The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
Encyclopedia
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is a 2009
film
by director Jodie Markell. The film is based on Tennessee Williams
's long-forgotten 1957 screenplay. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard
in the leading role of Fisher Willow.
). Fisher returns home from overseas to find that her father has become a hated man in Memphis as he had intentionally blown up the southern half of his levee earlier that year, resulting in the deaths of two people and enormous property damage for anyone downstream. Fisher is to come out to society
this season, but because of her father's reputation - and her inappropriate/wild behavior - she is unable to find a man willing to be her escort. She asks Jimmy (Chris Evans
) to be her escort for the season.
Jimmy is not her social equal, but she was always taken with him. His father works on Fisher's land though he is a heavy drinker and is at risk of losing his job, and his mother was committed to an insane asylum and no longer recognizes her son. Jimmy agrees to be her escort as she is willing to pay him and he could use the money to help his parents. Fisher arranges for him to be outfitted properly and promises that there are better places for Jimmy's mother.
For the season Fisher borrows $10,000 teardrop diamond earrings from her aunt. Fisher and Jimmy attend the first society party together where she causes a scene when she has the band play controversial music
and dances in "flapper
" fashion. Soon the entire party views her as a joke and laughs at her, insulting her father and the fact that she had to pay a man to be her escort. In response, Jimmy yells at everyone to shut up and helps Fisher to the car.
Because of her behavior at the previous party, the only other social gathering that Fisher is invited to is a Halloween party in northern Memphis where no one knows of her father's previous actions. As he waits for Fisher to pick him up for the next party, Jimmy mentions to his father that Fisher seemed to be sending him the message that she wanted to become more intimate. Jimmy suggests that if he were to agree to be more than her escort, then it would certainly lead to marriage which meant a permanent job for his father and better care for his mother.
On the way to the Halloween gathering, Fisher asks Jimmy to stop up at the levee so she can look at the water. She rests her head on his shoulder before moving to kiss him. Jimmy, in spite of what he said to his father earlier, pulls back instead, causing Fisher to be hurt and embarrassed. When they arrive at the party, Fisher is so angry with Jimmy that she gets out of the car before it fully stops. When she straightens out her clothes she realizes that one of her teardrop earrings has fallen off. Becoming frantic and somewhat hysterical - especially when Jimmy recognizes a girl outside, Vinnie, an old romantic interest of his - Fisher believes that the earring fell off when she walked away from the car and begins searching the ground for it. When she is unsuccessful she remembers that she had rested her head on Jimmy's shoulder earlier and asks him to check his pockets to see if the earring was there. Jimmy misunderstands and thinks that Fisher is accusing him of stealing the jewelry. He becomes furious, as his father was fired from a job once for stealing, and demands that she search his jacket. Fisher, confused as to why he is so angry, refuses causing Jimmy to go into the party and demand that he be searched down to the skin in order to clear his good name.
Fisher, needing to get away from all the commotion, goes upstairs where she meets Aunt Addie who is bedridden and unable to move her limbs due to a series of severe strokes. Addie says that she senses a kindred spirit in her, the same character that will not bend to the rules of society, and tells Fisher of a drug she used to use - Opium - before she was sick. She points to a bottle on the shelf and says it contains the last of her stash. She asks Fisher to give her all of the pills (since she is unable to move herself) so she can die and stop the pain. Fisher agrees but before she can go through with it she is interrupted by Vinnie telling her that Jimmy was searched and the earring was not on him. Fisher puts the bottle back on the counter and places her remaining earring next to it, promising Addie that she would be back to get her earring and would give her the rest of the opiates then.
