Passion Fish (1992)

Truly Dreadful Film

Too much of everything

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

You can write the best scripts, pronounce their promise with great dialogues, but without direction, you will never extract lifelike realism, sensibility and made those qualities accessible in superb performance presented here.This movie has it all. One of the things I treasure the most and mind you, I know I keep repeating myself again and again - that be a great atmosphere. Atmosphere in this movie is ravishing. Locations are not overused for any other purpose but to remain the stage of this charming story.Relationship between May-Alice and Chantelle has relaxed and profound feeling about finer things of life. Shear simplicity of this approach is risky for mass audience, but for the connoisseur of finer realism, it is a pure joy. One thing is for certain: If you can't detect those virtues, you will at least fulfill your boredom early in the movie and look elsewhere. Preparation of actors is excellent from beginning toward the end. To tell you the truth, nitpicking wont do you any good here, because I really can't find anything wrong with this movie. I would simply, again and again, soak the lifelike presence of the main characters and enjoy this movie. My utmost respect goes to John Sayles for outstanding results with Passion Fish.

John Sayles works so independently of the Hollywood mainstream and follows his own voice so meticulously that he often leaves his fans just a little short-changed with each successive work. As brilliant a filmmaker as he remains, every one of his films has its own shortcomings that leave it in the "near-perfect" category. In a way it feels as though he purposely leaves something unnecessary in each time out. For this reason among others, Sayles' films are an acquired taste. His 1992 film "Passion Fish" struts along at a very self-assured, yet slow paced gait, much like the population of its Southern Gothic location.The main focus of the film is put on two women, one who returns to the place she left to dwell upon her current challenges and another who comes there for refuge from her troubles elsewhere. The women's paths intersect at a precarious point in their lives, leading to some very interesting results. Mary McDonnell stars as May-Alice, a feisty, soap actress forced into early retirement by a car accident. It's a challenging role and she brings a certain bravado that hasn't been shown by her previously. Alfre Woodard gives a highly nuanced performance as the nurse who has been hired to help the reluctant May-Alice.Like in many of Sayles' films, given his immense prowess as a writer, the true pleasure comes not from watching the main storyline but the local and supporting flavor chewing up scenery throughout. One such gem involves an outdoor luncheon with McDonnell's character attempting to keep her composure and a tactful face with two Southern Belle types she hates. It's moments like this that add texture to Sayles' films, but also tend to keep them loosely edited and occasionally overwrought.

For people dealing with a sudden life change, this portrayal is eloquent. Not only is every facet of human adaptability explored, but common hurdles in major adjustments seethe. The casting was perfect, the perspective well-rounded, and the satire in the writing was classic. Both women were so comfortable in their roles that everything they did seemed natural. David Strathairn was equally good. The music was impossible for sitting still, and the overall feeling when it ended was a warmth hard to find.This is a movie easily warranting recommendation as an exemplar for audiences facing a rough road. The outrage of starting over and sacrificing is beautifully shown by both women. The adjustments they are both making together are formidable, and as they clench down on where they find themselves, your admiration for how they handle the grim circumstances steadily grows.

Apparently Sayles never sat around a table with a bunch of women gabbing. In "Passion Fish", which tells of a NYC soap opera actress who becomes a paraplegic and begins a long rehab in her Louisiana home town, the women at the table never talk over each other and only one talks at a time. Such histrionics are an example of the good and the bad of this very palatable, spoon fed Sayles product which strikes a nice safe middle ground on all the issues it plumbs. If good films follow the rules and great films break the rules, this flick is dead on good. Not risky fare but very well received, "Passion Fish" is one for the masses....especially the distaff. (B)