Sissy Spacek Movies
Strawberry blonde, freckle-faced, and willowy, Sissy Spacek was among the most popular female stars of the late '70s and '80s. The Texas born and bred actress originally aspired to become a singer, and, after heading east to New York, got her start singing at coffee houses in Greenwich Village. Billing herself as "Rainbo," Spacek also cut a single, "Johnny, You Went Too Far This Time." On the side, she earned money by recording backup vocals on television commercials.When the acting bug bit, Spacek enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatrical Institute. While she technically made her film debut as an extra in Andy Warhol's Trash (1971), her official debut is listed as Michael Ritchie's Prime Cut (1972). The actress' first crack at stardom came in 1973, when she played a teenage accomplice to ruthless cross-country killer Martin Sheen in Terrence Malick's disturbing Badlands. The role earned her critical acclaim, as did her portrayal of a sweet teen who becomes a violent radical in the made-for-television movie Katherine (1975).
Spacek's true breakthrough came when she played a troubled, shy teenager who discovers that she has telekinetic powers and uses them to get bloody revenge upon her cruel schoolmates and mother in Brian De Palma's chilling adaptation of Stephen King's novel Carrie (1976). Her work in the film earned her a Best Actress nomination, as well as permanent cult status. She once again experimented with emotional instability in Robert Altman's Three Women the following year, and then got to show off her singing abilities playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter in 1980. Her portrayal of Lynn became one of Spacek's best-known roles, and it earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.
In 1981, Spacek starred in Raggedy Man, which was directed by her husband, Jack Fisk. Her career remained in high gear through the mid-'80s with such memorable turns as her Oscar-nominated work in Missing (1982) and The River (1984), but after 1986, when she was again nominated for an Oscar for her work in Crimes of the Heart, Spacek partially withdrew from acting to concentrate on raising kids. Throughout the 1990s, she occasionally returned to the big screen, lending her talents to such features as JFK (1991), The Grass Harp (1996), and Affliction (1998). In 1999, she turned in memorable performances playing Brendan Fraser's mother in Blast From the Past and Richard Farnsworth's speech-impaired daughter in David Lynch's The Straight Story. In 2001 the quietly intense actress shined once again in director Todd Field's critically praised In the Bedroom. Suffering from severe trauma and depression after her son is viciously murdered, Spacek's brooding and sympathetic performance in Bedroom found the actress taking home a Golden Globe for Best Actress and earning an Oscar nod in the same category.
She continued to work steadily in projects such as the drama North Country, the comedy Hot Rod, Four Christmases, and Get Low. In 2010 she joined the cast of the HBO series Big Love, and the next year she had a key role in the Oscar-nominated drama The Help, resulting in one of the biggest commercial hits of her illustrious career. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
'Night. Mother was adapted by Marsha Norman from her own harrowing Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Outwardly normal Sissy Spacek calmly informs her mother Anne Bancroft that she's about to commit suicide. Thus the stage is set for a war of nerves between the determined Spacek and the distraught Bancroft, who uses every emotional and psychological device at her disposal to stave off the inevitable. The film's tension grows not from its plot development--we know from the outset how it's going to end--but from whether or not we're going to learn all the reasons for Spacek's decision. She's an epileptic, an alcoholic, and supremely miserable, but she always holds a little something back, prompting the viewer to lean closer to the screen in hopes of ferreting out more answers. In the original play, the outcome was never predictable; perhaps understandably, there are many who prefer the staged 'Night Mother to the screen version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Anne Bancroft, (more)
