Pieces Of April Review
by Rose 'Bams' Cooper (bams AT 3blackchicks DOT com)November 11th, 2003
'3BlackChicks Review...'
PIECES OF APRIL (2003)
Rated PG-13; running time 80 minutes
Studio: United Artists
Genre: Dramedy
Seen at: Eastwood Neighborhood Cinema Group (Lansing, Michigan) Official site: http://www.piecesofaprilmovie.com/
IMDB site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311648/combined Writer: Peter Hedges
Director: Peter Hedges
Cast: Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, Oliver Platt, Alison Pill, John Gallagher Jr., Alice Drummond, Lillias White, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Sisqo, Sean Hayes
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
Review URL:
http://www.3blackchicks.com/2003reviews/bamsapril.html
It's rare that I consider the title of a movie for more than a fleeting moment; after all, many filmmakers, especially those specializing in Art Fillums, seem to delight themselves in giving their films as opaque a title as possible. But this movie's title intrigued me. Were the "pieces" being referred to, April falling to pieces while trying to deal with the impending arrival of her family? Were those pieces, instead, the fractured memories her family had of any good times with April? Or were they simply the small bits of April - and her (extended) family - that writer/director Peter Hedges gave us in those 80 grainy digital minutes?
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
April Burns (Katie Holmes) is anxious about having invited her family to have Thanksgiving dinner with her and boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke) at their ghettofied apartment in New York. With good reason: the rebellious April has been estranged from her mother Joy (Patricia Clarkson), father Jim (Oliver Platt), for...well, forever. April's Issues only intensify when, faced with the daunting enough task of trying to cook a beast of a turkey for her family, her oven dies, and she has to ask her apartment neighbors to let her use their oven. On Thanksgiving day.
But April isn't the only one with Family Issues; no, Joy, Jim, "perfect" sister Beth (Alison Pill), and emotionally-distant brother Timmy (John Gallagher Jr) have more than their fair share of bitterness about April, and in a sense, each other. They're also in a state of flux about Joy's constant illness...and about how she chooses to deal with it. And they have all day to deal with these things, as they ride to the city in one small station wagon, forgetful Grandma Dottie (Alice Drummond) in tow.
THE UPSHOT
However you choose to interpret the title, the overall film came across as clear as a bell to me. The grainy look of the digital images, worked in Hedges' favor. I am cynical enough to believe that if PIECES OF APRIL had the polished look of mainstream film, its overall impact would've been lessened. Instead of coming across as pretentious and vapidly arty (c.f. IN THE CUT), APRIL allowed the viewer to focus in on the rapidly disintegrating Burns family.
For some reason, I've tended to confuse Katie Holmes with Kate Hudson in my head. No more; here, Holmes leaves any memories of the plastic Hudson, in the dust. Holmes' performance as April isn't the best of this movie (I'll get to that in a minute), but she certainly gives the exasperated outcast April a real-life flavor that surprised me. The same goes for Alison Pill as younger sister Beth; as the middle child of nine, I've seen siblings like Beth. Lord knows I hope I haven't *been* Beth.
The balance of the cast - including Oliver Platt as the exasperated, exhausted father and husband, Derek Luke as April's loyal boyfriend, John Gallagher Jr as the brother whose loyalties are torn between supporting April as well as his mother, and Lillias White and Isiah Whitlock Jr. as two of April's sympathetic, funny neighbors - provide strong support that keep this movie moving in somewhat unexpected, but interesting, directions. Even Sisqo (yes, the "thong th-thong-thong" Sisqo) has himself a good Moment or two as Bobby's friend, Latrell.
But the real treasure of APRIL was Patricia Clarkston as the ill, angry, fatalistic mother. Her character was named exactly right. "Joy" may not have been an easy character to take - we're so used to seeing characters in her situation be portrayed as Courageous and Sympathetic, Loving Life To Its Fullest - but Clarkston was a joy to behold in PIECES OF APRIL. I'm pulling for an Oscar nomination for Clarkston, for her strong work here. Let's just hope MPAA head honcho Jack Valente can get his head out of his ass long enough to allow smaller films like APRIL to be seen by a wider audience.
While the quickly wrapped-up ending may lead some to cry foul, I heard myself exclaim "good job" aloud [though quietly; no talking in the theater, kids]. Can't ask for much more than that, eh?
THE "ETHNIC FACTOR" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith] After I wrote the main text in my review, I read a couple reviews of PIECES OF APRIL that dissed this film for its "unrealistic" treatment of New York City. Not surprisingly, I think they're just plain wrong.
As a frequent visitor of The Big Apple, as well as an observer of its portrayal in mass media, I can say with all the confidence of an outsider looking in, that most TV shows, and many movies, get NYC dead wrong. The New York that I know and love is a big, dirty, sometimes stinky place, with people who would as quickly cuss you out as would say "hi" to you. It's popular in these post-"9/11" times, to show New York as being this cuddly place where We All Can Get Along [I know, that's L.A. Work with me here].
But the real New York can't be ignored in all its multiethnic glory; and though there are some there who *would* just as soon cuss you out as would say "hi" to you, my experience also informs me that there are some genuinely caring folks who inhabit that crazy island. And yes, many of them look just like the Black, and White, and Asian, and [insert race/color/creed here] folks who make up the people in April's neighborhood.
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
I left PIECES OF APRIL feeling as satisfied as if I had just had a good feast, and ready to go deal with my own dysfunctional family. I don't know about you, but in my book, that's a sure sign that a movie hit its mark.
PIECES OF APRIL rating: greenlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2003
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http://www.3blackchicks.com/
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
