Places in the Heart: A Review

PLACES IN THE HEART

Sally Field earned eternal mockery for her giddy Best Actress Oscar acceptance speech when she won for Places in the Heart. While many misremember the speech itself (she never actually said "YOU LIKE ME! YOU REALLY LIKE ME!"), the film for which she won her second Academy Award seems to have been forgotten. That is unfortunate, for Places in the Heart is a soft, gentle film about love and quiet strength. 

Waxahachie, Texas, 1935. Sheriff Royce Spalding (Ray Baker) is called out of his supper to try and talk down young Wylie (DeVoreaux White). Wylie is a generally good kid, but he got drunk and has been shooting off a gun. In his drunkenness, he accidentally kills Royce. That is bad enough, but add the fact that Wylie is black, and Royce is white, and you can imagine the terrible retribution Wylie got for this.

All that is just more for Royce's widow, Edna (Field) to bear. Now alone with her two children, son Frank (Yankton Hatten) and daughter Possum (Gennie James), Edna has to make it on her own. She can have some help from her sister Margaret (Linda Crouse), who owns a struggling beauty parlor. However, Margaret has her own issues with her husband Wayne (Ed Harris), who is having a secret affair with their friend Viola (Amy Madigan).

As the Depression continues, Edna runs the risk of losing her home. She is determined to hold on to her home and family, but having been so dependent on Royce, Edna does not know where to turn. Into this comes Moses (Danny Glover), a journeyman who pestered her for work. She has none to give Moze but offers him some food and a place to stay overnight. After Moze is caught with some of Edna's silverware, she supports his cover story in exchange for his help. Moze had told her that her land could be used to grow cotton, which would bring about badly needed funds. In exchange for keeping him out of jail, he can be her mentor.

The bank manager Albert Denby (Lane Smith), either out of kindness or self-interest, cajoles Edna to take in his blind brother-in-law Will (John Malkovich), who will pay for his lodgings. Will wants to be as far from the Spaldings as possible, but soon this group forms an informal family group as they face the Depression and storms both external and internal. Will Edna save her home and keep her kids? Will the ugly specter of open racism bring danger to Moze? Will there be true reconciliation and peace?

Places in the Heart received seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning for both Lead Actress and Original Screenplay. Both were worthy wins. Robert Benton, who directed as well as wrote Places in the Heart, created a very soft, gentle film that was compassionate to all the characters. The film not only captures the struggles and faith that underlines this community but has deep respect for them. Places in the Heart opens and closes with two traditional hymns: Blessed Assurance and In the Garden (also known as And He Walks with Me), reflecting both the deep-rooted faith that small-town Texans of all backgrounds would have had and the times in which they lived.

It also lends the film almost a sense of true forgiveness. Places in the Heart ends with what at the time was seen as a strange, even controversial ending: at the church service, all the characters attend and partake in Communion, with Royce and Wylie sharing the bread and wine, wishing each other the Peace of God. 

My interpretation of this scene is that, for these flawed individuals, true forgiveness and love comes from following and applying the Scripture quoted in the service: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, what are known as the Love Verses. As horrifying as Royce and Wylie's deaths were, and as unjustified as they were, they can find peace and forgiveness in a better place, a place in the heart if you wish.

Separate from Field's overenthusiasm at the Academy Awards, Places in the Heart has an excellent performance from her as Edna. Field does not go big or broad in her performance. In fact, on many occasions she opts to go small, quieter, more intimate. Even in the few times where she does raise her temper, she never goes all-in on screaming or raging. Instead, we see a woman forced to be stronger than even she thought possible. Field does make you feel Edna's grief at Royce's death, her fears about the future, and the love that she has for those around her. As the film progresses, Edna shows that she does grow to care for and about Moze and Will regardless of whether that caring is reciprocated or not.

Edna also has respect for Moze and Will despite the racial and disabled backgrounds they have. It is not that she is unaware of them. However, Edna sees them as individuals, making her far better than some of the other townsfolk. However, Places in the Heart does not demonize or ridicule her family and neighbors. As awful as some of the things that they say and do to Moze and Will, the film opts to show them not as evil people, but as flawed and unaware. The adultery and racism that they show is not to make them cruel, but to make them products of their flaws and their time.

Of particular note is when members of the Klan come to beat up Moze. Will comes at them with a gun and is able to scare them a bit until they realize that he is blind and is shooting based on where the sound comes. After he runs out of bullets, they make threats to him, but he recognizes their voices and thus can identify them. I was reminded of when Scout recognized the lynch mob in To Kill a Mockingbird and in her innocence called them out; like in that film, the ruffians were shamed into leaving. Granted, the men were less kind to Will than they were to Scout, but the principle applies.

Places in the Heart is well-acted all around. Malkovich and Crouse also earned Oscar nominations for their performances. While I think there would be some pushback today at having Malkovich play a blind man, it was more than this that made the performance. Malkovich showed Will shifting slowly from someone who wanted to be removed from the Spalding world to someone who risked his life for both Possum and Moze. Crouse had a strong scene where she confronts Wayne about his affair, which she discovered through how they acted with each other versus catching Wayne and Viola in the act. She kept her composure but made it clear that he had to go. 

Glover handled his role as Moze to make him not a meek and compliant figure but as someone who, while flawed, was also a good man. He has a wonderful moment when he mentors Frank in his own way that will charm the viewer. Harris made Wayne not into an amoral sleazeball but as again, a flawed man who fell to temptation.  We end up caring for everyone in the film, in their struggles and hopes. 

Places in the Heart captures this world with respect and affection for the characters. It might have done better to cut some of the almost two-hour runtime, but that is a minor flaw. It is a shame that Places in the Heart is now overshadowed by one misquoted acceptance speech. It is a good, moving film that should be better known and that should move the viewer. 

DECISION: B+