Robert Altman's Three Women takes a surreal, improvisational and rather eerie look at the lives of three women in a western desert town. The plot centers around the youngest of the women, Pinky (Sissy Spacek), an eccentric, withdrawn woman trying to begin a new life. She finds work as an attendant at a hot springs spa catering to the elderly and infirm. There she befriends her co-worker Millie (Shelley Duvall), an equally strange but more outgoing woman; the two bond, and are soon sharing an apartment. Pinky becomes increasingly dependent on Millie, eventually adopting aspects of her personality and appearance. This obsessive attachment is threatened when Pinky discovers Millie with a man -- Edgar (Robert Fortier), the macho, faux-cowboy husband of local artist Willie (Janice Rule), the last of the title's three women. Pinky's subsequent, desperate actions precipitate the film's enigmatic conclusion, involving an unexpected series of confrontations and role reversals amongst the three women. This story tends to take a backseat to the elliptical, spooky imagery, particularly the desert landscapes, and the quirky performances -- not surprising, given that the film was reportedly shot without a full screenplay and inspired by Altman's own dreams. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, (more)
- 2004
- R
- Add A Home at the End of the World to Queue Add A Home at the End of the World to top of Queue
Directed by Michael Mayer and based on The Hours author Michael Cunningham's novel of the same name, A Home at the End of the World chronicles the 1980s reunion of childhood best friends Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts). Where they were once best pals -- and teenage lovers -- in the suburbs of Cleveland, Bobby has become a charismatic but go-nowhere heterosexual slacker, and Jonathan is now living as an openly gay man in New York City, hoping to serve as father to his eccentric roommate Clare's (Robin Wright Penn) child. When Bobby impulsively moves to the city to be closer to his former friend, their bonds are tested sooner than anyone would have thought. Bobby falls for Clare, and in doing so, effectively eliminates what would have been Jonathan's position in the baby's life. Jonathan temporarily takes off; when his father dies, and he attends the Arizona funeral, Bobby and Clare unexpectedly turn up with the news that she's expecting. Despite the still-existent tensions, the trio becomes a family unit among themselves, ultimately buying a house in Woodstock, Upstate New York, where they all move together, challenging traditional notions of family, commitment, love, and devotion. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, (more)
- 1994
In this touching drama, a kind-hearted pediatric nurse tries to adopt an HIV-positive baby and ends up taking care of its troubled, dying mother as well. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Mary-Louise Parker, (more)
When Sherri Finkbine (Sissy Spacek), the host of the Sixties children's television program Romper Room, learns that her unborn child has been damaged by her use of the drug thalidomide, she and her husband decide to abort the fetus, setting in motion the media controversy that is the subject of Joan Micklin Silver's made-for-cable drama. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Aidan Quinn, (more)
Nick Nolte and James Coburn deliver some of the finest work of their respective careers in this powerful but troubling adaptation of Russell Banks's novel. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is the sheriff in a small New England town; it's a part-time job with few taxing responsibilities, and Wade fills his many free hours by swilling booze, smoking pot, and thinking back on his nightmarish childhood. Wade's father Glen (James Coburn) was by turns callous, distant, and abusive, and Wade has inherited his addiction to alcohol and inability to deal with others. Consequently, Wade's ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) despises him, his daughter is uncomfortable and frightened in his presence, and the only person who can reach him is his loving but long-suffering girlfriend Margie (Sissy Spacek). When a wealthy businessman is killed in a hunting accident, Wade suspects foul play and pursues the case with an obsession that puzzles all around him; meanwhile, Wade's mother dies and his brother Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), the only one in the family to escape Glen's abuse without crippling emotional scars, returns to pay his respects and is caught up once again in the damaged lives of his father and brother. James Coburn) won an Academy award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Affliction, while Nick Nolte was nominated for Best Actor (he lost to Roberto Benigni). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, James Coburn, (more)
