I haven't seen this movie since it was shown on HBO in the 1980s, but Dianne Wiest's performance is still fresh in my mind. I'd never seen her before. Her performance grabbed me just like Mickey Rourke's in Body Heat---it was like---who IS this person!!! The abuse was so real--I can remember actually flinching and feeling sick. Of course,the climax is unforgettable--I remember this awful feeling of impending doom just knowing something really bad was going to happen. But I was even more impressed with the scene where Kathleen Quinlan is urging the Wiest character to loosen up a little and have a drink with her--they didn't have all the right ingredients for a grasshopper so they kind of improvised. It was so powerful. And Quinlan's character was so clueless and naive about the situation. Such great writing and acting.
I would've loved to have seen Wiest on Broadway with James Earl Jones in Othello. I can only imagine the power of her Desdamona.
Also, for those wondering about the Martina McBride song, "Independence Day", it does seem to really fit this movie, but it wasn't written until the 1990's by Gretchen Peters. It was a controversial song for Martina McBride and was written from the viewpoint of an 8 year old girl observing her mother being abused.
I would've loved to have seen Wiest on Broadway with James Earl Jones in Othello. I can only imagine the power of her Desdamona.
Also, for those wondering about the Martina McBride song, "Independence Day", it does seem to really fit this movie, but it wasn't written until the 1990's by Gretchen Peters. It was a controversial song for Martina McBride and was written from the viewpoint of an 8 year old girl observing her mother being abused.