Peter Hedges
6 connections found
View:
Connections, in both directions
I don't know that she'll ever be able to anchor a film on her own--and her turn here reminds me of Marilyn Monroe's performance in The Misfits: it's a pretty good try, but that's all it is.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan
influenced by Pieces of April (2003), Dan in Real Life (2007)
He’s the son of writer-director Peter Hedges, no stranger to sensitively told tales of life among the emotionally crippled (“Pieces of April,” “Dan in Real Life”).
He’s the son of writer-director Peter Hedges, no stranger to sensitively told tales of life among the emotionally crippled (“Pieces of April,” “Dan in Real Life”).
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
influenced by Pieces of April (2003), Dan in Real Life (2007)
Themes
That last one, from Pieces of April perpetrator Peter Hedges, squanders an unusual amount of currency in Steve Carell (at his melancholic zenith), pairing him with Juliette Binoche in a bittersweet romantic imbroglio that absolutely does not deserve the happy horseshit ending slathered on it to apologize for its occasional poignancy.
More south of true but ultimately only just a slightly more grown-up version of Hedges' picture, Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married finds wealth in similar (this time Connecticut) trappings.
If the film has one problem it is that’s the end doesn’t quite feel as deserved as it thinks it does, as if it suffered from that most saddening of independent film symptoms – the ending that ran out of cash (worst of the worst: Pieces of April , which literally ends mid-scene with a polaroid montage).
The marvelous Neeson and Linney are surrounded by a who's who roster of character actor support including Oliver Platt ("Pieces of April") as University dean, Tim Curry ("Scary Movie 2") as the University's staid health teacher, Veronica Cartwright ("Scary Movie 2") as Kinsey's mother and Dylan Baker ("Spider-Man 2") as the Rockefeller Institute's purse-string holder.
The rest of the ensemble is like an explosion of talent, with Samantha Morton (2002's " Minority Report "), Michelle Williams (2008's " Deception "), Catherine Keener (2008's " Hamlet 2 "), Hope Davis (2008's " Charlie Bartlett "), Emily Watson (2002's " Punch-Drunk Love "), Dianne Wiest (2007's " Dan in Real Life "), Jennifer Jason Leigh (2007's " Margot at the Wedding ") and Tom Noonan (2008's " Snow Angels ") all delivering knockout supporting performances that stay with the viewer.