Fisher goes back downstairs to find everyone suspects her of "losing" her diamond on purpose so that she could blame Jimmy and not have to pay him for being her escort. Jimmy is still angry at Fisher for her accusation of theft and leaves her alone to go be with Vinnie. Soon, the people begin to play Post Office, a kissing game. Jules, the hostess and friend of Fisher, gives her the highest card so that she can call Jimmy away from the other girl and kiss him herself. Fisher, growing increasingly distant, hides in the bathroom. She finds a bottle of Addie's "medicine" which contains a small amount of Opium and drains it. Drifting through the party in a dreamy haze she reveals to everyone that, while overseas, she was actually at a mental institution. Still in a daze, Fisher misses when Jules asks who has the highest card and so Jimmy, who had the next highest, calls Vinnie to go out on the porch with him instead of Fisher. When she realizes that he chose Vinnie over herself, Fisher goes to the piano and plays a beautiful song, crying the whole time.
In the meantime, Jimmy and Vinnie have sex in a car outside. Vinnie tells Jimmy that she had an offer of marriage from a respectable man, but turned him down because she wasn't attracted to him like she was to Jimmy. Claiming that she didn't want any secrets between them, she brings him over to the back garden and digs in the ground to unearth the missing teardrop diamond. She had seen it on the ground while Fisher searched for it and had taken it herself. Vinnie says she knows where the other one is (she saw Fisher put it next to the bottle on the shelf upstairs) and that she and Jimmy could run away with the jewelry and start a life together. Jimmy refuses, telling her that just because they are poor, it doesn't mean they are without honor, and she should return the earring to Fisher. Vinnie, angry, runs away with the earring.
Jimmy goes to look for Fisher and finds her in the car. She says she wants to go home, but Jimmy won't let her leave (he wants to find Vinnie and get the earring back). Jimmy pulls Fisher out of the car and there is a brief moment where they are close and Fisher looks longingly at him, before they are interrupted by Vinnie. She came back to return the earring to Fisher. Jimmy yells that they can leave now that she has her damn earring back, but before they go Fisher remembers her promise to Addie and runs back inside. After she leaves Jimmy thanks Vinnie for doing the right thing. Vinnie says that they will probably never see each other again as her only option now is to go marry the gentleman who made her an offer earlier. They embrace, and Jimmy returns to the car to wait for Fisher. Fisher retrieves her other teardrop diamond and fulfills her promise to Addie, giving her the entire contents of the bottle and bidding her farewell. Addie tells her to go with God. Fisher replies that she is: she's leaving with Jimmy.
On the way home Fisher asks Jimmy to stop at the same levee they went to before the party so she can see the moon on the water. They stand on the levee together and Fisher tells him that she intends to fix her father's mistake and that she can't run away anymore. She makes an offer to Jimmy: that his mother will be taken care of, his father will always have a job, and while she knows that no one could ever love her, he could get used to her. She reaches up to touch his face, but he pulls away again. Heartbroken, Fisher turns to walk away, only to find that Jimmy had grabbed her hand - a silent agreement to her proposal. She turns back to him and once again rests her head on his shoulder.
was going to play the lead role, but in March 2007, Bryce Dallas Howard
was under negotiations for Lohan's role and went on to be cast. Shooting for the film began on August 13, 2007 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
.
reports that 26% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 38 reviews, with an average score of 4.4/10. Metacritic
, however, gave it an overall 51 out of 100 rating.
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
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...
by director Jodie Markell. The film is based on Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
's long-forgotten 1957 screenplay. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard is an American film actress and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 movie Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years...
in the leading role of Fisher Willow.
Plot
The film tells the story of heiress Fisher Willow (Bryce Dallas HowardBryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard is an American film actress and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 movie Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years...
). Fisher returns home from overseas to find that her father has become a hated man in Memphis as he had intentionally blown up the southern half of his levee earlier that year, resulting in the deaths of two people and enormous property damage for anyone downstream. Fisher is to come out to society
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
this season, but because of her father's reputation - and her inappropriate/wild behavior - she is unable to find a man willing to be her escort. She asks Jimmy (Chris Evans
Chris Evans (actor)
Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
) to be her escort for the season.
