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Cast

Bryce Dallas Howard
as Fisher Willow

Chris Evans
as Jimmy Dobyne

Ellen Burstyn
as Miss Addie

Mamie Gummer
as Julie

Ann-Margret
as Aunt Cornelia

Will Patton
as Old Man Dobyne

Jessica Collins
as Vinnie

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Critic Reviews for The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

Audience Reviews for The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

• Aug 06, 2011

  An heiress accuses a farmhand, whom she has employed to be her escort, of stealing a diamond earring. This film feels like Tennessee Williams's work from beginning to end, and one can almost draw one-to-one parallels from The Loss of the Teardrop Diamond to Cat on the Hot Tin Roof; both films are about maintaining integrity in a dishonest and disappointing world, but Teardrop is far less subtle, almost banging you on the head with speeches about how one's word is all that one can truly control. These are resonant themes in Williams's work, and the "style." by which I mean the long monologues filled with sharp images and the characters' slow drawl, is also typical Williams. But I can understand why this screenplay was never produced during his lifetime. There are elements that just don't fit, most obviously the Ellen Burstyn character, and when Fisher does what she does with the second medicine bottle, I wondered when she would experience something more than making the scenery look darker. I didn't recognize Bryce Dallas Howard, who gives a fine performance, but Chris Evans is what Chris Evans would be if he routinely talked in a Southern accent. Overall, this is a poor effort, but die-hard fans of Williams will find something to like.
  Jim H Super Reviewer
• Aug 04, 2011

  In "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," Fisher(Bryce Dallas Howard) might on the surface seem to have everything she could ever want in Memphis in 1923. However, she is lacking much respect, ever since her father dynamited a levy, saving his own farm but dooming many others. So, she hits the debutante circuit, asking Jimmy(Chris Evans) to escort her. Since he has a grandfather who was a governor, he has status, even though he is quite poor and runs the commissary for her family and has his hands full also taking care of his alcoholic father(Will Patton). With everything else going on in his life, he manages to find the time and agrees to her request. While Fisher helps him look the part, she borrows a priceless pair of earrings. Admittedly, "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond" does have a couple of things going for it such as a good cast and a fabulous look which helps in its detached view of the upper rungs of the society of this time and place. What it does not have is a compelling story beyond its one act structure, adapted from a screenplay by Tennessee Williams, and is further undone by flat and uninspiring direction. And it is not that Fisher is not likable; it's just that she is not interesting enough to really deserve anybody's hatred. With the exception of Jimmy, the other characters come and go as they please without any impact in this world where life is one long party and nothing else matters.
  Walter M Super Reviewer
• Apr 02, 2011

  This Tennesse Williams period story is strangely delightful and focuses on life in the south in the late 1920s. This is a change of pace and refreshing as a breath of cool evening river wind. The movie is not so much driven by plot as much as it is by a movie stealing, fiery performance from Bryce Dallas Howard. She does a sensational job of acting with her face, which brings me to another effective quality of the movie. It is beautiful, rich and luscious, with every shot dressed up nicely. I see she gained her weight for her character in this film before she already lost her weight for her next supporting role in Twilight: Eclipse.
  Dean M Super Reviewer
• Oct 17, 2010

  Nothing makes me happier than the producing of works from great writers, even after their posthumous. Though The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond does not even begin to compare to classics like A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1955) , the modern display of such an unsung classic really catches the eye and demands at least some respect.
  Christopher H Super Reviewer

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