Due East

Rating:
Summary: A Sensitive Examination of Small Town Rural America
Review: DUE EAST (the name of some small town in the South - probably Georgia) is a story about lack of innocence, a state that touches every person in a town ready for retribution.

Mary Faith (well portrayed by newcomer Clara Bryant) is a highschool senior, the top of her class, and perhaps one of the few in her town who appears headed for success in college and life beyond Due East. She becomes pregnant by the one boy who made her feel special just before his accidental death. Her father (Robert Forster), recently widowed, is a kind man who seeks companionship from a girlfriend (Cybill Shepherd) whose son is thought to be the fahter of Mary Faith's child, while in truth he is merely her confidant and supporter. As Mary Faith goes through the agony of deciding whether to keep the child and sacrifice her future or destroy the only remnant of her fleeting but meaningful love, she is barraged by her school principal who sees his only chance for a scholar from his tutelege falling by the wayside, by a woman (Kate Capshaw) who seems the town drunk as her marriage disintegrates, and by her fellow students who are supportive of Mary Faith's decisions. The choice to proceed with the pregnancy results in many changes among the townspeople, provides a model for healing other people's personal shortcomings, and in general changes what seemed to be an immutably harsh citizenry into one of acceptance not ony of Mary Faith but of their own transgressions. Director Helen Shaver draws simple but telling, straightforward performances from her fine cast. Kate Capshaw is particularly excellent as she transforms from an alcohol to the genuine adult friend in Mary Faith's life. Yes, the story has been told, but DUE EAST manages to remind us of important lessons in personal integrity in a manner so subdued that it leaves you just feeling better!