Jimmy is not her social equal, but she was always taken with him. His father works on Fisher's land though he is a heavy drinker and is at risk of losing his job, and his mother was committed to an insane asylum and no longer recognizes her son. Jimmy agrees to be her escort as she is willing to pay him and he could use the money to help his parents. Fisher arranges for him to be outfitted properly and promises that there are better places for Jimmy's mother.
For the season Fisher borrows $10,000 teardrop diamond earrings from her aunt. Fisher and Jimmy attend the first society party together where she causes a scene when she has the band play controversial music
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and dances in "flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
" fashion. Soon the entire party views her as a joke and laughs at her, insulting her father and the fact that she had to pay a man to be her escort. In response, Jimmy yells at everyone to shut up and helps Fisher to the car.
Because of her behavior at the previous party, the only other social gathering that Fisher is invited to is a Halloween party in northern Memphis where no one knows of her father's previous actions. As he waits for Fisher to pick him up for the next party, Jimmy mentions to his father that Fisher seemed to be sending him the message that she wanted to become more intimate. Jimmy suggests that if he were to agree to be more than her escort, then it would certainly lead to marriage which meant a permanent job for his father and better care for his mother.
On the way to the Halloween gathering, Fisher asks Jimmy to stop up at the levee so she can look at the water. She rests her head on his shoulder before moving to kiss him. Jimmy, in spite of what he said to his father earlier, pulls back instead, causing Fisher to be hurt and embarrassed. When they arrive at the party, Fisher is so angry with Jimmy that she gets out of the car before it fully stops. When she straightens out her clothes she realizes that one of her teardrop earrings has fallen off. Becoming frantic and somewhat hysterical - especially when Jimmy recognizes a girl outside, Vinnie, an old romantic interest of his - Fisher believes that the earring fell off when she walked away from the car and begins searching the ground for it. When she is unsuccessful she remembers that she had rested her head on Jimmy's shoulder earlier and asks him to check his pockets to see if the earring was there. Jimmy misunderstands and thinks that Fisher is accusing him of stealing the jewelry. He becomes furious, as his father was fired from a job once for stealing, and demands that she search his jacket. Fisher, confused as to why he is so angry, refuses causing Jimmy to go into the party and demand that he be searched down to the skin in order to clear his good name.
Fisher, needing to get away from all the commotion, goes upstairs where she meets Aunt Addie who is bedridden and unable to move her limbs due to a series of severe strokes. Addie says that she senses a kindred spirit in her, the same character that will not bend to the rules of society, and tells Fisher of a drug she used to use - Opium - before she was sick. She points to a bottle on the shelf and says it contains the last of her stash. She asks Fisher to give her all of the pills (since she is unable to move herself) so she can die and stop the pain. Fisher agrees but before she can go through with it she is interrupted by Vinnie telling her that Jimmy was searched and the earring was not on him. Fisher puts the bottle back on the counter and places her remaining earring next to it, promising Addie that she would be back to get her earring and would give her the rest of the opiates then.
Fisher goes back downstairs to find everyone suspects her of "losing" her diamond on purpose so that she could blame Jimmy and not have to pay him for being her escort. Jimmy is still angry at Fisher for her accusation of theft and leaves her alone to go be with Vinnie. Soon, the people begin to play Post Office, a kissing game. Jules, the hostess and friend of Fisher, gives her the highest card so that she can call Jimmy away from the other girl and kiss him herself. Fisher, growing increasingly distant, hides in the bathroom. She finds a bottle of Addie's "medicine" which contains a small amount of Opium and drains it. Drifting through the party in a dreamy haze she reveals to everyone that, while overseas, she was actually at a mental institution. Still in a daze, Fisher misses when Jules asks who has the highest card and so Jimmy, who had the next highest, calls Vinnie to go out on the porch with him instead of Fisher. When she realizes that he chose Vinnie over herself, Fisher goes to the piano and plays a beautiful song, crying the whole time.