The wind whispers ominous warnings of death before a malevolent entity arrives to claim the life of a young girl as director Courtney Solomon brings author Brent Monahan's chilling, fact-based story of supernatural murder to the screen in this tale of terror starring Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. The year is 1818 and the Bell family is a quiet clan residing on a remote farm in Red River, TN. A normal, loving family by all accounts, the uneventful lives of the Bell family begin to take a dark turn when strange noises around the farm are followed by the arrival of a black wolf with piercing yellow eyes said to strike unspeakable fear into the very soul of all who encounter it. As the sadistic spirit singles out the youngest daughter of the Bell family for torment and her frightened parents search frantically for a rational explanation to the chilling events unfolding in their once-happy home, an eerie, disembodied voice promises death from beyond the grave. With the struggle rapidly turning violent and the Bells' desperate prayers for mercy going unanswered time and again, the shocking murder that followed would prove the only case in recorded American history where the death of a human being was directly attributed to an attack by an evil entity or spirit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, (more)
"He wanted to die with me and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms." A young couple goes on a Midwest crime spree in Terrence Malick's hypnotically assured debut feature, based on the 1950s Starkweather-Fugate murders. Fancying himself a rebel like James Dean, twentysomething Kit (Martin Sheen) takes off with teen baton-twirler Holly (Sissy Spacek) after shooting her father (Warren Oates) when he tries to split the pair up. Once bounty hunters discover their riverside hiding place, Kit and Holly head toward Saskatchewan, leaving dead bodies in their wake. As the law closes in, however, Holly gives herself up -- but Kit doesn't hold it against her, as he basks in his new status as a momentary folk hero. Inaugurating the use of voice-over narration that he would continue in Days of Heaven (1978) and The Thin Red Line (1998), Malick juxtaposes Holly's flat readings of her flowery romance-novel diary prose with the banal and surreal details of their journey. Singularly inarticulate with each other, Kit and Holly are more intrigued by mythic celebrity gestures, as Holly peruses her fan magazines and Kit commemorates key moments before orchestrating a properly dramatic capture for himself (complete with the right hat). The sublime visuals lend a dreamlike beauty to the couple's trip even as their actions are treated casually; Malick neither glamorizes Kit and Holly nor consigns them to the bloody end of their fame-fixated predecessors in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). With the couple's opaque dialogue and Holly's fanzine dream narration, Malick further denies an easy explanation for their crimes. Made for under 500,000 dollars, Badlands debuted at the 1973 New York Film Festival, along with Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, and was released within months of two other outlaw-couple road movies, Steven Spielberg's The Sugarland Express and Robert Altman's Thieves Like Us. Although Badlands did not make an impression at the box office, its pictorial splendor and cool yet disquieting narrative established Malick as one of the most compelling artists to come out of early-'70s Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, (more)
- 1996
- R
In this well-wrought, moving drama from Hallmark Productions, a wife and mother puts her home life on the line when she launches a campaign to keep her ex-boyfriend, a convicted killer, off death row. Pam O'Brien (Sissy Spacek) loved Russell Gates (David Strathairn) in high school, but afterwards, he went to Vietnam and she carried on with her life, marrying Keith (Arliss Howard) and starting a family. When she learns that Russell is about to be executed for murdering a cop and that he is not appealing his case, she visits him in prison. There she is shocked to find a man destroyed by his wartime experiences. She continues her visits and slowly finds herself contending with long unresolved feelings for Russell. Her increased attentions to the jailed man only adds greater tremors to an already shakey relationship with Keith, and for a while Pam is in danger of losing everyone important to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, David Strathairn, (more)
In 1962, Calvin Webber (Christopher Walken) was a brilliant but somewhat paranoid scientist living with his Donna Reed-esque wife, Helen (Sissy Spacek), in Los Angeles. In the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a plane crashed into the Webber's yard. Mistaking the blast for "the big one," the Webbers moved into their elaborate bomb shelter to wait out the half-life of radioactive fallout. In the shelter, now a sort of time capsule, Calvin and Helen conceived and raised their son Adam (played as an adult by Brendan Fraser). For 35 years, Adam was raised on Jackie Gleason, Perry Como, and stories about life on the surface. Calvin taught his son about science, baseball, and communists while Mom taught Adam about dancing, good manners, and charming young ladies. Just in time, too, as Adam is sent to the surface to gather supplies and find a wife, preferably a nice, non-mutant girl from Pasadena with which to repopulate the world. Once this "fish out of water" story is set up, the fish, Adam, is set adrift in a sea of supermarkets and adult bookstores, but is soon caught by Eve Rustikov (Alicia Silverstone). Completely lost above ground, Adam enlists Eve's help to navigate his new world and find the supplies on his list. The literally sheltered Adam falls for this bitter, cynical, street-smart woman who grew up in a bleak Los Angeles with little use for love. Living with her gay roommate, Troy (Dave Foley), Eve has had her hopes chipped away by a long line of dead-end jobs and loser boyfriends. When the throwback Adam enters her life with his sunny disposition, seersucker jacket, and joy at seeing the sky, she can't help but fall in love. ~ Ron Wells, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, (more)
