alternat@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Ann Hodgins) (02/18/91)
SARAH: PLAIN AND TALL
A film review by Ann Hodgins
Copyright 1991 Ann Hodgins
This is a made-for-television movie but deserves notice for its
excellent writing and performances. You've probably missed it this time
around, but it will be shown again and again, I'm sure.
My first response was to consider the stars. It stars Glenn Close
in a sympathetic role, something she badly needs. She has not played
along with her charming natural beauty since THE BIG CHILL. Since then
she has played against type in FATAL ATTRACTION, HAMLET and DANGEROUS
LIAISONS. Clearly, she is determined to avoid being trapped into
performing only one type of character. And in SARAH: PLAIN AND TALL she
is perfectly believable as a simple, honest and good woman.
Her co-star's name slips my mind, which is significant since he is
one of my favourites from a few years back who has not appeared in a hit
show recently. He was the star of DEAD ZONE (is it Christopher Walken?)
[yes --Moderator] and THE DEER HUNTER and was very memorable in NEXT
STOP GREENWICH VILLAGE. He has perhaps been the victim of typecasting
as an intellectual. He has always played delicate, rather effete
characters but in SARAH: PLAIN AND TALL, he is extremely effective and
believable as a simple man who makes his living with the strength of his
body, not his mind.
Watching this movie I quickly came to believe totally in the
characters and to care about their situation. By the end, I found that
I could not go back to regular modern shows. They seemed too plastic
and shallow. I was completely gone into Sarah's world.
The movie is based on a book and perhaps it is a true story. It
feels true. The feelings are very and real and gentle. It is similar
to WITNESS but without the contrived cop-drama element. The concern is
with family, home, and work, not big city crime and murder.
If you are looking for something different, something more
realistic and also more delicate than most dramas, catch SARAH: PLAIN
AND TALL.
ann h.