In the meantime, Jimmy and Vinnie have sex in a car outside. Vinnie tells Jimmy that she had an offer of marriage from a respectable man, but turned him down because she wasn't attracted to him like she was to Jimmy. Claiming that she didn't want any secrets between them, she brings him over to the back garden and digs in the ground to unearth the missing teardrop diamond. She had seen it on the ground while Fisher searched for it and had taken it herself. Vinnie says she knows where the other one is (she saw Fisher put it next to the bottle on the shelf upstairs) and that she and Jimmy could run away with the jewelry and start a life together. Jimmy refuses, telling her that just because they are poor, it doesn't mean they are without honor, and she should return the earring to Fisher. Vinnie, angry, runs away with the earring.
Jimmy goes to look for Fisher and finds her in the car. She says she wants to go home, but Jimmy won't let her leave (he wants to find Vinnie and get the earring back). Jimmy pulls Fisher out of the car and there is a brief moment where they are close and Fisher looks longingly at him, before they are interrupted by Vinnie. She came back to return the earring to Fisher. Jimmy yells that they can leave now that she has her damn earring back, but before they go Fisher remembers her promise to Addie and runs back inside. After she leaves Jimmy thanks Vinnie for doing the right thing. Vinnie says that they will probably never see each other again as her only option now is to go marry the gentleman who made her an offer earlier. They embrace, and Jimmy returns to the car to wait for Fisher. Fisher retrieves her other teardrop diamond and fulfills her promise to Addie, giving her the entire contents of the bottle and bidding her farewell. Addie tells her to go with God. Fisher replies that she is: she's leaving with Jimmy.
On the way home Fisher asks Jimmy to stop at the same levee they went to before the party so she can see the moon on the water. They stand on the levee together and Fisher tells him that she intends to fix her father's mistake and that she can't run away anymore. She makes an offer to Jimmy: that his mother will be taken care of, his father will always have a job, and while she knows that no one could ever love her, he could get used to her. She reaches up to touch his face, but he pulls away again. Heartbroken, Fisher turns to walk away, only to find that Jimmy had grabbed her hand - a silent agreement to her proposal. She turns back to him and once again rests her head on his shoulder.
Production
In November 2006, it was announced that Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
was going to play the lead role, but in March 2007, Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard is an American film actress and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 movie Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years...
was under negotiations for Lohan's role and went on to be cast. Shooting for the film began on August 13, 2007 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
.
Cast
- Bryce Dallas HowardBryce Dallas HowardBryce Dallas Howard is an American film actress and daughter of director Ron Howard. She made her acting debut in her father's 1989 movie Parenthood and went on to have small roles in films and make stage appearances for the next several years...
as Fisher Willow - Chris EvansChris Evans (actor)Christopher Robert "Chris" Evans is an American actor. He played Cary Baston on the television series Opposite Sex, and transitioned to a film career, starring in several hits, including Not Another Teen Movie , Fierce People , Fantastic Four, sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , and...
as Jimmy Dobyne - Ellen BurstynEllen BurstynEllen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
as Miss Addie - Ann-MargretAnn-MargretAnn-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
as Aunt Cornelia - Mamie GummerMamie GummerMary Willa "Mamie" Gummer is an American actress, and the daughter of actress Meryl Streep.-Early life:Mamie Gummer was born to actress Meryl Streep, and sculptor Don Gummer...
as Julie - Will PattonWill PattonWilliam Rankin "Will" Patton is an American actor.-Life and career:Patton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest of three children. His father is Bill Patton, a playwright and acting/directing instructor who was a Lutheran minister and served as a chaplain at Duke University...
as Old Man Dobyne - Jessica Collins as Vinnie
Reception
The film has received generally negative reviews. Review aggregate Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 26% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 38 reviews, with an average score of 4.4/10. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, however, gave it an overall 51 out of 100 rating.