Places in the Heart (1984)

DIRECTOR: Robert Benton

CAST: Sally Field, Danny Glover, John Malkovich, Ed Harris, Lindsay Crouse, Amy Madigan

REVIEW:

Places in the Heart is two-thirds of a strong, involving Depression-era drama about a widow finding the wherewithal to do whatever she must to support her family with the help of an assortment of colorful characters. Alas, it’s also saddled with a superfluous third of a soap opera-esque love triangle between characters only tangentially related to the main storyline. What’s onscreen is still worth watching for fans of these kinds of low-key, true-to-life dramas, but a little more focus could have made for a more singularly powerful experience.

The central story, taking place in 1935 Texas, revolves around Edna Spalding (Sally Field), who is abruptly widowed when her sheriff husband (Ray Baker) is accidentally shot by a drunk black teenager (De’voreaux White). Edna, who like many women of her time and place has never done anything on her own besides take care of the household and raise her children and doesn’t so much as know how to write a check, is suddenly forced to confront the ideas of selling her home or shipping her children off to stay with distant relatives, prospects she finds unthinkable. To that end, she recruits the help of slick-talking migrant worker Moze (Danny Glover), who volunteers his services and insists he knows about planting cotton, and with some reluctance rents out a room to the blind Mr. Will (John Malkovich), who is initially as unenthusiastic about being there as Edna is about having him but eventually warms to her and the children. Eventually, with Moze as her right hand man, Edna bets it all on a cotton-picking contest for the prize money that will allow her to keep her family under their roof.

By far the strongest element of Places in the Heart is the central storyline depicting in down-to-earth, undramatized fashion the struggle of a naive, sheltered widow who has never lived independently but suddenly finds herself forced into being sole provider for her family and learning the ropes of everything from writing a check, to belting an unruly child (a task she does not take to), to becoming a cotton farmer. And the movie has more social commentary than just Edna’s learning experience. The movie doesn’t beat around the bush about the dangers inherent in being black in 1930s Texas; when Edna’s husband is accidentally gunned down by a drunk black teenager, the hapless boy’s corpse is later delivered to Edna’s doorstep, dragged behind a truck of good old boys who intend it as a present. Later, some whites, especially those in the cotton business, do not take kindly to Edna showing up with a clever black man at her right hand teaching her the tricks of the trade and giving her an edge over the competition, and it’s only a matter of time before the Ku Klux Klan makes known its dislike of Moze’s presence. Director Robert Benton has claimed he drew inspiration from his own childhood memories of small town Texas, and the film has a feel of down-to-earth authenticity that speaks to his insider knowledge

Alas, the farm storyline is not the only thing going on. Substantial screentime is also devoted to an extraneous subplot involving the affair that Wayne (Ed Harris), the husband of Edna’s sister Margaret (Lindsay Crouse), is having with the also married schoolteacher Viola (Amy Madigan), wife of Wayne’s friend Buddy (Terry O’Quinn). There perhaps could have been a movie made about these characters as well, but they feel awkwardly mashed-up with this movie, where they take up an inordinate amount of screentime while being only ever tangentially relevant to the main storyline. Interrupting the central focus to spend time on their goings-on takes away time that could have been better-spent further developing the dynamics at the Spalding farm and more interesting characters like Moze and Mr. Will. An idealistic closing fantasy sequence ends the movie on a strange note.

Sally Field gives a strong, unaffected, unglamorous performance (which won her a second Oscar, the first being for 1979’s Norma Rae) as Edna, who is forced to dip into untapped reserves of inner strength and gumption to replace her husband as her family’s provider in a man’s world where her options are limited. We’re engaged by her travails, root for the cotton picking contest, and we believe in the character because Field sells it with unforced conviction. She is well-matched by Danny Glover, who brings his charm and charisma to Moze, who initially seems a slick-talking con man but ultimately shows more depth (an early scene has him stealing her silver spoons after she rejects his offer of help and then being delivered back to her doorstep by the police where, like the Bishop in Les Miserables, she lies for his benefit). John Malkovich, Ed Harris, Lindsay Crouse, and Amy Madigan (who met her real-life husband Ed Harris while working on this film) are fine in supporting roles.

Places in the Heart is a slightly curious product, two disparate storylines mashed into one movie despite having little connection to each other. The primary is strong and involving enough to carry the secondary one along, but it shouldn’t have to. Still, as a quiet character piece bolstered by a feel of authenticity and a strong cast, Robert Benton has crafted a sometimes funny, sometimes affecting, and loving homage to his hometown.

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