Friday, January 8, 2010
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Friday, January 8, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond
A Heart Yearning For Love, Respect And Belonging
Beautifully tragic: Bryce Dallas
Howard as Fisher Willow in Jodie Markell's film "The Loss Of A Teardrop
Diamond",
based on Tennessee Williams' screenplay.
Paladin
By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
Friday, January 8, 2010
Actress
Jodie Markell makes a great feature film-directing debut, opening this new year
in movies with a fine adaptation of Tennessee Williams' recently rediscovered
screenplay "The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond", a title crystallizing the ambitions
of Fisher Willow, a woman cringing at and within Memphis' high society in the
1920s.
The trappings of a socialite existence reside uneasily within Fisher, portrayed
so brilliantly by Bryce Dallas Howard in a performance cementing her as a
serious actress to be reckoned with. Fisher calls upon Jimmy (Chris
Evans), the working-class son of her father's caretaker, to squire her to the
upper-crust events de jour. The dynamics between Fisher and Jimmy are
awkward as they exist amidst the staid opulence of one soiree after another.
They endure each other as much as they nearly suffocate under the weight of
posh, prim and proper within the circles of elegance and eloquence.
In "Teardrop Diamond" Ms. Markell -- who knows more than a little about stage
and screen work -- evokes a time and place that is distinctly Tennessee Williams
through direction, pace and atmosphere. She gets phenomenal work from
Mamie Gummer as Julie, one of the young and richer set in the South. Miss
Gummer has a coming-out party, and though her famously-decorated mother Meryl
Streep has dazzled for decades, Mamie Gummer in her own right is a singular
force of nature in "Teardrop Diamond", almost upstaging Ms. Howard in a
supporting role.
The film's solid ensemble cast includes Ann-Margret and Ellen Burstyn and Mr.
Williams' lucid and adult story percolates with absorbing drama, moral dilemmas
and intriguing possibility. Thanks to fully-utilized skills by the actors
involved the dimensions of the story grow on its audience, including those
who've neither read a page of Mr. Williams' works nor seen any of his plays.
In "The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond", which opened in theaters nationwide today,
a look or a silence tells the story as plainly or loudly as any piece of
dialogue or music can -- and neither of those elements disappoints, either.
Above all though, the film's revelation is the lasting resonance of Ms. Howard,
who paints a beautifully complex portrait of Fisher filled with intelligence,
confidence, charm, sexiness and tragedy. It's the second film in a month
to feature an American actress (also Robin Wright Penn) riding high on her best
work. It's the second in a month to be directed by a woman. (Rebecca
Miller's "The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee".) For all the mounting
complaints one may have about romantic comedies poorly directed or scripted by
women, Ms. Markell's luminous film is an enjoyable and triumphant telling of Mr.
Williams' story. He'd no doubt be filled with pride.
With: Will Patton, Jessica Collins, Peter Gerety, Marin Ireland, Zoe Perry,
Barbara Garrick, Zach Grenier, Laila Robbins and Carol Sutton.
"The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond " is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for some sexuality and drug content. The film's
running time is one hour and 42 minutes.
Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
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