By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: Christopher Munch
Starring: Amy Madigan | Jacqueline Bisset | Martha Plimpton | Nick Stahl
Country: united_states
Year: 2002
Running time: 108
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0277322
Scot says: “I was blown away by this quiet little ‘family piece.’
“Middle-aged Frances (Jacqueline Bisset) is an out-of-work writer/reporter who once consoled lonely men in 1950s Florida both with her overnight radio show and her company. When she learns that she is ill, she attempts to tie up the loose ends of relationships of her life. While she struggles with this and with her ‘passive’ son Morgan (Nick Stahl), a parallel story unfolds. Rebecca (Martha Plimpton) is a high-paid corporate lawyer who hates her job and wants to learn the meaning of ‘family.’ Never able to properly sustain any kind of relationship, her quest for her birth mother and her job take her nearer to her goal than she knows.
“I am a big Martha Plimpton fan, so Michael had no trouble getting me to this film. She’s such an incredible actress who carries off every role with respect, charm, and intelligence to spare. This role is no exception. It’s unfortunate that her unglamorous, ordinary look has seemingly made her uncastable. Thank God for this film, which is populated by real-looking people. Even Jacqueline Bisset seems like a person you could actually meet. Light years away from her roles in RICH AND FAMOUS or THE DEEP, she plays the Spanish-Harlem-born Frances with quiet dignity and discontent.
“The screenplay is very smart. A little too smart in places as the characters are able to succinctly appraise every situation and relationship, but the fact that director/writer Christopher Münch lets the camera tell most of the story more than makes up for this. The stories unfold much as they would if we had just met either woman. We get our information on an as-needed basis, which works well in a film about personal history and regret.
“I was *most* delighted to see the end credits *after* I’d decided this was one of the best films I’d seen this year. One of the two cinematography credits is given to my college buddy Marco Fargnoli, who also was the Director of Photography on a short film I was in ten years ago! I will be nominating him and Rob Sweeney for this – and not just because he’s my friend. I’ve never met Jacqueline or Martha and I’ll certainly nominate them as well.
“This film is a perfect Chlotrudis movie. Unable to find a distributor originally, it went straight to the Sundance Channel last spring. It’s not on video yet, and it’s gone from the Brattle after today, so I *hope* some of you get to see it…” 5 cats
Michael says: “Christopher Münch’s (THE HOURS AND TIMES) self-distributed film has fortunately found a temporary home at Cambridge’s Brattle Theatre. This intelligent, powerfully-acted film deserves much wider attention… it would be a shame if more people didn’t get to hear about it.
“Jacqueline Bisset plays Frances, a woman who has lived an eventful life, including two ex-husbands, two sons, a daughter she gave up for adoption, an affair with a married man with whom she is still close and a stint in her past as a late night DJ in Florida. Now she has settled in San Franciso where she is dying of cancer. As with many stories, the impending culmination of her life sends her reflecting upon the path that led her there, and especially the daughter she gave up. Nearby her son, played wonderfully by Nick Stahl (IN THE BEDROOM) is starting his own life in San Francisco, as a photographer, close, but also distant from his mother. Rebecca (a standout performance by Martha Plimpton) is a corporate lawyer in Manhattan, whose life hasn’t quite lived up to her aspirations. Suffering an early mid-life crisis, Rebecca decides to seek out her birth mother, you guessed it, Frances.
“As both women follow unusual paths, their lives intersect in surprising ways. This isn’t some Hollywood melodrama, but an insightful look at life, and the personal histories that go with each and every one of us. The story unfolds slowly, and the viewer isn’t handed all the information at the onset… we learn about these people as the film unfolds. A wonderful scene where Frances visits her former lover (Seymour Cassel) and his wife in Amish Country had me wondering just how everyone was linked. Amy Madigan puts in a wonderfully natural performance as Maggie, Frances’ nurse. And a wonderful scene between Rebecca and Jimmy Dupree (Frankie Faison) who ran the radio station that Frances worked at in the ’50’s unfolded beautifully, with somewhat surprising results.
“The use of history, both national and personal, the abundance of bridges and their ability to connect, the lush, inventive cinematography, lovely voiceovers and outstanding performances all add up to a film that deserves a much larger audience.” 4 1/2 cats
Bob says: “SLEEPY TIME GAL was very interesting. At first I was a little uncomfortable with the structure, and the series of coincidences (she and her mom both sleep with that same radio station manager???), but I thought the cast worked unusually well together, Plimpton was great, and I was fascinated by the use of bridges and towers as metaphors — the sort of thing that makes me want to see it again and look for patterns.”