MARVIN'S ROOM

3/4

This is not a perfect film. It is not a film of seamless editing nor inspired lighting.

 It is inspirational, however.

 What I love about films like this, and MARVIN'S ROOM in particular, is the sheer pleasure of seeing something so completely genuine on the screen, or hearing the well-done dialogue, and getting the "That Is So True" feeling. Which is the crux, here. This movie has moment after moment that resonates with simple truth.

 I have to stress that. For quite some time now, we have had movies throw the-cynical-truth in our faces, or the-bitter-truth, or the-ugly-truth. Not very many, however, settle for the simple truth, which is not so one-sided. It does acknowledge that even good people are not perfect, and that--as in this movie--they may [may]even be capable of manipulation to reach their own ends. It also acknowledges that even selfish people are capable of selfless acts that--as in this movie--are not born of their self-interest. The simple truth proclaims that cynicism is balanced by hope.

 A warning: this is a very dark film. Though it doesn't stoop to one-sided preaching in its story, it is often brutal in its depictions of the characters fears and weaknesses--attributes that often show up as brusque cruelty in the way the characters treat each other. There are scenes that are downright uncomfortable to watch because of this, but I think that the sweet moments are sweeter by contrast.

 It is one of these sweet, resonant, moments that just about made the film for me. It is a remark made by Bessie [Diane Keaton] to her sister, Lee [Meryl Streep], in the midst of tragedy. She stops for a moment, and with her trademark smile that shows both pain and beauty, says she has been so lucky to have so much love in her life. Lee answers that yes, Bessie is loved by those she's cared for quite a lot. Bessie acknowledges this, but that isn't what she meant. She says that the love she's been blessed with is the love she feels for them. Few movies are that smart. Real feelings seem so far beyond the range of Hollywood nowadays that I find myself stunned when they are let loose in a film like this.

 I don't know how much of this can be credited to the director. There are very few spots where the director can be felt standing over your shoulder--which is a good thing. But the writer is knowing--the story is good, its message is good, and thus the performances it elicits are terrific.