Pieces of April is one of the least ambitious movies of the year; thus making it one of the most subtly powerful movies of the year. This may seem like a contradiction, but in reality, its a perfectly valid statement. Its easy to get caught in the sheer magnitude of Lord of the Rings, or the bravdo acting of Mystic River, but there is a quality to Pieces of April which is so quaint and down-to-earth, that you can’t help but get caught up in all its simple pleasures.One such simple pleasure is the story itself, which warms the cuckolds of our hearts merely because it isn’t aiming to do so. The appropriately named April Burns is the first pancake of her family: “the one you are supposed to throw away.” When we first meet April, its Thanksgiving morning, and she has a full day ahead of her: the family she has rejected is coming to dinner. April’s mother Joy is in the final stages of cancer, and both know it will likely be her last Thanksgiving. Knowing this, both make an unspoken promise to have one great memory of the other. So as Joy, father Jim, brother Timmy, sister Beth, and grandma Dottie board the station wagon for the trip to the Lower East Side, April puts the turkey in the oven. But of course, her oven breaks at the most inopportune time (damn you Murphy!), forcing April to seek for the kindness of strangers.
Peter Hedges’ (director and screenwriter) is the man behind the screenplay for 2002’s critical hit, About a Boy, and his talent for weaving comedy and drama together is obvious. Pieces of April is part serious family drama and part sitcom humor. A classic example of this is during the middle of the movie, as Joy is trying to remember a happy April memory, only to list off several memories that are actually those of younger daughter Beth. There are many more enjoyable moments like this one in Pieces of April which successfully blend humor and drama, something that is quickly becoming Hedges’ trademark.
As April, Katie Holmes gives her best performance to date. While its not magnificent, she does a credible enough job to both hold the film together as the main character and centerpiece, but also erase the memory of last year’s disaster, Abandon. Patricia Clarkson is fantastic as Joy, the conflicted and cynical dying mother. Much of her acting is done facing a one mirror or another, something that can come off as cliche, but Clarkson makes the emotions expressed feel authentic. With so many fantastic supporting female performances this year, Clarkson just missed the cut for an Oliver nomination.
Complete with a quintessential “what is the true meaning of Thanksgiving?” scene, Pieces of April feels delightfully homegrown, without falling into the made-for-TV realm. The simplicity of Pieces of April works no better than at the end, when Hedges’ bravely shows us the final scenes without dialogue: letting the actors speak for themselves.
Grade: B+
DVD Extras Grade: Average
© 2004 Jacob Sproul