Marvin's Room (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Meryl Streep & Diane Keaton star in 'Marvin's Room', a dysfunctional family heart-tugger based on a play & directed by Jerry Zaks. Forty-something year old spinster Bessie (Keaton) has spent some 20 yrs. in sunny Florida taking care of her bed-ridden, stroke-afflicted father, Marvin (Hume Cronyn), & her dotty, absent-minded, Aunt Ruth (Gwen Verdon). When Dr. Wally (Robert DeNiro) informs a devastated Bessie that she is diagnosed with leukemia, he also concludes that her best chance for survival is to find a relative whose bone marrow matches her own for a transplant. To this, she summons the courage to call her estranged sister, Lee (Streep), who lives in Ohio – they haven't seen each other in 20 years.
Lee is a free-spirited, but combustible single mom with an 11 yr. old bookworm, Charlie (Hal Scardino), and troubled teen son, Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has been in a mental institution for having burnt down their house {& half the neighborhood along with it} – he struggles to relate to his self-absorbed mom. Bessie is desperate for Lee to care for their elders should anything happen to her, but Lee seems far more interested in getting her life back on track with a newly-minted degree in cosmetology. Humor & heavy drama ensues as it becomes clear that 17 yr. old Hank is the best option for the bone marrow. But is he willing to do this for his aunt, and can Bessie & Lee mend their fractured relationship before it is too late?
Despite flaws in tone & the script {making it feel like a really good disease-of-the-week TV movie}, I really liked 'Marvin's Room'. Director Jerry Zaks bring out some necessary comic verve in this zany story about aging parents, death, reconciliation, & the power of selfless love. And what begins as a seemingly simple tale of sibling prickliness morphs into a complex web of guilt, pain, & ultimately family bonds. The key to the sisters' reunion is Bessie's ability to empathetically reach out to her rebellious nephew, Hank. This emotionally-affecting dramedy makes the point that the love we choose to give to others is what can make life worth living and, selfish Lee eventually gets that message in a simply beautiful, gut-wrenching scene in which she shares her new skills as a beautician by transforming Bessie's chemo wig into something stylish for her -- 'Marvin's Room' is brimming with magic moments like this.
So by balancing zany humor & stirring drama, this film succeeds on both fronts; mostly due to the ensemble acting by a large & varied cast. Everyone is great; displaying a wide range of emotional fireworks and, Diane Keaton shines brightest. Keaton is the most empathetic character here and, she shows, once again, that she just doesn't excel at sardonic humor. Perennial film award magnet Meryl Streep received Oscar buzz & early acting accolades for this film, as did Gwen Verdon, Leo DiCaprio and others, but Diane Keaton is the one who received an Academy Award nomination. You just can't go wrong with a movie that has the intangible power to both make you laugh & cry and, well, 'Marvin's Room' is one such movie.
Lee is a free-spirited, but combustible single mom with an 11 yr. old bookworm, Charlie (Hal Scardino), and troubled teen son, Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has been in a mental institution for having burnt down their house {& half the neighborhood along with it} – he struggles to relate to his self-absorbed mom. Bessie is desperate for Lee to care for their elders should anything happen to her, but Lee seems far more interested in getting her life back on track with a newly-minted degree in cosmetology. Humor & heavy drama ensues as it becomes clear that 17 yr. old Hank is the best option for the bone marrow. But is he willing to do this for his aunt, and can Bessie & Lee mend their fractured relationship before it is too late?
Despite flaws in tone & the script {making it feel like a really good disease-of-the-week TV movie}, I really liked 'Marvin's Room'. Director Jerry Zaks bring out some necessary comic verve in this zany story about aging parents, death, reconciliation, & the power of selfless love. And what begins as a seemingly simple tale of sibling prickliness morphs into a complex web of guilt, pain, & ultimately family bonds. The key to the sisters' reunion is Bessie's ability to empathetically reach out to her rebellious nephew, Hank. This emotionally-affecting dramedy makes the point that the love we choose to give to others is what can make life worth living and, selfish Lee eventually gets that message in a simply beautiful, gut-wrenching scene in which she shares her new skills as a beautician by transforming Bessie's chemo wig into something stylish for her -- 'Marvin's Room' is brimming with magic moments like this.
So by balancing zany humor & stirring drama, this film succeeds on both fronts; mostly due to the ensemble acting by a large & varied cast. Everyone is great; displaying a wide range of emotional fireworks and, Diane Keaton shines brightest. Keaton is the most empathetic character here and, she shows, once again, that she just doesn't excel at sardonic humor. Perennial film award magnet Meryl Streep received Oscar buzz & early acting accolades for this film, as did Gwen Verdon, Leo DiCaprio and others, but Diane Keaton is the one who received an Academy Award nomination. You just can't go wrong with a movie that has the intangible power to both make you laugh & cry and, well, 'Marvin's Room' is one such movie.