This classic horror movie based on Stephen King's first novel stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy, diffident teenager who is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Many films had featured school bullies, but Carrie was one of the first to focus on the special brand of cruelty unique to teenage girls. Carrie's world is presented as a snake pit, where the well-to-do female students all have fangs -- even the reticent Sue Snell (Amy Irving) -- and all the males are blind pawns, sexually twisted around the fingers of Chris and her evil cronies. The talented supporting cast includes John Travolta, P.J. Soles, and William Katt. One of the genre's true classics, the film was followed by a sequel in 1999, as well as by a famously unsuccessful Broadway musical adaptation that starred Betty Buckley, the movie's gym teacher, as Margaret White. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, (more)
Loretta Lynn was one of the first female superstars in country music and remains a defining presence within the genre; with her strong, clear, hard-country voice and tough, no-nonsense songs about husbands who cheat and wives who weren't about to be pushed around, Lynn introduced a feminist mindset to Nashville years before the phrase "women's liberation" became common currency. Coal Miner's Daughter is a screen adaptation of Lynn's autobiography, starring Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn. One of eight children born to Ted Webb (Levon Helm), a coal miner raising a family despite grinding poverty in Butcher's Holler, KY, Loretta married Dolittle "Mooney" Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones) when she was only 13 years old. A mother of four by the time she was 20, Lynn began singing the occasional song at local honky-tonks on weekends, and at 25, she cut (at Mooney's suggestion) a demo tape that earned her a deal with an independent record label. Loretta and Mooney's tireless promotion of the record (including a long road trip through the south in which they stopped at every country radio station they could find) paid off -- Loretta's first single, "Honky Tonk Girl," hit the charts and earned her a spot on the Grand Ole Opry. Stardom called and Loretta never looked back, but success brought with it both joy (a long string of hit records and sold-out concerts and a close friendship with Patsy Cline) and sorrow (a nervous breakdown brought on by overwork and a great deal of stress to a marriage that endured -- but just barely). Sissy Spacek won an Academy award for her vivid, thoroughly natural performance as Loretta (she also did her own singing), and Levon Helm (drummer for the legendary rock group the Band) made an impressive screen debut as her father. Ernest Tubb makes a cameo appearance as himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Beth Henley (who also penned the screenplay), Crimes of the Heart stars three high-powered actresses as three high-strung sisters. Lenny (Diane Keaton), Meg (Jessica Lange) and Babe (Sissy Spacek) gather at Lenny's deep-South home for her birthday. Lenny, the oldest, can't seem to sustain a relationship with a man. Meg is an aspiring actress who hasn't progressed beyond commercial voice overs. And Babe is released on bond from jail after shooting her senator husband. Add to this information the fact that the girls' mother killed herself in Lenny's house, and that when Meg offhandedly expresses the wish that grouchy grandfather Hurd Hatfield would slip into a coma, he does, whereupon the sisters, despite every effort to treat the situation with proper sobriety, burst into helpless laughter over her "psychic" powers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, (more)
Allegedly based on a real incident, this crime drama begins in San Francisco with a middle-aged man answering the doorbell. He is alone, as his wife and kids are away for the weekend. There he finds two attractive young women who ask to use his phone. Once they get into the house, they do in fact use the phone, but they also make a running commentary on his house and its furnishings, an action which seems a tad inappropriate. The two slightly odd women seduce him and stay the night. In the morning, their behavior again seems rather bizarre, and his angry attempt to get them to leave the house after they lasciviously smear ketchup and syrup has unfortunate consequences. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sondra Locke, Colleen Camp, (more)
