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Violets are Blue
The 1986 film Violets are Blue is a sweet and sad romantic drama that can tie the stomach in knots if caught in the right mood thanks to sensitive direction and superb performances from the three stars.
Gussie Sawyer (Sissy Spacek) and Henry Squires (Kevin Kline) grew up in the same small Maryland seaside town and were high school sweethearts certain they would be together forever. Gussie's wanderlust eventually found her leaving and finding a successful career as globe-trotting photojournalist while Henry was content to stay in Maryland and run the local newspaper for his father. Gussie returns home for the first time in 13 years and is reunited with Henry, who is now married to Ruth (Bonnie Bedelia) and has a young son. This doesn't stop Gussie and Henry from drifting into an affair that neither were really looking for.
The screenplay by Naomi Foner (Running on Empty) is simple on the surface, but it's the complicated emotions that bubble to the surface for both the characters and viewers that make this story so rich. We see what's coming and we know on the surface that it's wrong, but the chemistry, the pull between Gussie and Henry is so strong and it's a little shocking that neither of them really attempt to fight it. Foner attempts to legitimize what's happening by Ruth being jealous of Gussie the second she lays eyes on her and then drawing Gussie and Henry together professionally, but when what we're watching is realistically stripped bare, we know it's wrong and our hearts break for Ruth and Henry's son, the real victims in the story.
What was most unsettling for this reviewer was watching Sissy Spacek play such a complex and eye-opening character. Hollywood's sweetheart is one of those actresses we just never imagine playing a homewrecker and at the core of her soul, Gussie isn't a homewrecker, but is unable to fight what she's feeling. Spacek beautifully internalizes Gussie's conflicted emotions and somehow manages to evoke sympathy for a character who we're not really sure deserves it.
Once again, Spacek's husband, Jack Fisk, is in the director's chair and just like Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews, Fisk knows how to make his wife look good and knows her capabilities as an actress. It's clear that Fisk has a lot to do with Spacek's understanding of what she's doing here. Kevin Kline is smooth and sexy as Henry and totally invests in the characters slight descent into slimeball territory, creating a chemistry with Spacek that cannot be denied. Though the real acting honors here have to go to Bonnie Bedelia, one of Hollywood's most underrated talents who never had the career she deserved, who is absolutely heartbreaking as Ruth. It's a powerhouse performance where you never catch Bedelia "acting." Cinematography and music are the finishing touches on this lovely llittle movie that could ignite a tear duct.
The 1986 film Violets are Blue is a sweet and sad romantic drama that can tie the stomach in knots if caught in the right mood thanks to sensitive direction and superb performances from the three stars.
Gussie Sawyer (Sissy Spacek) and Henry Squires (Kevin Kline) grew up in the same small Maryland seaside town and were high school sweethearts certain they would be together forever. Gussie's wanderlust eventually found her leaving and finding a successful career as globe-trotting photojournalist while Henry was content to stay in Maryland and run the local newspaper for his father. Gussie returns home for the first time in 13 years and is reunited with Henry, who is now married to Ruth (Bonnie Bedelia) and has a young son. This doesn't stop Gussie and Henry from drifting into an affair that neither were really looking for.
The screenplay by Naomi Foner (Running on Empty) is simple on the surface, but it's the complicated emotions that bubble to the surface for both the characters and viewers that make this story so rich. We see what's coming and we know on the surface that it's wrong, but the chemistry, the pull between Gussie and Henry is so strong and it's a little shocking that neither of them really attempt to fight it. Foner attempts to legitimize what's happening by Ruth being jealous of Gussie the second she lays eyes on her and then drawing Gussie and Henry together professionally, but when what we're watching is realistically stripped bare, we know it's wrong and our hearts break for Ruth and Henry's son, the real victims in the story.
What was most unsettling for this reviewer was watching Sissy Spacek play such a complex and eye-opening character. Hollywood's sweetheart is one of those actresses we just never imagine playing a homewrecker and at the core of her soul, Gussie isn't a homewrecker, but is unable to fight what she's feeling. Spacek beautifully internalizes Gussie's conflicted emotions and somehow manages to evoke sympathy for a character who we're not really sure deserves it.
Once again, Spacek's husband, Jack Fisk, is in the director's chair and just like Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews, Fisk knows how to make his wife look good and knows her capabilities as an actress. It's clear that Fisk has a lot to do with Spacek's understanding of what she's doing here. Kevin Kline is smooth and sexy as Henry and totally invests in the characters slight descent into slimeball territory, creating a chemistry with Spacek that cannot be denied. Though the real acting honors here have to go to Bonnie Bedelia, one of Hollywood's most underrated talents who never had the career she deserved, who is absolutely heartbreaking as Ruth. It's a powerhouse performance where you never catch Bedelia "acting." Cinematography and music are the finishing touches on this lovely llittle movie that could ignite a tear duct.