Places in the Heart

We all know the phenomena of different Hollywood studios releasing two, three, or even four films with very similar subjects or storylines in the same year, sometimes just within a few months of each other. The "twin films" phenomenon dates back to the silent era. 1984 had several trends, but this year's most genuine "twin films" were triplets. Three prestige dramas headed by major female stars about family farms in danger of foreclosure were released within four months of each other. The first two, Places in the Heart and Country, came out one week apart in mid-September, followed by The River in December. The trifecta of these three pictures indicates what a big political issue the struggle to hold on to family farms had become by 1984.

Of the three movies, Places in the Heart is the outlier because it is not a contemporary story about farmers struggling against government policies; it's a period piece set during the dustbowl. But its themes of perseverance and the power of community resonated with many at the time and still do. Sally Field plays Edna Spalding, a 1930s Texas farmer who is widowed after her husband, the local sheriff, is accidentally killed by a drunk Black kid. Edna suddenly finds herself alone to take charge of her farm and raise her children. Her sister, played by Lindsay Crouse, helps her as much as possible. Still, everyone in this economically challenged community has their own problems to deal with. Edna's bank representative (Lane Smith) insists she needs to sell her farm. The only financial help he can offer is forcing her to take in his brother-in-law as a paid lodger. The brother-in-law, Will (John Malkovich), is an indignant former soldier blinded in World War I who doesn't want to live with Edna, but it's better than being shipped off to an institution.

Shortly after her husband's death, Edna is visited by a vagabond handyman named Moses "Moze" Hadner, played by Danny Glover. Moze convinces Edna that she can make money planting cotton and that he can help her do it, but the local businessmen, who have a vested interest in seeing Edna lose her farm, are skeptical and racist. Edan, her children, and the unlikely crew who begin to work her land and become her friends have a difficult row to hoe (literally), as none but Moze have any idea what backbreaking work picking cotton is. To pay off her debts, Edna must rush to harvest her crop and get it to the local gin to win the annual cash prize awarded to the farmer who produces the first bale each season.

While there is a lot of save-the-farm drama here, the details about how everything works, especially how cotton is bought and sold, are left a little ill-defined. The climax might have been even more satisfying had we had a clearer understanding of the exact goals everyone is working towards. However, since Edna doesn't understand everything herself and must be coached by Moze to avoid being cheated by the buyer, the vagaries surrounding these details are organic. The film is less about the plight of the American farmer and more of a historical commentary about female resilience, battling the elements, the tight-lipped romantic lives of folks in rural communities, and a wise, kindhearted Black man befriending a white person and changing their life. Those are all topics the Academy loves, so it's not surprising this movie was a hit at the Oscars, scoring nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for Field, Best Supporting Actress for Lindsay Crouse, Best Supporting Actor for Malkovich, and Best Costume Design for Ann Roth. Benton won for his unusual original screenplay, and Field scored her second Best Actress win (this was the year she tearfully thanked her peers with the iconic phrase, "You Like Me… Right now, You LIKE me!"

This is an elegant production with terrific performances and an incredible visual look by the king of outdoor cinematography, Néstor Almendros (Days of Heaven, The Blue Lagoon, Sophie's Choice). Benton (co-writer of Bonnie and Clyde, What's Up, Doc?, and Superman, and writer/director of Kramer vs. Kramer and Nobody's Fool) ambles around the central narrative with a subplot about Edna's sister's husband, Wayne, played by Ed Harris, having an affair with the wife of another local couple. Amy Madigan plays Viola, the woman Wayne is in love with as much as he is with his wife, and Terry O'Quinn plays Viola's husband and Wayne's friend, Buddy. This subplot risks feeling off-topic to Edna's predicament, but it helps put the movie's focus on the life of a community rather than just one person's struggle. Even with several Hollywood cliches present, Benton crafts a beautiful story of chosen family and communal tenacity, and the performances by Field and the rest of the outstanding cast still manage to stir various places in the heart.