Themes: Mothers and Sons, Sibling Relationships, Eccentric Families
Main Cast: Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Two sisters try to set their familial differences aside -- one in hopes of saving her own life -- in this drama with comic accents. Bessie (Diane Keaton) has lived in Florida for the past 20 years, where she's been caring for her chronically ill father Marvin (Hume Cronyn) and her Aunt Ruth (Gwen Verdon), who does not seem well aquatinted with reality. While Bessie's life has not been easy, she feels that it's rewarding in its way, and she's come to love her father very much. However, when Bessie is diagnosed with cancer, she's told that the only treatment likely to save her would be a bone marrow transplant from a close relative -- which leads Bessie to contact her sister Lee (Meryl Streep) for the first time since their father fell ill. Bessie and Lee have a number of issues with each other that they've never resolved, many concerning their responses to Marvin's illness (Bessie rushed to his side, while Lee preferred to stay away), and Lee's own life has been difficult. She's gotten herself out of a bad marriage, has only recently started supporting herself as a beautician, and has to raise two kids on her own. Ten-year-old Charlie (Hal Scardino) tries to simply ignore the chaos going on all round him, while Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio), a troubled 17-year-old, was recently institutionalized after burning down the family's home. As the straight-laced Bessie and the earthy Lee reestablish contact after two decades, they discover just how much emotional ground they have to cover before they can meet on common ground. Robert De Niro appears in a supporting role as Dr. Wally, Bessie's physician. Marvin's Room was based on the stage drama by Scott McPherson, which opened in 1990; McPherson himself was critically ill at the time -- he died two years later from complications relating to AIDS. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Based on a highly successful off-Broadway play by Scott McPherson, this respectable film adaptation overcomes its familiar, TV-movie terrain to eventually become a heartfelt tribute to family ties and the prospect of death. In a wonderfully reversed casting scenario, Meryl Streep plays the cigarette-smoking, brash sibling of Diane Keaton, who is beautifully restrained as the older, quieter caretaker figure. Actually, the film is superbly cast all around, with Leonardo DiCaprio quite affecting in a supporting role, and Hume Cronyn providing a strong portrait of old age and mortality without having a word of dialogue in the entire picture. The film at times struggles to break out of its stagebound nature, but the high-caliber performances and sensitive direction by Broadway veteran Jerry Zaks lift it up considerably. Despite Streep's much-showier role, the Academy rightfully nominated co-star Keaton, for what might be her finest work to date. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Peter Rogness - Art Director, John Guare - Associate Producer, Craig Gering - Associate Producer, Ilene Starger - Casting, Bonnie Palef - Co-producer, David Wisenievitz - Co-producer, Julie Weiss - Costume Designer, Ellen H. Schwartz - First Assistant Director, Jerry Zaks - Director, Jim Clark - Editor, Todd Scott Brody - Executive Producer, Lori Steinberg - Executive Producer, Thomas Newman - Composer (Music Score), Rachel Portman - Songwriter, David Gropman - Production Designer, Piotr Sobocinski - Cinematographer, Robert De Niro - Producer, Jane Rosenthal - Producer, Scott Rudin - Producer, Tracy A. Doyle - Set Designer, Danny Michael - Sound/Sound Designer, Scott McPherson - Screenwriter
Marvin's Room is a 1996film, based on the play of the same name by Scott McPherson[2]. The play, which was directed by David Petrarca, was adapted for the screen by McPherson and directed by Jerry Zaks. Mcpherson died in 1992 of AIDS at age 33[3]
A man who had a stroke 17 years ago is left incapacitated and bed-ridden. He has been cared for by his daughter Bessie (Diane Keaton), and totally ignored by his other daughter, Lee (Meryl Streep), who moved to Ohio with her husband 20 years ago and has never contacted her family. Now, however, Bessie's doctor has informed her that she has leukemia and needs a bone marrowtransplant[4] and she turns to her sister for help. Lee, in turn, turns to her son Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has been committed to a mental asylum for setting fire to his mother's house. When Lee finds that she may have to take over her father's care, she at first begins shopping around for nursing homes. Eventually, the sisters grow close to one another, their father Marvin, and Lee's son.[5][6]
