Themes: Faltering Friendships, Mothers and Daughters, Dancer's Life
Main Cast: Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt
Release Year: 1977
Country: US
Run Time: 119 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
One of a cycle of '70s post-Women's Liberation "women's pictures," Herbert Ross's drama uses the ballet world to examine the conflict between family and career. Former dance colleagues Deedee (Shirley MacLaine) and Emma (Anne Bancroft) are reunited when Emma's New York ballet company stops in Oklahoma City for a performance. Having dropped her career for marriage and motherhood, Deedee envies prima ballerina Emma's limelight life; aging Emma, realizing that her days as a star are numbered, wishes that she had the fulfillment of a family like Deedee's. Tensions simmer when Deedee's talented teenage daughter, Emilia (Leslie Browne), moves to New York to join Emma's company. As Emma maternally bonds with Emilia, and Emilia falls in love with womanizing dancer Yuri (Mikhail Baryshnikov), Deedee feels that she's losing her place even as a mother. After Emilia's triumphant debut, Deedee's and Emma's resentments boil over into an all-out catfight that ends when they realize they can unite in happiness for Emilia's future. Splitting the desires to nest and to work between two characters, Ross and writer Arthur Laurents reveal the difficulty faced by women in a world of expanding options. As in Michael Powell's and Emeric Pressburger's seminal ballet film The Red Shoes (1948), dancing and a personal life don't mix, even as the films display ballet's seductive power here in the gracefully integrated numbers by dance stars Browne and Baryshnikov. Despite reservations about its melodramatic aspects, The Turning Point earned box-office success and eleven Oscar nominations (but no wins). Even if its wife/work struggle seems a bit old-fashioned, Deedee's and Emma's final bond suggests that the next generation may not have the same regrets. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Review
Greatly acclaimed upon its initial release (and scoring an amazing eleven Academy Award nominations), time has dulled much of the appeal of The Turning Point. The melodramatic aspects of the plot, slightly commented upon but generally dismissed in 1977, are the main culprits, but much of writer Arthur Laurents' dialogue is also to blame. It's a bit too obvious in the big scenes, and it sometimes seems to be trying too hard to present its feminist credentials. That said, the script does allow two talented actresses to strut their considerable stuff, and Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine grab the opportunity and run with it, especially in the made-to-order catfight that climaxes the film. Equally as important as the stars' performance are the ballet sequences, which are among the best ever captured on film. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne are acceptable in their dialogue scenes, but they are incandescent and amazing when dancing, especially as captured by Robert Surtees' delicate and perceptive cinematography. Sensitively directed and sporting a lovely design, Turning Point has enough plusses to make up for its soap opera underpinnings. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Martha Scott - Adelaide; Antoinette Sibley - Sevilla; Alexandra Danilova - Dahkarova; Starr Danias - Carolyn; Marshall Thompson - Carter; James Mitchell - Michael; Scott Douglas - Freddie; Daniel Levans - Arnold; Jurgen Schneider - Peter; Anthony Zerbe - Rosie; Phillip Saunders - Ethan Rodgers; Lisa Lucas - Janina; Lucette Aldous; Fernando Bujones; James Crittenden - Billy Joe; Suzanne Farrell; Marcia Haydee; Peter Martins - Ballet Star; Alexander Minz - Boys Class Teacher; Martine Van Hamel; Charles Ward - Ballet Star; Donald Petrie - Barney Joe; David Byrd - Conductor
Credit
Frederick Ashton - Choreography, George Balanchine - Choreography, Alexander Minz - Choreography, Kenneth MacMillan - Choreography, Oliver Smith - Consultant/advisor, Jennifer Parsons - Costume Designer, Albert Wolsky - Costume Designer, Tony Faso - Costume Designer, Jack Roe - First Assistant Director, Herbert Ross - Director, William H. Reynolds - Editor, Nora Kaye - Executive Producer, John Lanchbery - Composer (Music Score), John Lanchbery - Musical Direction/Supervision, Charles Schram - Makeup, Albert Brenner - Production Designer, Robert Surtees - Cinematographer, Arthur Laurents - Producer, Herbert Ross - Producer, Marvin March - Set Designer, Jerry Jost - Sound/Sound Designer, Theodore Soderberg - Sound/Sound Designer, Douglas O. Williams - Sound/Sound Designer, Arthur Laurents - Screenwriter
This film tells the story of two women who were childhood friends and former competitors in the world of ballet.
DeeDee (Shirley MacLaine), left ballet after becoming pregnant with the child of another ballet dancer, Wayne (Tom Skerritt). The two settled down to raise a family and co-run a ballet studio in Oklahoma City. Emma (Anne Bancroft) stayed in the company and became a prima ballerina. When the company finally comes back to town, the two reunite. The reunion stirs up old memories and affects the present.
DeeDee's daughter, Emilia (Leslie Browne) is invited to join the company at Emma's request. Emilia starts an affair with a big-name Russian ballet defector (Mikhail Baryshnikov). Emma's brother Ethan is offered two ballet scholarships, but is unsure to pursue a career between ballet and baseball. Also, an old male friend of DeeDee's is getting to know her all over again. Meanwhile, it looks as if Emma's day in the sun is coming to an end.
In an episode of The Nanny, Fran references the film by saying: "This is like that movie 'The Turning Point', only they were dancers and one was the mother and they were old friends... [looks confused] I should really rent that again."
In the Judy Blume book Summer Sisters this film sparked a great discussion with the two main characters of the story Vix and Caitlin which furthered the development on how different the girls priorities were.
