably rate PG-13. The script was written by the actor who plays the brother."