Pieces of April Movie Review:


“Pieces of April” is a genuine example of a sweet little film that can be produced on a shoestring budget. The film is about family, values, opportunities of acceptance, and revolves humorously around the holiday of Thanksgiving.

April Burns (Katie Holmes) is the so-called degenerate daughter of the Burns family. She has pink colored ponytails, tattoos, and a past that has her family ashamed. However, April has cleaned up her act, has a kind boyfriend named Bobby (Derek Luke), and wants to cook Thanksgiving dinner for her family. April’s troubles first begin with the tasks of learning to cook a full holiday meal, then continue with her oven breaking, which leads her going from door to door in her New York apartment building to see if she can borrow a neighbor’s oven.

April’s family are typical suburban beings, including her gentle father (Oliver Platt), her photographer brother (John Gallagher Jr), her self-centered little sister (Alison Pill), her Alzheimer's suffering grandmother (Alice Drummond), and her mother (Patricia Clarkson), who is dying of breast cancer. The film jumps back and forth from April’s preparations of Thanksgiving dinner, to her family’s road trip from their up-state neighborhood to April’s apartment. Though most of the film is conventionally funny, the family issues are boldly revealed throughout the film in a dramatically balanced manner.

“Pieces of April” was shot in sixteen days on digital video for $200,000 by writer/director Peter Hedges. Hedges does a terrific job of telling his story through the resources that he was given. Hedges previously wrote the scripts for “What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grape,” and last year’s great “About a Boy.” Though Bobby the boyfriend's subplot is hazy, the rest of the film and the characters all click. The best scenes in the film surround the ailing mother, Joy, who is humorously sarcastic to everyone worrying about her, but also tugs at your heart with the pains (internally and externally) that she is fighting with the cancer and April. Hedges’ characters are the real voice in this film, and each have their own ticks that contribute to this simple and effective story. Though Hedges does an admirable job with this film visually, it is almost a shame that he could not get more funding for the film. The grainy-video feel of the film is acceptable, but who knows what Hedges could have done if he had a few more dollars to work with.

Katie Holmes takes on a diverse role as April, who is a trendy young woman that really wants to create the best Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Holmes finds just the right balance of wide-eyed humor and motivation as April. Oliver Platt is pleasant as April’s patient father, and Derek Luke is suitable as Bobby. Sean Hayes arises in a small role as one of April’s challenging neighbors, and he steals many scenes with his intriguing talent. Patricia Clarkson is the real star of this film as the mother Joy. Clarkson’s choices and discoveries with this character are complex and gratifying. It seems that this wonderful actress is capable of taking on any role. Not only is she funny, but compelling as well, Clarkson really shines in this film.

Peter Hedges has woven together a great little movie with “Pieces of April.” Although it's not groundbreaking or extravagant, it is just delightful. A simple story , well told and acted. Perhaps after the reflection of his dedication and talent to this film, Peter Hedges will be given more of a budget to work with on his next project.

Grade: B+

12/05/03

Joseph C. Tucker

Vicious humour and brutal honesty fill this gentle indie-style drama from writer Hedges (About a Boy), who also makes an auspicious directorial debut. April (Holmes) is the black sheep of her family, but she's going to try one last time to redeem herself by cooking a full Thanksgiving dinner. While her boyfriend (Luke) runs some rather mysterious errands, April struggles to put the meal together, borrowing ovens from neighbours (While, Whitlock and Hayes, in an extended cameo) when hers dies. She's obviously never cooked a normal meal, let alone something as complex as this, but her tenacity shows, as does her quick temper. Meanwhile her parents (Clarkson and Platt), goodie-goodie siblings (Pill and Gallagher) and senile granny (Drummond) are on an all-day road trip to get to April's seedy Manhattan flat.

This is the kind of film that could easily be tediously slushy, but Hedges keeps it laceratingly real, with bulls-eye performances from talented actors who are all used to much bigger budgets. Holmes is excellent as the bad girl trying desperately to overcome years of rebellion. But this isn't a simplistic tale of atonement; her family is just as much to blame as she is (maybe more so). Clarkson gives an especially devastating performance as April's acerbic, terminally ill mom. Yes, cancer is thrown into the mix as well, but Hedges never sentimentalises it. In specific and almost offhanded ways, each character must come to terms with the dysfunction, years of bitterness and the idea of impending death. An improvised funeral for a road-killed squirrel ("or maybe it's a raccoon") brings out both submerged emotion and gallows humour. When Mom finally snaps at her annoyingly perfect younger daughter, the comment is triple-edged: "You're making the same mistakes I made and I wish you'd make your own!" The kindness (and pettiness) of April's neighbours recreates a microcosm of multi-cultural New York, echoed in April's hilarious attempt to explain Thanksgiving to the Chinese family downstairs. Yes, the script is a bit neat and tidy--and perhaps too clever for its own good--but Hedges and his cast keep it so firmly grounded that when the emotion does hit at the end it's nearly overwhelming. A wonderful little film you'll want your relatives to see. For all the wrong reasons.

Rich Cline

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