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Diane Lane is quite nearly perfect
by kelly (movies profile)
Nov 19, 2006
5
of
6 people found this review helpful
I wanted to see this film to see Viggo Mortensen in an acting role where he wasn't playing the bad guy (prior to his Lord of the Rings roles). I had read that he plays a hippie and the love interest of Diane Lane. At first, prior to viewing this film, I couldn't envision him in this role as the "other man" in a lackluster marriage.
Surprisingly, I found myself drawn to this film because it portrayed the Levin family as a sort of a pathetic family, but actually quite happy as a unit, despite the problems of the individuals.
There are spoilers in this review. The husband, played by the adorable Liev Schreiber, has to work a lot of hours as a low echelon tv repairman and misses his family's vacation. In his mind, he attributes his terrible job and his bad work hours to the fact that he married young and couldn't go to college. And the family dearly misses the husband/father/son, and the grandma, wife and 2 kids have to go to summer vacation without him. This constitutes the first plot vehicle in the story which creates tension.
So Diane Lane, left with her gal pals and her grumbling family, finds boredom without her husband and with little romance left in the marriage. But she finds a bit of a rush from the interest that the "blouse man" gives her. The blouse man owns a bus loaded full of tops to sell to the visiting ladies, and dazzles them with his attention to their physical attributes. And of course he is very handsome in a 70's way. I loved the blouse man straight off, but I was a little surprised that Diane was interested in him, since she's sort of cold with him and mother hennish.
However, a relationship of beauty and physical passion ensues between Diane and Viggo, and the music in the film really intensifies the feelings of passion, then surrender, then release.
I was surprised at the depth of Diane's performance, and hadn't really seen her as an actor. But wow, she is truly wonderful.
Her discovery of herself and her desires, is mirrored in the discovery of that of her teenage daughter, played by the talented Anna Paquin. This plot dynamic creates fuel for the tension in Diane's character. Diane's character is tangibly grappling to overcome her marrying so young and never fueling her own potential apart from her family's need for her. But the entire family is reaching to overcome this also, so she's really in good company as both Liev's character and Tovah's struggles with having their potentials yanked away.
But the true specialness of this film is the wonderful relationship of this family and the special characters woven together, and the husband and his mother played by the wonderful Tovah really make you feel that this would be a great family to be a part of. The blouse man also feels this too and inevitably lets go of his pressures on Diane to come away with him, just like she lets go of wanting to be away with these people.
There are special touches in the film such as the PA announcer's hilarious announcements, such as Tovah's fortune-telling prowess, and the delicate way this film touches on religion, vices, and keeping up with the Joneses. A truly fun and deep film, and also good for featuring the woman's perspective at three levels, that of mother, wife, and child. The pacing is a bit slow but that's summer vacation for you. In all, this is a film for anyone interested in family and in the 60's. |
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