A crafty couple run the Christmas Day gauntlet by racing to visit their divorced parents' four separate households in this Vince Vaughn/Reese Witherspoon comedy that proves the holidays are no time for relaxing. Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) have made something of an art form out of avoiding their families during the holidays, but this year their foolproof plan is about go bust -- big time. Stuck at the city airport after all departing flights are canceled, the couple is embarrassed to see their ruse exposed to the world by an overzealous television reporter. Now, Brad and Kate are left with precious little choice other than to swallow their pride and suffer the rounds. Along the way, they perform in a church nativity play at the behest of Kate's mother's (Mary Steenburgen) pushy pastor Phil (Dwight Yoakam), contend with Brad's gruff father, Howard (Robert Duvall), and bullying brothers, Dallas (Jon Favreau) and Denver (Tim McGraw) -- a pair of trained UFC fighters -- and pay a visit to Brad's spacy, New Age mother, Paula (Sissy Spacek), who recently made waves in the family circle by marrying her son's childhood friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, (more)
Inspired by the true story of Tennessee recluse Felix "Bush" Breazeale, who planned his funeral while he was still alive, director Aaron Schneider's dramatic period thriller stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black. Few folks have spoken with Felix Bush (Duvall) since he disappeared into the Tennessee woods 40 years ago, and the ones who have don't necessarily have the kindest things to say about him. Gruff, confrontational, and ill-tempered, Felix has been the source of many malicious rumors over the years. Some say he's a cold-hearted killer and his penchant for walking into town with a shotgun, a wild beard, and threadbare clothes doesn't exactly give the impression of a man who seeks to make friends. When Felix walks into Frank Quinn's (Murray) funeral parlor and announces his intentions to throw himself a massive party before he passes away, word quickly spreads through town and anticipation starts to run high. Before long the big day has finally arrived, and Felix surprises everyone by revealing exactly why he shunned society to lead a life of solitude in the deep woods. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, (more)
- 1973
- PG
Veteran art director Gordon Wiles occasionally wielded the directorial megaphone in both films and television with mixed results. Ginger in the Morning is an aggressively "small" picture, its success or failure totally reliant on the rapport between its stars. A young Sissy Spacek plays the title character, a gangly teenaged hitchhiker who thumbs a ride from travelling salesman Joe (Monte Markham). He is drawn to her free-spirited outlook on life. She, in turn, is attracted by his conservative, old-fashioned values. Nothing much happens, but the scenery is lovely and the leading players seem to be having a good time. Also appearing in the all-TV supporting cast are Susan Oliver, Mark Miller and Slim Pickens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
"Sibling rivalry" takes on a whole new meaning in this offbeat comedy from first-time writer and director Sue Kramer. Sam (Tom Cavanagh) and his sister, Gray (Heather Graham), are siblings who share a passionate interest in the music and styles of the 1940s, especially movie musicals of the era, and they've earned a powerful reputation on the ballroom-dancing circuit as gifted hoofers with both talent and flair. Sam and Gray cross paths with Charlie (Bridget Moynahan), an attractive woman who shares their enthusiasm for old movies and retro styles, and is a fine dancer to boot. To the surprise of no one, Sam falls head over heels for Charlie, but so does Gray, which comes as a shock to nearly everyone, including Gray, who has never betrayed an attraction to women before. Charlie, however, naïvely fails to acknowledge the depth of Gray's feelings for her as a romantic triangle forms between Charlie and the siblings. Gray Matters also features supporting performances from Sissy Spacek as an analyst, Molly Shannon as one of Gray's co-workers, and Alan Cumming as a taxi driver. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh, (more)
