Review
PIECES OF APRIL
Starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson and Derek Luk
Written and directed by Peter Hedges
Opens Friday, November 28
Globe Theatre
It’s Thanksgiving and April (Katie Holmes) has promised to make dinner at her place in the city. With the help of her supportive boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke) she’s ready to show her family that she’s all grown up, but April has two big problems. First, her oven doesn’t work so, with limited time, she has to find a suitable replacement. Second, her family hates her. Maybe hate is a strong term, but let’s just say that on the road trip into the big city, the only happy memory her family could recall involved April sleeping in her crib.
In order to solve the first problem, April knocks on every door in her apartment building, revealing an assortment of eccentric neighbours who appear to have been cut out of Martin Scorsese’s film After Hours. In order to solve the second, the film holds a few surprises. In between is a stupid subplot involving Bobby’s search for formal wear, put in to distract the audience from the fact that, even though it’s full of heart, this movie doesn’t have a lot of depth.
Patricia Clarkson is wonderful as April’s acid-tongued mother who has terminal cancer – a disease that allows her to be really nasty. Her other daughter Beth (Alison Pil) is an over-achieving piece of perfection, while her shutterbug son Timmy (John Gallagher Jr.) just keeps mom happily medicated with a steady supply of dope. Meanwhile patient dad (Oliver Platt) and Alzheimer granny (Alice Drummond) just sit in the car until it’s their turn to speak.
Overall, I really liked this movie. While watching, however, I started to feel slighted by the amount of disdain April’s mother has towards her. I kept thinking "If you hate her so much, why go to her place for dinner?" I guess family bonds are the hardest to break.
I thought the film, in order to redeem itself for mass consumption, would have to resort to a kind of easy resolution that wasn’t right for this story. Instead the film offered some surprises – the script didn’t betray the characters and opt for cheap sentimentality. Instead it stayed the course, making Pieces of April a worthwhile watch. |
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