Excellent film dealing with 2 sisters who are living together. Olympia Dukakis is ailing and as a result has literally become afraid of life and is housebound. On the other hand, Jean Stapleton, as Henny, is the live-wire in every sense of the word.
Naturally, given the oddities of life, Henny, who drives a car, and wears two shamrocks coming down her ears, drops dead in the kitchen of an apparent heart attack, one evening.
Henny's sudden death brings added urgency to the problem. What is to become of the Dukakis character?
The film is an excellent one as it deals with trying to cope with those who are ill among us, their fears, tribulations, and their inability to connect to the rest of the world. The problems of nursing homes are well discussed.
While not the fondest of subjects, this film is a tribute to the difficulties and surprises that life has in store for us. Yes, it's always the sick one who seems to go on and on. We're dealing with writing that is so true to life. We're also dealing with educated people confronting the aging process. Dukakis is outstanding in the role. She conveys the fears that ailing, elderly people have. So much is true, especially the beginning of illness brought on a broken hip. We see sibling rivalry where a brother feels that he wasn't loved as much as his sister. Edward Herrmann and Lindsay Wagner, portray teachers caught up in this rivalry. A sad, compelling film, it is one that should definitely be seen.
Naturally, given the oddities of life, Henny, who drives a car, and wears two shamrocks coming down her ears, drops dead in the kitchen of an apparent heart attack, one evening.
Henny's sudden death brings added urgency to the problem. What is to become of the Dukakis character?
The film is an excellent one as it deals with trying to cope with those who are ill among us, their fears, tribulations, and their inability to connect to the rest of the world. The problems of nursing homes are well discussed.
While not the fondest of subjects, this film is a tribute to the difficulties and surprises that life has in store for us. Yes, it's always the sick one who seems to go on and on. We're dealing with writing that is so true to life. We're also dealing with educated people confronting the aging process. Dukakis is outstanding in the role. She conveys the fears that ailing, elderly people have. So much is true, especially the beginning of illness brought on a broken hip. We see sibling rivalry where a brother feels that he wasn't loved as much as his sister. Edward Herrmann and Lindsay Wagner, portray teachers caught up in this rivalry. A sad, compelling film, it is one that should definitely be seen.