Places in the Heart (1984)
Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 21
Fresh: 21 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 6,342
My Rating
Movie Info
Of the three "mortgage on the farm" films of 1984 (Country and The River were the other two), Places in the Heart is the only one set during the Depression. After her husband is killed, Sally Field is forced to take over the debt-ridden Texas family farm herself. Though slightly embittered by the fact that a black man was responsible for her husband's death, Field accepts the help of another African-American, Danny Glover. She is also given aid and comfort by her blind boarder, John Malkovich.
Sep 21, 1984 Wide
Oct 9, 2001
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Cast
-
Sally Field
Edna Spalding -
Lindsay Crouse
Margaret Lomax -
Ed Harris
Wayne Lomax -
Amy Madigan
Viola Kelsey -
John Malkovich
Mr. Will -
Danny Glover
Moze -
Yankton Hatten
Frank -
Gennie James
Possum -
Lane Smith
Albert Denby -
Ray Baker
Royce Spalding -
Jim Gough
Lone Star Syrup Boy -
Vernon Grote
KKK Man -
Lou Hancock
Dispossessed Lady -
Jerry Haynes
Deputy Jack Driscoll -
Toni Hudson
Ermine -
Terry O'Quinn
Buddy Kelsey -
Jay Patterson
W.E. Simmons -
Bob Porter
Stunt Double -
Matthew Posey
Eugene -
J.C. Quinn
Texas Voice -
Bert Remsen
Tee Tot Hightower -
Robert Schenkkan
Texas Voice -
Bill Thurman
Lone Star Syrup Boy -
De'voreaux White
Wylie -
Trey Wilson
Texas Voice -
Gregg Brazzel
KKK Man -
Ned Dowd
KKK Man -
Randy Fife
KKK Man -
Paul Nuckles
KKK Man -
Shelby Brammer
Ruby -
Sharon Schaffer
Stunt Double -
Norma Young
Beauty Shop Customer
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All Critics (21) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (0) | DVD (3)
Places in the Heart is a loving, reflective homage to his hometown by writer-director Robert Benton.
Top CriticMuch is unemphatic, but all of it carries the moving weight of conviction. And it ends on a healing grace-note which passeth all understanding.
[Benton's] memories provide the material for a wonderful movie, and he has made it, but unfortunately he hasn't stopped at that. He has gone on to include too much.
Out of the memories of his boyhood in Waxahachie, Tex., during the Great Depression, and within the unlikely tradition of the old-fashioned ''mortgage'' melodrama, Robert Benton has made one of the best films in years about growing up American.
Benton effectively re-creates depression-era Texas in this moving tale that landed the second Oscar for Field.
Set in the Depression, Benton's memory film is too sanctimonious and idealistic, showing how economic misery and hard times bring out the best, here in the form of a new community, composed of a white widow and her children, a black hobo and a blind.
A treasure of a film. The performances are beyond great.
moving and inventive
Field succeeds in making Edna both fragile and tough-minded, defiant not by character or disposition but by sheer effort of will.
Brilliant, Oscar-winning period piece
Benton's personal drama is soulful and utterly absorbing. And yes, we really like Sally Field in this defiant role
Emotionally affecting film about struggling through adversity and living with hope in a small Texas town during the 1930s.
quiet drama that settles into the memory like a story Grandma might tell
Audience Reviews for Places in the Heart
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Edna Spalding: Moze.
- Moze: Yes, mam.
- Wayne Lomax: You took a no-account piece of land and a bunch of people that didn't know what they were doing, and you farmed it better than anyone. Colored or white.
Discussion Forum
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Edna Spalding finds herself alone and broke on a small farm in the midst of the Great Depression when her husband the Sheriff is killed in an accident. A wandering black man, Moses, helps her to plant cotten to try and keep her farm and her kids together. She also takes on a blind border, Mr. Will, who lost his sight in the first World War. She must endure storms and harsh labor to try and make her mortage payment on time.
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One of my favorite Sally Field movie's. She gives a great performance along with a great cast. This movie could probly relate to a lot of people who are trying to make it through hard times, while trying to keep their home and family together. I highly recommend this movie to all.