Themes: Psychic Abilities, Religious Zealotry, Living With Disability
Main Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard, Richard Farnsworth, Roberts Blossom, Clifford David
Release Year: 1980
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Ellen Burstyn plays Edna McCauley, the wife of a man (Jeffrey DeMunn) who is killed in an auto crash. Edna herself survives, but not before enduring an "out of body" experience. Crippled in the accident, Edna heads to her hometown in Kansas to recuperate. There she discovers that she has the power to heal people, presumably a byproduct of her brief trip into the beyond. She accepts her gift, but resists the notion that she has been blessed with divine powers. On the other hand, her young lover (Sam Shepard) believes that she is the embodiment of Jesus Christ. It is his method of proving his hypothesis that brings the film to its startling conclusion. Both Ellen Burstyn and Eva Le Gallienne (as Burstyn's grandmother) were nominated for Academy Awards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Daniel Petrie's low-key drama of a woman who discovers that she has the power to heal is an affecting film with a brilliant performance by Ellen Burstyn. After a terrible car accident that kills her husband, a woman has an out-of-body experience that seemingly leaves her with the power to heal. Initially uneasy with her newfound ability, she comes to realize that she must share it, but is hampered by the fanatical religiosity of boyfriend Sam Shepard. Very much an actor-driven film, this deliberately unflashy treatment of an emotionally charged subject is all the more persuasive for its style. In some ways, the film's real subject seems to be the emergence of Burstyn's true spirit following the death of her husband, and her need to break free of the rigid and emotionally repressed men that surround her, such as her father Roberts Blossom and boyfriend. In what is likely Burstyn's finest performance, she radiates an almost otherworldly compassion as a healer while confronting the same relationship problems as anyone else. The celebrated cast also includes Eva LaGallienne, Pamela Payton-Wright, Lois Smith, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Richard Farnsworth. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Pamela Payton-Wright - Margaret; Jeffrey DeMunn - Joe McCauley; Eva Le Gallienne - Grandma Pearl; Lois Smith - Kathy; Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood - Ruth; Richard Hamilton - Earl Carpenter; Carlin Glynn - Suzy Kroll; Lane Smith - Don; Penelope Allen - Ellie; Ebbe Roe Smith - Hank Peterson; Allison Balson; Bernard Behrens - Dr. Fisher; James Blendick - 1st Scientist; Harvey Christiansen - Ned; Lou Fant - Harvey; Jessie Lee Fulton - Becky; David Haney - Jack Coldren; James Harrell - Doc Lurkin; Jennifer McAllister - Joanie; Shane Sinutko - Skateboard Boy; George Sperdakos - Dr. Hankins; Carol Williard - Nurse; William D. Wittliff - Man in Bar; John Tillinger - Dr. Herron; Vernon Weddle - 2nd Scientist; Tom Taylor - Clyde; Edith Mills - Aunt Carrie; Ralph Roberts - Buck
Credit
Edwin O'Donovan - Art Director, Craig Huston - First Assistant Director, Daniel Petrie - Director, Rita Roland - Editor, Maurice Jarre - Composer (Music Score), Paul Sylbert - Production Designer, Mario Tosi - Cinematographer, Renee Missel - Producer, Zvi Howard Rosenman - Producer, Bruce Weintraub - Set Designer, Richard Portman - Sound/Sound Designer, John K. Kean - Sound/Sound Designer, Lewis John Carlino - Screenwriter
As of 2009, the movie has yet to be officially released in the DVD format by the studio. Third-party DVD recordings are available for sale from several online vendors.
