places in the heart

Sally Field makes a habit of playing underestimated characters. From Norma Rae to Steel Magnolias, even her part as the runaway bride in Smokey and the Bandit rose above a typical love-interest to become a full-on partner in crime. But no role gave her more to work with than Edna Spalding from Places in the Heart, writer/director Robert Benton’s autobiographical story of a central Texas family destroyed by tragedy and rebuilt by sheer force of will.

Set during the Depression, the film introduces Edna as a woman who defers most responsibilities to her husband, the local sheriff. But his accidental death at the hands of a young black boy puts her in the precarious position of disciplining the kids, repairing the home and - most importantly - paying the bills all on her own. With the large sum due at the bank in a few short months, Edna takes a chance on partnering with Moze (Danny Glover), a wandering thief who claims they can grow cotton quick enough to pay back the loan. The addition of a blind, disgruntled boarder (John Malkovich) is the final piece of this unexpected family unit.

One of several films released in 1984 with America’s heartland used as the main stage (pop culture’s flirtation with farmers’ plight would peak with Farm Aid a year later), Places in the Heart is by far the most honestly elegiac. Benton’s story, which also includes a concurrent subplot involving Edna’s sister (Lindsay Crouse) whose husband (Ed Harris) is having an affair, never hits a false note. His portrait of this community and its people – good and bad – never stoops to simply glorifying their sacrifice. Instead, it’s the exhausting perseverance to simply keep one’s heads above water.

With a dream cast that also includes Terry O’Quinn (Lost) and Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams) supporting Sally Field in her Oscar winning performance (this was the one that led to the famous “You like me!” speech), Places in the Heart humbly flips through a year of American history with more effectiveness than any lecture or textbook. Benton invests just as much tension in negotiating the price of cotton as he does the action-packed tornado sequence. It’s a movie that feels lived-in, experienced and most of all, true. And it comes to a close with a powerful vision of what the American family should be when the final harvest is done.

Twilight Time’s 3000-copy limited edition Blu-ray boasts a wonderful transfer of cinematographer Nestor Almendros’ (Days of Heaven) still-life imagery and adds an isolated score track, trailer and, best of all, audio commentary from Sally Field and film historian Nick Redman.