📽️ Film Club #2: Places in the Heart
Starring leading lady Sally Field
I don’t think it matters whether [the ending confuses some people] or not. I think it touches and brings about thought, and I don’t think it matters whether it confuses.
~ Sally Field, 1984
This was her response to a question about the ending of the film that won her a second Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Are you intrigued?
I hope so, because Places in the Heart is our May Film Club movie of the month!
Places in the Heart
Release date: 1984
Run time: 1 hour 51 minutes
Rating: PG
Where to watch: Netflix
Synopsis:
After a family tragedy that touches many people in a small Texas town during the Great Depression, Edna Spalding (Sally Field) must rise to the occasion. With the bank threatening to foreclose on her home and suggesting she send her children to distant relatives to be cared for, Edna makes the decision to keep the family farm against all wisdom and odds.
But she won’t be doing it alone. Two unexpected characters come to the farm, one after the other. Edna is kind but, she’s also no-nonsense, demanding the respect of these new arrivals and, eventually, their loyalty. This found family works together in the aftermath of the tragedy in a way that touches and inspires.
Meanwhile, Edna’s sister Margaret and her husband Wayne live in town. They have one little girl. While Margaret happily fixes her customers’ hair and lovingly helps her sister, Wayne is proving to be, well, lousy.
What will become of Edna, her children, her sister, and her two friends? Watch Places in the Heart to find out!
I really don’t want to say too much more in the way of synopsis. And if you’ve been reading my newsletter for some time, you probably know by now that I’m anti-trailer. Please don’t watch the trailer! It will give too much away. If you need a little more info, check out the IMDb listing.
This is a lovely movie. With minimal dialogue, there’s plenty of showing, not telling (which also means plenty of room for my mom to ask questions and make comments! 😉). I felt very invested within the first few minutes, and that investment stayed strong through the rest of the film all the way to the very surprising final moments.
I have to thank my husband, Ben, for this film club suggestion! He shared it with me after we watched an early Terrence Malick film, Days of Heaven (1978), which we both tried to like and eventually agreed… not for us.
Ben said, “Days of Heaven walked so Places in the Heart could run.”
Some questions to think about while you watch:
What do you make of the parallel funeral scenes?
What does Edna teach you about facing adversity?
What, if any, are the morals of the story?
What do you make of the parallel “couples” or marriage stories?
What do you make of the ending?
What is this film about?
Why did Sally Field win an Oscar for this role?
Why is it called “Places in the Heart”?
Got a movie suggestion for Film Club? Our 2024 list is filling up, but we’d love to hear your recommendations! Write us with your film club pick and why you chose it! Remember, the only criterion is: it must feature a leading lady!
I have wanted to watch this for years!