Rating: 
Summary: Very Impressed!
Review: We just watched this movie and we were thoroughly impressed. Not surprised at all that Patricia Clarkson was nominated for an Oscar for it. It was really compelling, very well acted, but still had a great deal of humor to it as well. Big thumbs up.
Rating:
Summary: Quite a surprise
Review: Had no idea what to expect from this, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The movie is paced extraordinarily well, no long boring bits. Several laughs, the plot moves along without the usual "I know what happens next" feeling.
The performances were all terrific, I really developed an affection for the characters. I had rented this because I had an extra coupon and there was nothing else I wanted to see - glad I stumbled upon it because it was one of the best films I've seen in a while.
Rating:
Summary: Great Thanksgiving Movie. Idiosyncratic Family Drama.
Review: April (Katie Holmes) is a young woman estranged from her family and living with her boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke) in a mildly run down apartment building on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Aprils' mother, Joy (Patricia Clarkson), is being treated for advanced cancer and may not live long, so April has invited her family for Thanksgiving dinner in hopes of favorably impressing her mother and improving their relationship while there is still time. The family -Joy, father Jim (Oliver Platt), brother Timmy (John Gallagher, Jr.), and sister Beth, (Alison Pill)- piles in their car for the long and stressful trip to the city, while April prepares the meal. But things get off to a bad start when her oven won't work."Pieces of April" was written and directed by Peter Hedges. It's a wonderful examination of family and an engaging portrait of these individuals who are so disparate in personality yet linked to one another by hope and tradition. And "Pieces of April" is an testament to the opportunities modern technologies provide to filmmakers with few resources. The film was shot in 16 days on digital video for $300,000. And, incredibly, the only glaring evidence of these limitations is the absence of wide-angle shots. Director Peter Hedges didn't use wide shots because they are problematic on DV. The result is that occasionally our field of view seems unnaturally truncated, but not enough to detract from the quality of the film. I was a little surprised to learn that great thespians Patricia Clarkson and Oliver Platt and a young star like Katie Holmes would agree to such a low-budget production, but I imagine this fantastic script captured their interest. Peter Hedges' dialogue is crisp and forceful, and his characterizations are interesting and so genuine that these people might be your neighbors. Great actors, a great script, and resourceful direction can apparently create a terrific film with very little else. There is little I can say about Patricia Clarkson's performance except that she is brilliant as always. April's mother, Joy, is hypercritical, blunt, but a font of emotional strength, and no one could play this memorable character better. Oliver Platt departs from the quirky characters for which he is famous to play Jim, Joy's even-tempered tolerant husband. The supporting cast is large and perfect without exception: Alison Pill, who plays April's teenaged sister Beth, is destined to be a great character actress. Derek Luke, of "Antwone Fisher" fame, this time plays a man who is confident and comfortable with himself. All of April's neighbors are portrayed vividly, but especially memorable are Isiah Whitlock, Jr. and Lillias White as Eugene & Evette and Sean Hayes as nutty neighbor Wayne. "Pieces of April" is an engaging, ultimately optimistic, family drama that is somehow both idiosyncratic and universally true. Great performances. Great script. This is the best Thanksgiving movie I've seen. I can't recommend it more highly. The DVD: There are 2 unavoidable previews. Both widescreen and full screen formats are on the same disc! Bonus features include a "making of " documentary entitled "All the Pieces Together", an audio commentary by writer/director Peter Hedges, and a theatrical trailer. The documentary includes interviews with the film's cast and Peter Hedges, in which he discusses the film's genesis. Hedges also does a nice audio commentary in which he talks about the film's themes, story, and technical stuff. If you really like the film, the extras are worth watching. Hedges' commentary may be of particular interest to aspiring filmmakers seeking insight into how to get the most out of a small budget. At the very least it is inspiring on that level.
Rating: 
Summary: ...yeah...in my stool!
Review: ugh. just 'cause it's indie don't mean it's good. It's that kind of film that tries too hard to differentiate itself from major studio subject matter....but falls flat. Ms. Holmes is obviously trying to break out of being typecasted as some middle class, white bread actress - "Look at me, I dyed my hair and am dating a black man --- but I still won't give him any tongue when I kiss him, that's just grody!" Puke, go back to the creek.
Rating:
Summary: Pieces of Genius
Review: Wow. How this incredibly satisfying little independent film didn't garner more attention during its brief theatrical release is an absolute mystery to me. I heard of it via the Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for Patricia Clarkson (whose work I've always been attracted to), and I picked it up for a view before the Academy Awards to see what she had done. Little did I know that virtually every performance in this sweet film could easily have garnered a Best Supporting nod. April (the ever-more-lovely Katie Holmes) -- the black sheep of the typical American family -- faces the daunting challenge of 'piecing' together a Thanksgiving day meal for her family. As it turns out, the meal will more than likely be the last for her mother (Clarkson) as she is suffering from terminal cancer. The narrative gravitates between three storylines: (1) April racing around the apartment building desperately in need of help in completing the dinner; (2) her boyfriend's quest to find a great looking suit with which to make a great impression on April soon-to-arrive family; and (3) April's family driving from wherever to April's seedy city apartment for dinner. What works best about PIECES OF APRIL is the story: entirely believeable and poignant, the viewer gets captured by April's antics at dealing with unreasonable neighbors as well as Clarkson offering tips about 'rolling a better joint' to her young "photog" son. All of these moments are infused with as much whimsy as they are heartache; these moments point up the utter chaos that IS the modern family, but they also point toward a hope for the future in, as Oliver Platt puts it, "building new memories." The urban aspect to APRIL works but basically serves as a narrative hook against which to compare and contrast the expectations the small-town family has. Largely, it serves as a source for laughter, which works, too. The ending, however, really deserves mention. It trickles up almost unpredictably, and it delivers such an emotional wallop -- sensitive without being senselessness -- that I would find anyone hard pressed to walk away from this film without a serious lump in the throat. Immediately after viewing, I went out and bought my own copy. It's just that good.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This movie was fantastic. I rented this movie not expecting much but than I watched it and was blown away. The witty dialouge brings humor in all the right places that is sometimes subtle but always works. It has humor but is also dramatic in the right places. Patricia Clarkson gives a brillant performance and Katie Holmes was also very good giving the best performance I have seen from her. Everything worked from the acting to the writing. I think Oliver Platt gave a great performance too. The only bad one in this movie is Sean Hayes(whose character was only ok) and this movie is so good that it makes up for him enough to still get a perfect.
