Pieces
of April. United
Artists presents a film written and directed by Peter
Hedges. Running
time: 81 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for language, sensuality,
drug content and images of nudity). Starring
Katie
Holmes, Derek Luke, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, John
Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Alice Drummond, Sean Hayes. |
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Pieces
of April
Pieces
of April
is such a charming, likeable movie that I hate giving it even
this low of a score. Filmed on a miniscule budget, Pieces
of April just isn't long enough to do justice to its wonderful
plot. First-time director Peter Hedges obviously knows how
to tell a story (he wrote the novel What's Eating Gilbert
Grape along with its film adaptation and
About a Boy), so I can only assume he just ran out
of cash.
Katie
Holmes is April, the self-described "first pancake"
of her family (the one you're supposed to throw out). As soon
as the chance presented itself, she moved away from home into
a dismal apartment. Now its Thanksgiving, and, after some
prodding by her new boyfriend, Bobby (Derek Luke), April decides
to have her family over for dinner. But then Murphy's Law
strikes, leaving April scrambling for an oven to use.
Pieces
of April
is, at heart, a somewhat unconventional road picture. The
main story is the most unusual, with April running through
her apartment looking for help. She runs into a kind black
family who gives her their oven until they need it, a vegan
who can't stand the smell of burning flesh, an eccentric man
with a strange affection for his dog (Sean Hayes), and a helpful
Chinese family that doesn't speak English. The parallel road
trip, that of April's family - her mother, Joy (Patricia Clarkson);
her father, Jim (Oliver Platt); her brother, Timmy (John Gallagher
Jr.); her sister, Beth (Alison Pill); and her senile grandma,
Dottie (Alice Drummond) - travelling to April's house, is
more conventional.
And
then there's the third trip - Bobby's. He leaves the apartment
looking for a suit to wear to April's dinner party, but runs
into some trouble in the form of one "Tyrone." The
problem with this story is that, although not uninteresting,
it seems to serve no purpose other than to get Bobby out of
the main storyline. It also goes nowhere, ending pretty much
exactly where it started. I see the need to get Bobby out
of the way, but I can't help but think that maybe he could
have served more of a purpose.
But
I still kind of love Pieces of April. There is some
great dark humor in the family relationship, especially from
Clarkson, who gives a joyously cynical performance. Still,
the heart of the story lies with Holmes's April. As she begins
searching around, you think it's just an unconventional holiday
movie, but it quickly becomes apparent that it is much more
than that. Quickly, themes of togetherness form, and the characters,
even the eccentric ones, gain shape. Except for the Bobby
story, the first hour or so of Pieces of April are
nearly perfect.
And
then Hedges ran out of time or money, I think, and was forced
to end the movie before he wanted to. A series of snapshots
seem to take the place of a scene that he couldn't film. It
doesn't really hurt the movie all that much, but it does sort
of cheapen the experience.
Katie
Holmes is quickly gaining a name for herself as a talented
young actress, and her work in Pieces of April only
serves to reinforce that. It is a highly effective performance,
allowing us into the mind of this woman. It also doesn't hurt
that Holmes is really pretty, either. Derek Luke, fresh off
of his acclaimed work in Antoine Fisher, isn't given
a lot to do, but he exudes charisma.
Still,
even considering it's few problems, Pieces of April
is one of the best Thanksgiving movies ever made. No, scratch
that - there aren't enough Thanksgiving movies for that to
be praise enough; it's one of the best movies about family
togetherness ever made. Because, when it's all said and done,
the problems may hurt the cinema a little, they can't damage
the film's message or heart. And that makes all the difference.
©
2003 Matt Noller
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