GRACE OF MY HEART
A film review by Alex Fung
Copyright 1996 Alex Fung
(Gramercy - 1996) Starring Illeana Douglas, John Turturro, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Bruce Davison, Patsy Kensit, Jennifer Leigh Warren Screenplay by Allison Anders Produced by Ruth Charny and Dan Hassid Directed by Allison Anders Running time: 115 minutes
Me: *** (out of four stars)
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to
be spoilers. Be forewarned.
Everyone is at least partially familiar with some of the infectuous pop ditties from the 1960s and the singers that churned them out, but how many people can name the songwriters of tunes of this ilk? Allison Anders' newest feature, GRACE OF MY HEART, tells the story of an aspiring-singer-turned-songwriter from this era, and follows her through the ups and downs, from doo-wop to Woodstock.
Edna Buxton, played by Illeana Douglas, comes from an upper-class Philadelphia family. After her rendition of "Hey There" wins her a local talent contest, whose prizes include a trip to New York and a recording contract, we next see her plodding from one audition to another in the Big Apple; her 'recording contract' prize has conveniently dissipated, and she's desperate to make it as a singer. One audition doesn't go particularly well - the public wants male singers, she's told - but the producer takes pity on her and introduces Edna to Joel Millner, played by John Turturro, who becomes her manager. There's a catch: Joel wants Edna to write songs for his other artists to sing, not her. Edna, now given the working name Denise Waverly ("Edna: that's a terrible name" opines Joel), grudging accepts her role as a songwriter and is put to work in a small office in the famous songwriting hothouse, the Brill House. Her songs become chart-toppers and make other artists stars, but throughout the years and a number of relationships, Edna never gives up on her dream to make her own records.
A number of men pass through Edna's life: Howard, a fellow songwriter at the Brill House played by Eric Stoltz, who writes sociopolitical tunes and is content to ride on the hot coattails of 'Denise'; a kind-hearted (and married) radio disk jockey played by Bruce Davison; Jay, played by Matt Dillon as a surf-rocker clearly based upon the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. There's also a rival songwriter, Cheryl, played by Patsy Kensit.
Illeana Douglas gives a solid performance in the lead role of GRACE OF MY HEART. Probably best known for her role opposite Matt Dillon (again) in Gus Van Sant's TO DIE FOR (1995), or for losing part of her face courtesy of Robert DeNiro in Martin Scorsese's CAPE FEAR (1991), Douglas is in virtually every scene of the film, and it's through her eyes that we see the music and culture scene change in America throughout the 1960s.
There's a lot of offbeat casting in the film. John Turturro catches the feel of the jumpy, fasttalking, and ultimately good-hearted Joel Millner, although his various hairpieces in the film are in themselves utterly entertaining. While Davison works perfectly as a mild-mannered, kind radio DJ, the use of Matt Dillon as a surf musician is bizarre; it's amusing to watch him lip synch to music while carrying a surf board. He's not bad in the film, mind you - it just seems completely incongruous. This is the second time Dillon has played a musician - some may remember his performance on the other extreme of the musical spectrum as a grunge rocker in Cameron Crowe's SINGLES (1992) - and again he seems out of place. Bridget Fonda (in a cameo role), however, is perfectly realized as a teen ingenue.
GRACE OF MY HEART takes a very interesting approach to its music, which of course plays an integral part of the film. Rather than recycling pop music from that era, original songs were commisioned by Anders from various pop artists to recreate the sound of the 1960s, and the end result sounds completely authentic and may very well be the strongest element of the film. The music in the first third of the film, in particularly, sounds completely in step with the early 1960s. Anders also seems to make no attempt to hide the fact that her star actors are lip-synching their vocals during their performances in the film, which ends up making the film a bit more goofy yet somehow more fun to watch. (Curiously, Kensit, who actually is a vocalist, does no singing in the film.)
GRACE OF MY HEART is a very episodic film. Like MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS, which also traces popular music over a span of decades, Anders' film can clearly be segmented into specific vignettes. It often has the feel of a shmaltzy TV-movie, full of melodrama that really isn't that dramatic nor unpredictable. Does Edna get to record her own music? What do you think?
However, underneath all the goofiness - the gleeful references to the lingo (I haven't heard the term 'far out' this often in years), hippie communes and other cultural oddities of the time, the hairstyles and fashion - GRACE OF MY HEART has a certain underlying charm about it that makes it likeable. Allison Anders has been acclaimed as an independent filmmaker, but with this film, she steps firmly into mainstream soil. GRACE OF MY HEART should be an audience-pleaser, but with a lead with as low a profile as Douglas (not to mention a God-awful print campaign), it may be a tough sell to get the audiences into the theatre.
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca)
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