LOVE FIELD
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Running Length: 1:45 Rated: PG-13 (violence)
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert, Stephanie McFadden, Brain Kerwin, Louise Latham Director: Jonathan Kaplan Producers: Sarah Pillsbury and Midge Sanford Screenplay: Don Roos Music: Jerry Goldsmith Released by Orion Pictures
John and Jacqueline Kennedy meant different things to different people and, like many Americans in the early 1960s, Lurene Hallett (Michelle Pfeiffer) was enamoured with the first couple. Living in Dallas, Lurene just misses an opportunity to shake the President's hand as he disembarks from his plane on November 22. Shortly thereafter, he's dead and Lurene is devastated. Ignoring explicit instructions from her husband to the contrary, she sets out for Washington D. C. and the President's funeral. Along the way, she meets Paul Cater (Dennis Haysbert) and his quiet little daughter Jonell (newcomer Stephanie McFadden). From then on, her life will never be the same.
Films such as JFK and RUBY examine the assassination from the inside, presenting theories of how and why things happened as they did. LOVE FIELD looks at things from the outside, presenting the perspective of an ordinary Texas woman. For those old enough to remember the Kennedy assassination, this movie will doubtless stir a sense of deja vu. For those too young, it may help to convey some sense of what things were like during that bleak week in November of 1963.
Nevertheless, despite a realistic depiction of how America reacted to the assassination, the first half of LOVE FIELD doesn't have much else going for it. The movie meanders for almost an hour without direction. We know it's going somewhere, and we sense the direction in which it's headed, but it seems to be taking an awful long time to get there.
The central theme of LOVE FIELD is not explored until the second half of the film. It's then, as the relationship between Lurene and Paul becomes better-defined, that the question of racial intolerance rears its head. Superficially, this picture might seem to be a romance, or even a story about people on the run, but the fundamental issue addressed by LOVE FIELD is one of bigotry.
When we look at race relations today, we have to wonder if they have improved that much from 1963. As outdated as some of the attitudes in LOVE FIELD are, there are disturbing parallels with today's headlines. In one of this film's most electrifying moments, Paul screams at Lurene that being white and miserable isn't the same as being black--the two don't compare. Although he soon apologizes for saying that and other things, the words of his impassioned speech provoke a deep reaction.
As far as the story goes, it's relatively straightforward. Once LOVE FIELD finally gets on track, it holds the viewer's interest. Most of the second half is solid drama, although the brief epilogue is feeble. There seems to be some indecision about whether to make the ending happy or poignant, and it ends up being neither.
Michelle Pfeiffer does a solid job in a thankless role. Lurene is not a particularly likable person, and it's always a challenge for an energetic, charismatic actress to give a sensitive portrayal of someone with such an abrasive personality. Dennis Haysbert may have the easier job, but his performance is equally impressive. Stealing scenes from both veterans is young Stephanie McFadden.
LOVE FIELD is definitely not an unqualified success. There's too much wasted screen time and it takes longer for the main thrust of the story to get underway than it should. The issues that the film raises are not unique, nor is their presentation new, but they are important and timely, and one of the strengths of LOVE FIELD is that it manages to get them across without making them seem tired or trite.
Rating: 7.1 (B-, **1/2)
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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