William Petersen's High Horse Films produced this romantic comedy that endeavors to recall the glory days of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Petersen stars as Joey Coalter, a roving adventurer who has been married to his wife Chris (Sissy Spacek) for almost thirteen years but has rarely been home. During that time Chris has become fed up with Joey's cavalier ways. But it comes as a complete shock to Joey when, while talking to a group of cowpokes about Tahitian women somewhere on the prairie, he receives a wedding invitation sent by his daughter Beth (Olivia Burnette) that announces the wedding of Chris to dull business man Walter Humphrey (Brian Kerwin). Beth hopes the surprise wedding invitation will prod Joey to try to get back together with Chris. Chris hopes so too, as Joey drops what he is doing and takes off to stop Chris's pending nuptials. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Petersen, Sissy Spacek, (more)
- 1980
- R
John Byrum wrote and directed this loosely based biographical tale of Beat author Jack Kerouac and Neal and Carolyn Cassady. John Heard stars as Jack Kerouac, and the film chronicles the Beat lifestyle that shaped the literary and social forces brewing and overflowing in Kerouac's imagination, resulting in the publication of Kerouac's seminal novel On the Road. Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek play the Cassadys, enmeshed in a love-hate relationship that forms the backbone of the film. Kerouac drifts in and out of their lives as the Cassadys take up residence in San Francisco. Ray Sharkey is also on hand as the manic Ira, a thinly veiled character based on Alan Ginsberg. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, (more)
The comedy trio known as Lonely Island attempt their first feature-length comedy with Hot Rod. Andy Samberg stars as Rod Kimble, an inept would-be stuntman who believes his dad worked for daredevil Evel Knievel. His stepfather abuses him at every opportunity, but Rod keeps attempting tricks on his moped. After the stepfather becomes very ill, Rod gets the brilliant idea to attempt a stunt more dangerous that Knievel ever considered in order to raise the money to cure him. His master plan being that, after the stepfather improves, Rod will finally get his revenge and beat him in a fight. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, (more)
The compilation film If These Walls Could Talk consists of three short films that each deal with the controversial issue of abortion. Although each of the stories is set in a different decade, the unifying element (aside from the subject matter) is that all three transpire in the same house. The first story stars Demi Moore as the widow of a soldier killer in combat. She becomes pregnant and does not feel it would be morally appropriate to have the baby. Because it is the '50s, she must attempt to secure an illegal abortion. The second story, set in the '70s, stars Sissy Spacek as a mother of a struggling family. Having successfully raised four children on a meager income, Spacek's character must now decide if she should seek an abortion after finding out she is expecting a fifth. The final story takes place in the '90s. Anne Heche portrays a grad student who crosses protestors' picket lines in order to consult a doctor (Cher) about having an abortion. The first two parts, "1952" and "1974," were directed by Nancy Savoca, and the last part, "1996," was helmed by Cher, in her directorial debut. If These Walls Could Talk aired originally on HBO. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Character actor and noted photographer Todd Field made his directorial debut with this emotionally powerful drama, which earned enthusiastic reviews at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl) is a handsome and amiable young man who has recently graduated from high school and is spending the summer working as a lobster fisherman before heading off to college in the fall. Frank is also involved with Natalie (Marisa Tomei), an attractive woman ten years his senior who is separated from her husband Richard (William Mapother), though their divorce has not yet been finalized. Frank's parents, Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth (Sissy Spacek) wonder if it's wise for their son to be pursuing a romance that he won't be able to continue in a few months; Matt trusts Frank and leaves him to make his own decisions, while Ruth quietly but firmly registers her objections. One day, Richard snaps, and breaks into Natalie's home; when he discovers Frank is there, he viciously kills him. The wheels of justice turn in an unexpected direction, and Richard is released on bail, free to go his own way as he awaits his trial. Matt and Ruth are both deeply traumatized by the event; while Matt tries to deal with his hurt by retreating into his work and avoiding his feelings, Ruth instead becomes increasingly withdrawn, losing interest in her job as a music teacher and spending her nights chain smoking in front of the television. In the Bedroom was adapted from the short story Killings by Andre Dubus. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
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