Crimes of the Heart (film)
Encyclopedia
Crimes of the Heart is a 1986 American black comedy
film
directed by Bruce Beresford
. The screenplay by Beth Henley
is adapted from her Pulitzer Prize
-winning play of the same name
.
after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The three were raised by Old Granddaddy after their mother hanged herself and the family cat and have been eccentric ever since. Lenny is a wallflower
who bemoans her shriveled ovary
. Egocentric
Meg is a singer whose Hollywood career ended abruptly when she suffered a nervous breakdown. Unruly and impulsive Babe shocks her sisters with stories about her affair with a teenaged black
boy. Past resentments bubble to the surface as the women are forced to deal with assorted relatives and previous relationships while coping with the latest incident that has disrupted their dysfunctional
lives.
locations, including Caswell Beach
, Southport
, Wilmington
, and Winnabow
.
The film opened on 246 screens in the US and earned $1,402,921 on its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $22,905,522 in the United States and Canada.
of the Chicago Sun-Times
called the film "that most delicate of undertakings: a comedy about serious matters. It exists somewhere between parody
and melodrama
, between the tragic and the goofy. There are moments when the movie doesn't seem to know where it's going, but for once that's a good thing because the uncertainty almost always ends with some kind of a delightful, weird surprise ... The underlying tone ... is a deep, abiding comic affection, a love for these characters who survive in the middle of a thicket of Southern Gothic
cliché
s and archetype
s."
Rita Kempley of the Washington Post described it as "Hannah and Her Sisters
with a southern accent, a lilting gingerbread gothic with Diane Keaton, Sissie Spacek and Jessica Lange ding-a-linging harmoniously as Dixie
land belles" and added, "Playwright Beth Henley has no dire message for us, but her adaptation is nicely restructured, glib as all get-out and character-wise ... The powerhouse performances are directed by Bruce Beresford, who maintains balance among the actresses and keeps a lovely tone and smooth pace. As with his critically acclaimed Tender Mercies
, the Australia
n director again looks at American types with a fresh eye."
Sissy Spacek was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
, and was named Best Actress by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle
and the New York Film Critics Circle
.
Tess Harper was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
, and Beth Henley was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
.
and lead vocalist/guitarist Black Francis (Deal is lead vocalist). The song appeared on the band's first studio album, Surfer Rosa, released in 1988. According to Deal, the main inspiration for the song was the film Crimes of the Heart, in which a married woman falls in love with a black teenager. The song's voyeuristic lyrics mostly revolve around a woman's observation of an attractive black man making love to another woman, culminating in the oddly light-hearted but sexual chorus: "Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic / A big, big love".
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 40-year career.-Early life:...
. The screenplay by Beth Henley
Beth Henley
Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley is an American dramatist and actress. She writes primarily about women's issues and family in the Southern United States. She is also a screenwriter who has written many film adaptations of her plays...
is adapted from her Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
-winning play of the same name
Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart is a play by Beth Henley.-Synopsis:At the core of the tragic comedy are the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at Old Granddaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The trio was raised in a dysfunctional family with a...
.
Plot
The story focuses on the Magrath sisters - Meg, Babe, and Lenny - who reunite at the family home in Hazlehurst, MississippiHazlehurst, Mississippi
Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States, located about 30 miles south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,400 at the 2000 census...
after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The three were raised by Old Granddaddy after their mother hanged herself and the family cat and have been eccentric ever since. Lenny is a wallflower
Wallflower (people)
In social situations, a wallflower is a slang term used to describe shy or unpopular individuals who do not socialize or participate in activities at social events. It is most often used to describe someone who stays close to a wall and out of the main area of social activity...
who bemoans her shriveled ovary
Ovary
The ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...
. Egocentric
Egocentrism
Egocentrism is a personality trait which has the characteristic of regarding oneself and one's own opinions or interests as most important or valid...
Meg is a singer whose Hollywood career ended abruptly when she suffered a nervous breakdown. Unruly and impulsive Babe shocks her sisters with stories about her affair with a teenaged black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
boy. Past resentments bubble to the surface as the women are forced to deal with assorted relatives and previous relationships while coping with the latest incident that has disrupted their dysfunctional
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
lives.
