Based on the novel 'Points of Light' by Linda Gray Sexton.
This is another one I bought for the sole reason that it stars Peter Strauss. As always, Strauss is excellent in the role given him, lending both a sense of a literary character and a real person. That said, it's not an easy or involved role and it's more of a support to the mother and son...
This is my first Marlo Thomas film and her performance here as Jessie reminds me somewhat of Shelley Duvall in The Shining.
The main story is about Jessie's trauma after the loss of her favourite child, Jamie. Exploring from grief through to possible hauntings, insanity and dangerous hallucinations, the attachment and loss felt by Jessie is clear.
Less obvious is the nature of Jamie's sudden and disturbing reappearance. For a while the viewer is unsure whether the child is actually a hallucination or a ghost and the direction and cinematography cast quite a creepy scene as the mother explores these strange occurrences.
Unfortunately, what isn't made clear is the family background. The first half of the novel deals with Jessie's perspectives on life and how ill-matched she and her husband Sam ought to be. They come from very different walks of life, yet work very well together. This is never explained in the film, so we just see an oddly paired couple.
Missing too, are fuller explorations of Jessie's reasons for being so detached from her family - Whilst it is obvious why she is/was so close to little Jamie, the film does not incorporate her reasons for being so distant from Jamie's twin sister Meggie, older sister Anna or her husband and his mother-in-law.
Lastly, a lot of the family dynamic in general is ignored, aside from the most salient of plot points. Good actors were cast in this film, but were given nothing to do for the most part, so when their few 'big scenes' come along (the aforementioned salient plot points) they must act with all their worth. As a result, the scenes appear overly dramatic, overacted and simply tacked on because the characters have been so ignored thus far.
Being so ignored by the main plot of mother and son, the other characters can appear aloof and uncaring. The reasons for this are explained in the book, but not even given so much as lip service here in the film. This may have been intended by the director to make the audience dislike the family and identify better with Jessie, as later on the suggestion seems to be that Jessie is going mad. After some heartfelt expressions by Sam and Anna, Jessie seemingly endangers the life of her other daughter, Meggie. We are then drawn more to empathise with the rest of the family and their own struggles, both with the loss of Jamie and now a mother and wife possibly losing her grip on reality.
This film would definitely appeal more to parents than casual viewers, although it does well enough for a Sunday afternoon psychological thriller.
This is another one I bought for the sole reason that it stars Peter Strauss. As always, Strauss is excellent in the role given him, lending both a sense of a literary character and a real person. That said, it's not an easy or involved role and it's more of a support to the mother and son...
This is my first Marlo Thomas film and her performance here as Jessie reminds me somewhat of Shelley Duvall in The Shining.
The main story is about Jessie's trauma after the loss of her favourite child, Jamie. Exploring from grief through to possible hauntings, insanity and dangerous hallucinations, the attachment and loss felt by Jessie is clear.
Less obvious is the nature of Jamie's sudden and disturbing reappearance. For a while the viewer is unsure whether the child is actually a hallucination or a ghost and the direction and cinematography cast quite a creepy scene as the mother explores these strange occurrences.
Unfortunately, what isn't made clear is the family background. The first half of the novel deals with Jessie's perspectives on life and how ill-matched she and her husband Sam ought to be. They come from very different walks of life, yet work very well together. This is never explained in the film, so we just see an oddly paired couple.
Missing too, are fuller explorations of Jessie's reasons for being so detached from her family - Whilst it is obvious why she is/was so close to little Jamie, the film does not incorporate her reasons for being so distant from Jamie's twin sister Meggie, older sister Anna or her husband and his mother-in-law.
Lastly, a lot of the family dynamic in general is ignored, aside from the most salient of plot points. Good actors were cast in this film, but were given nothing to do for the most part, so when their few 'big scenes' come along (the aforementioned salient plot points) they must act with all their worth. As a result, the scenes appear overly dramatic, overacted and simply tacked on because the characters have been so ignored thus far.
Being so ignored by the main plot of mother and son, the other characters can appear aloof and uncaring. The reasons for this are explained in the book, but not even given so much as lip service here in the film. This may have been intended by the director to make the audience dislike the family and identify better with Jessie, as later on the suggestion seems to be that Jessie is going mad. After some heartfelt expressions by Sam and Anna, Jessie seemingly endangers the life of her other daughter, Meggie. We are then drawn more to empathise with the rest of the family and their own struggles, both with the loss of Jamie and now a mother and wife possibly losing her grip on reality.
This film would definitely appeal more to parents than casual viewers, although it does well enough for a Sunday afternoon psychological thriller.