Rating:
Summary: "Wonderful Indie Film!"
Review: With Hollywood intent on making an endless line of stupid sequels and remakes, movies based on bad old TV shows ("CHARLIE'S ANGELS", "LOST IN SPACE"), vapid video games ("TOMB RAIDER", "RESIDENT EVIL"), comic books ("X-MEN", "HULK"), and, yes, "amusement park attractions" ("PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN"), it is good that there are still some filmmakers making movies about people and ordinary life. Last year after suffering through the idiotic film "HULK", I almost gave up on movies period. But then I discovered some truly wonderful films like Sofia Coppola's "LOST IN TRANSLATION", John Sayles's "CASA DE LOS BABYS", "THE STATION AGENT", "THE COOLER" and this truly wonderful film! These films really refreshed me and gave me renewed faith in the film biz. "PIECES OF APRIL" deals with the life of a very dysfunctional family on Thanksgiving. I don't want to discuss the plot at length, for I feel it is best to discover the beauties of this film on your own. Suffice to say, the performances are first rate with Patricia Clarkson being a delight in her Oscar nominated performance as Joy, the mother of the clan. And the writing is fantastic. Hedges creates some truly human and believable characters and the film really hits home. The ending is very moving. The DVD is quite nice. Picture and sound is great and the special features include a 15 minute "behind-the-scenes" look at the film, plus an insightful audio commentary with the writer/ director Peter Hedges. Among the many interesting nuggets of info is the fact that this film was shot in 16 days! Incredible! Also included is the theatrical trailer for this film as well as "CASA DE LOS BABYS" and several other current MGM titles on VHS and DVD. Truly a wonderful little gem of a film that will delight just about everyone who loves good films. Check it out, I'll think you'll like it! -George Bauch.
Rating: 
Summary: another good indie
Review: I really did not want to see this movie or was really looking forward to watching a movie about a "bad apple" of a family. I was pleasantly surprised though with Pieces of April. The movie is about a family visiting there daughter in New York for Thanksgiving. The mom, Patricia Clarkson (who should win the Oscar, but won't), is dying of breast cancer and this will most likely be her last Thanksgiving. April, Katie Holmes, has neighbors help her when oven doesn't work and meets a variety of people, which often leads to funny situations. April and her family do not really talk because, as stated earlier, she is the odd child. This movie had its really funny parts but it is a movie that will make you cry at the end. If you do not like independent films, you probably won't want to waste your time because this is a slower paced movie that does not have any special effects or action scenes, like most big budgeted movies. If you're an indie watcher, this is your cup of tea.
Rating: 
Summary: Piece of @#$%!
Review: Really bad indie flick made by the writer of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Has one of the worst performances by Oliver Platt I have ever seen. What is the deal with Clarkson being nominated for this? I like her normally but she was really off in this one. Sean Hayes is officially one of the worst actors ever(I have never liked him on Will and Grace and he is frighteningly bad in this.) It isn't even that interestingly shot (i.e. digital video). The best things about the movie which make it "somewhat" worthwhile are the engaging and dynamic performances by Derek Luke, Katie Holmes and the actress playing the grandmother.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Superb Film!
Review: PIECES OF APRIL, written and directed by Peter Hedges, is simply a stunning little movie. Hedges has found the quintessential dysfunctional family and manages to make us love every looney one of them. The method of back and forth story telling - parents and children preparing for and driving into Manhattan for their estranged daughter's Thanksgiving coupled with the concurrent Manhattan set of the preparation of that dinner - works incredibly well without detracting from the momentum and flow of the story development. April Burns (Katie Holmes) lives in the seediest part of New York City and is the daughter who rebelled from her rather nutty family: she is tattooed, pierced, weirdly dressed, living in a rat hole tenement with her African American boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke). Never having cooked before, she invites her crazy family to Thanksgiving dinner (despite the fact that her oven is broken, she knows nothing about preparing a turkey, etc). Her preparations are aided by at least some of her fellow apartment dwellers. Meanwhile, her mother Joy (Patricia Clarkson, in a hallmark performance) who has had bilateral mastectomies for cancer and is on chemo + pot + bulimia + has a history of being slightly mad, her sweet flummox father Jim (Oliver Platt) who tries desperately to hold his family together, her 'just perfect sister' Beth (Alison Pill), her adolescent photographer brother Timmy (John Gallagher, Jr) and her senile but sweet grandmother (Alice Drummond) are all under duress at the thought of visiting April for the eating holiday. The way this all comes together is one of the funniest, saddest, and most tender and insightful stories to come out in a long time. The way Hedges treats cancer, senility, sibling rivalry, lost child syndrome, multiethnic questions, and family fragility is nothing short of genius. This is a superb metaphor for alienation, acceptance, compassion, and mutual respect. Recommended without reservation.
|
