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Places in the Heart (1984)
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Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:17
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.8/10
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Set during the Great Depression in Waxachie, Texas, director Robert Benton's hometown, PLACES IN THE HEART stars Sally Field as Edna Spalding. After her husband is accidentally shot and killed by a... Set during the Great Depression in Waxachie, Texas, director Robert Benton's hometown, PLACES IN THE HEART stars Sally Field as Edna Spalding. After her husband is accidentally shot and killed by a drunk, Edna, the mother of two, has no means of support, and the $240 mortgage on her 40 acres of property is in danger of imminent foreclosure. Frightened at first, the spunky woman vows never to sell the farm and contemplates the possibility of planting a cotton crop to raise the money, the only drawback being she has never planted cotton in her life. But fortune appears in the person of Moze (Danny Glover), an African American migrant laborer who knows all there is to know about growing cotton. In order to make ends meet, Edna also decides to take in the blind Mr. Will (John Malkovich) as a boarder. As she takes over financial affairs previously handled by her husband, the proud woman must weather the amused contempt of the town's businessmen, who fully expect to see her fail. Slowly, the oddly-assorted members of Edna's new ménage begin to form ties, which become a necessity when the local Klan chapter pays Moze a visit. Field heads an exceptional cast with a powerful yet restrained performance (which gave way to a famously unrestrained exhibition on Oscar night, when she accepted the Academy Award for Best Actress by exclaiming to the audience, "You like me!"). Based on an actual incident in Benton's family, the film avoids sentimentality while invoking the religious spirit behind a bonding of the vulnerable who find strength in unity. [More]
Starring: Sally Field, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Ed Harris
Starring: Sally Field, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Lindsay Crouse
Director: Robert Benton
Director: Robert Benton
Screenwriter: Robert Benton
Producer: Arlene Donovan
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Release:
Oct 9, 2001
Reviews for Places in the Heart
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.
Field succeeds in making Edna both fragile and tough-minded, defiant not by character or disposition but by sheer effort of will.
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.
Places definitely feels manipulative and sometimes even shameless, but cheap isn’t a word that applies here.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 40% 40% | Surrogates |
| 83% 83% | Whip It |
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| 81% 81% | Michael Jackson's This… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 87% 87% | A Serious Man |
| 37% 37% | The Time Traveler's Wife |
| 78% 78% | Bronson |
| 11% 11% | The Stepfather |
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