"I'm very average", Glenn Close's gracious angel like mother says to dying son Robert Sean Leonard, something that Glenn Close or any of her characters have never been. On the surface, she may seem like your typical upper-crust mother, concerned about propriety and good manners and breeding, and of course loving her children unconditionally, although the unconditionally part is sometimes tested. Her son is dying of AIDS related causes, and he has come home for his final months. The conversations are mainly polite yet distant, that is until he makes a blunt attempt to really get to know her and make her look at herself beyond her own self-image and obviously low self-esteem.
A Glenn Close character with low self-esteem? That makes her above average as far as a character for Glenn to sink her teeth into is concerned, quietly and far from some of those delightfully over-the-top role she's played on the big screen. She's accepted her son's being gay but as he said, she never participated in his life, seemingly not inviting him and a former lover for the holidays. As Leonard forces these uncomfortable topics on her, she must become comfortable in discussing them because they are as much a part of her as they are her son.
It's great to see Glenn working with Whoopi Goldberg as Leonard's nurse. Two of my favorite actresses together, and when Goldberg tells her the truth, the pain that crosses Close's face is real. Goldberg shows why this woman she is playing is a nurse because her compassion is extraordinary, showing Glenn how to touch her comatose son so he feels her presence. David Strathairn as Close's husband (kind to his son but emotionally distant) and Bridget Fonda as their daughter, secretly resentful over the attention that her brother is getting. Her revelation of her feelings is quite eye opening. This is a family based obviously on manners and gracious living but where feelings and closeness don't go beyond a phony hug.
Interesting to see that Fonda blames her mother for turning Leonard gay because of her extra attention towards him, a little bit of internalized homophobia that is aimed more at the mother then the gay sibling. The film follows the seasons in this New England home and is gorgeous, and with each month passing as it gets closer to winter, you see a weakening in Leonard's face that indicates that the end is imminent. That is also expressed in a nightmare close has all the musical "42nd Street" where Leonard, himself a musical comedy veteran, is seen in place of Dick Powell.
This is a sensitive film, well written and extremely well directed by Christopher Reeve (sadly after his accident), but I must say that the film is far too short to really make a fullinmpact. I wouldn't have minded this being even an hour longer because I truly became riveted in the lives of these fascinating characters who situation many people can relate to including myself, having experienced a similar situation in dealing with the death of a loved and sharing it with my own mother while keeping it hidden from the rest of the family. So many stories can be told from these situations, but this film did it brilliantly.
A Glenn Close character with low self-esteem? That makes her above average as far as a character for Glenn to sink her teeth into is concerned, quietly and far from some of those delightfully over-the-top role she's played on the big screen. She's accepted her son's being gay but as he said, she never participated in his life, seemingly not inviting him and a former lover for the holidays. As Leonard forces these uncomfortable topics on her, she must become comfortable in discussing them because they are as much a part of her as they are her son.
It's great to see Glenn working with Whoopi Goldberg as Leonard's nurse. Two of my favorite actresses together, and when Goldberg tells her the truth, the pain that crosses Close's face is real. Goldberg shows why this woman she is playing is a nurse because her compassion is extraordinary, showing Glenn how to touch her comatose son so he feels her presence. David Strathairn as Close's husband (kind to his son but emotionally distant) and Bridget Fonda as their daughter, secretly resentful over the attention that her brother is getting. Her revelation of her feelings is quite eye opening. This is a family based obviously on manners and gracious living but where feelings and closeness don't go beyond a phony hug.
Interesting to see that Fonda blames her mother for turning Leonard gay because of her extra attention towards him, a little bit of internalized homophobia that is aimed more at the mother then the gay sibling. The film follows the seasons in this New England home and is gorgeous, and with each month passing as it gets closer to winter, you see a weakening in Leonard's face that indicates that the end is imminent. That is also expressed in a nightmare close has all the musical "42nd Street" where Leonard, himself a musical comedy veteran, is seen in place of Dick Powell.
This is a sensitive film, well written and extremely well directed by Christopher Reeve (sadly after his accident), but I must say that the film is far too short to really make a fullinmpact. I wouldn't have minded this being even an hour longer because I truly became riveted in the lives of these fascinating characters who situation many people can relate to including myself, having experienced a similar situation in dealing with the death of a loved and sharing it with my own mother while keeping it hidden from the rest of the family. So many stories can be told from these situations, but this film did it brilliantly.