Cast
- Diane KeatonDiane KeatonDiane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
as Lenny Magrath - Jessica LangeJessica LangeJessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
as Meg Magrath - Sissy SpacekSissy SpacekSissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
as Babe Magrath Botrelle - Sam ShepardSam ShepardSam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
as Doc Porter - Tess HarperTess HarperTess Harper is an American actress.-Early life:Born Tessie Jean Washam on August 15, 1950 in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. Her parents' names are Ed and Rosemary Washam. She grew up around lots of quilts and quilt makers. On her own time, she liked to sit on the porch-swing and read...
as Chick Boyle - Hurd HatfieldHurd HatfieldWilliam Rukard Hurd Hatfield was an American actor.-Biography:The son of William Henry Hatfield , an attorney who served as deputy attorney general for New York, and his wife, the former Adele Steele, Hatfield was born in New York City, and was educated at Columbia University before travelling to...
as Old Granddaddy - Beeson CarrollBeeson CarrollBeeson Carroll is an American actor. He made an initial appearance in the role of Donald Penobscot, the first husband of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the TV series M*A*S*H, but was unavailable for the character's second appearance; the role went to former Tarzan and football player Mike...
as Zackery Botrelle
Production
The film was shot in various North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
locations, including Caswell Beach
Caswell Beach, North Carolina
Caswell Beach is a small seaside town located on the eastern part of Oak Island in Brunswick County, North Carolina, and is adjacent to the North Carolina Baptist Assembly and the island's United States Coast Guard station. It was incorporated as a town in 1975. The population was 370 at the 2000...
, Southport
Southport, North Carolina
Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, and Winnabow
Winnabow, North Carolina
Winnabow, North Carolina, is a place in Brunswick County in the U.S. states of North Carolina. It is located at It is mainly a farming community with ample farm land in the surrounding area. There are no big stores in the area except for a Hand Dee Hugo's at the intersection of NC 87 and US...
.
The film opened on 246 screens in the US and earned $1,402,921 on its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $22,905,522 in the United States and Canada.
Critical reception
The film received positive review among critics and fans. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
called the film "that most delicate of undertakings: a comedy about serious matters. It exists somewhere between parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
, between the tragic and the goofy. There are moments when the movie doesn't seem to know where it's going, but for once that's a good thing because the uncertainty almost always ends with some kind of a delightful, weird surprise ... The underlying tone ... is a deep, abiding comic affection, a love for these characters who survive in the middle of a thicket of Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s and archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
s."
Rita Kempley of the Washington Post described it as "Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters is a 1986 American comedy-drama film which tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begin and end with a family Thanksgiving dinner...
with a southern accent, a lilting gingerbread gothic with Diane Keaton, Sissie Spacek and Jessica Lange ding-a-linging harmoniously as Dixie
Dixie
Dixie is a nickname for the Southern United States.- Origin of the name :According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origins of this nickname remain obscure. According to A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles , by Mitford M...
land belles" and added, "Playwright Beth Henley has no dire message for us, but her adaptation is nicely restructured, glib as all get-out and character-wise ... The powerhouse performances are directed by Bruce Beresford, who maintains balance among the actresses and keeps a lovely tone and smooth pace. As with his critically acclaimed Tender Mercies
Tender Mercies
Tender Mercies is a 1983 American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Horton Foote focuses on Mac Sledge, a recovering alcoholic country music singer who seeks to turn his life around through his relationship with a young widow and her son in rural Texas...
, the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n director again looks at American types with a fresh eye."
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy but lost to Hannah and Her Sisters.Sissy Spacek was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
, and was named Best Actress by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 1986
The 21st Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards, given in 1987, honored the best filmmaking of 1986.-Winners:*Best Picture :**The Mission**Salvador*Best Director**Oliver Stone - Platoon and Salvador*Best Actor...
and the New York Film Critics Circle
New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1986
The 52nd New York Film Critics Circle Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1986. The winners were announced on 15 December 1986 and the awards were given on 25 January 1987.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Bob Hoskins - Mona Lisa*Best Actress:...
.
Tess Harper was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, and Beth Henley was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
.
Gigantic
"Gigantic" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, co-written by bassist Kim DealKim Deal
Kimberley Ann Deal is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the bassist of the alternative rock band the Pixies and the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Breeders. Deal first joined the Pixies in January 1986 as the band's bassist, adopting the stage name Mrs...
and lead vocalist/guitarist Black Francis (Deal is lead vocalist). The song appeared on the band's first studio album, Surfer Rosa, released in 1988. According to Deal, the main inspiration for the song was the film Crimes of the Heart, in which a married woman falls in love with a black teenager. The song's voyeuristic lyrics mostly revolve around a woman's observation of an attractive black man making love to another woman, culminating in the oddly light-hearted but sexual chorus: "Gigantic, gigantic, gigantic / A big, big love".