- Director:
Pat O'Connor - AMG Rating:
- Genre: Romance
- Movie Type: Americana, Coming-of-Age
- Themes: Class Differences, First Love, Small-Town Life
- Main Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Liv Tyler, Will Patton, Kathy Baker, Joanna Going
- Release Year: 1997
- Country: US
- Run Time: 110 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The lives of two closely linked, small town Illinois families dangerously intersect in this domestic drama set in the 1950s, based on a short story by Sue Miller and directed by Pat O'Connor. Though they are from the wrong side of the tracks, the working class brothers Jacey (Billy Crudup) and Doug Holt (Joaquin Phoenix) are in love with the wealthy and beautiful Abbott sisters. Shy and quiet Doug, who worships his womanizing brother, has eyes for the iconoclastic Pam (Liv Tyler), but Jacey's affections are more calculating; he's interested in whichever Abbott sister is interested in him. At first, this is Eleanor (Jennifer Connelly), the "wild" sister, but eventually Jacey sets his sights on the divorced oldest sister, Alice (Joanna Going). For Jacey, his conquest of the Abbotts is a form of economic revenge, as he believes that the head of the family, Lloyd (Will Patton), stole a patent that made him rich from the Holts' late father. When he's eventually revealed as an embittered cad, Jacey's mistreatment of the Abbott girls makes the genuine affection between Doug and Pam impossible for either family to accept.~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
In this romantic coming-of-age story, director Pat O'Connor returns to territory previously explored in his film Circle of Friends, this time moving the action from Ireland to Illinois. Focusing on two very different families in the same town, the film uses the characters to not only explore the romantic tendancies of young adults, but also class differences in the American 1950's. The story is simple, with no more twists and turns than it needs to establish the mood and get its point across. It's the cast that really makes the movie work though. Each of the principals -- Billy Crudup, Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, Joanna Going, Will Patton, and Kathy Baker -- is among Hollywood's most capable and subtle performers, and they do not disappoint, making Inventing the Abbotts an actors' film whether it wants to be or not. Deliberately paced, the film might turn off the impatient viewer, but for those willing to give it a chance, an affecting story and rich characters await. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie GuideCast
- Joaquin Phoenix - Doug Holt
- Billy Crudup - Jacey Holt
- Liv Tyler - Pamela Abbott
- Will Patton - Lloyd Abbott
- Kathy Baker - Helen Holt
- Joanna Going - Alice Abbott
