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Places in the Heart, 1984

Places in the Heart

English

USA

Rating:7.4
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Profile of Places in the Heart

Places in the Heart can be described as uplifting, bittersweet, and captivating. The plot revolves around going against the odds, interracial relations, and hopes. The main genre is drama. In terms of style, Places in the Heart is a melodrama. In approach, it is serious and realistic. The storytelling is slow paced. Places in the Heart is set, at least in part, in a small town. It is located in Texas. It takes place in the 1930s. Places in the Heart has received attention for being an Oscar winner and critically acclaimed. Note that it involves profanity and violent content.

Summary of Places in the Heart

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.

Details

Language: English
Country: USA
Release date: 21 September 1984
Runtime: 111 min
Awards: Academy Awards

Awards

Sally Field for Best Actress at the 1984 Academy Awards
Robert Benton for Best Original Screenplay at the 1984 Academy Awards

Cast and Crew

Sally Field as Edna Spalding in Places in the Heart
Sally Field

as Edna Spalding

John Malkovich as Mr. Will in Places in the Heart
John Malkovich

as Mr. Will

Photos

Places in the Heart (1984)
Places in the Heart (1984)

Users Reviews

Few movies hit you so unabashedly in the heart with a melodramatic wallop as Places in the Heart, yet manage to avoid feeling cheap. A deeply touching slice of the depression era, worthy of all the Oscars it bagged (screenplay, best actress for...
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