PARK CITY, Utah -- "Lady Chatterly's Lover" caroms off "Love Story" in this scruffily tender yet ultimately bathetic story of love and terminal illness. Playing here as a dramatic competition entrant at the Sundance Film Festival, "Under Heaven" is a curious melange of smarts and schmaltz. Its natural audience will be women who read romance weepies, but this uneven visualization may take some of the blossom off the petal even for fans of that genre.
In this contemporary-set romancer, Cynthia (Molly Parker) and Buck (Aden Young) are young, in lust and on the streets. Being Seattle, Buck scores some dough as a street performer but generally boozes it away. This rankles Cynthia, whose mother has endured three alcoholic, logger husbands. Determined not to follow in her mom's downward footsteps, Cynthia bolts from her milieu and wins a job as a caretaker for rich, young Eleanor (Joely Richardson), who is dying of breast cancer.
They develop a friendship, and Cynthia -- not completely free from pangs for her aptly named Buck -- lands him a job as a gardener at the estate. She passes Buck off as her half-brother, since she has already spilled the beans to Eleanor about the horrors of her ex-boyfriend.
At its most touching, screenwriter-director Meg Richman's narrative depicts the enormous sustenance these two outsiders provide to the loveless, terminally ill Eleanor. For a brief and wonderful period, they blossom as a family and each gathers strength and happiness from their union. Alas, "Under Heaven" tailspins into a steamy pot of female rivalry as Eleanor and Cynthia do psychological battle over who controls (and beds) Buck. Richman's visualizations tend not only to be cliched, but their overall sappiness detract from the initial strength of the story.
The players are well-cast with Richardson winning our hearts as the doomed damsel. With her blonde looks and winged physicality, Richardson seems like a natural for the part of Lady Di in any of those several hundred productions in the works. Parker is solid as the scruffy woman who wants the finer things, while Young is a convincing screwup as the wayward Buck.
Technical contributions are mired in the film's swoony sensibility, most gratingly Marc Olsen's saccharine score.
UNDER HEAVEN
Banner Entertainment
A film by Meg Richman
Producers: Robin Schorr
Screenwriter-director: Meg Richman
Director of photography: Claudio Rocha
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Co-producer: Paddy Cullen
Editor: Deborah Zimmerman
Music: Marc Olsen
Costume designer: Ron Leamon
Casting: Laurel Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Eleanor: Joely Richardson
Buck: Aden Young
Cynthia: Molly Parker
John:: Kevin Phillip
Cynthia's Mother: Krisha Fairchild
Mrs. Fletcher: Marjorie Nelson
Francis: Alisa Mackay
Brittany: Elsie Vance
Running time -- 112 minutes
No MPAA rating...
In this contemporary-set romancer, Cynthia (Molly Parker) and Buck (Aden Young) are young, in lust and on the streets. Being Seattle, Buck scores some dough as a street performer but generally boozes it away. This rankles Cynthia, whose mother has endured three alcoholic, logger husbands. Determined not to follow in her mom's downward footsteps, Cynthia bolts from her milieu and wins a job as a caretaker for rich, young Eleanor (Joely Richardson), who is dying of breast cancer.
They develop a friendship, and Cynthia -- not completely free from pangs for her aptly named Buck -- lands him a job as a gardener at the estate. She passes Buck off as her half-brother, since she has already spilled the beans to Eleanor about the horrors of her ex-boyfriend.
At its most touching, screenwriter-director Meg Richman's narrative depicts the enormous sustenance these two outsiders provide to the loveless, terminally ill Eleanor. For a brief and wonderful period, they blossom as a family and each gathers strength and happiness from their union. Alas, "Under Heaven" tailspins into a steamy pot of female rivalry as Eleanor and Cynthia do psychological battle over who controls (and beds) Buck. Richman's visualizations tend not only to be cliched, but their overall sappiness detract from the initial strength of the story.
The players are well-cast with Richardson winning our hearts as the doomed damsel. With her blonde looks and winged physicality, Richardson seems like a natural for the part of Lady Di in any of those several hundred productions in the works. Parker is solid as the scruffy woman who wants the finer things, while Young is a convincing screwup as the wayward Buck.
Technical contributions are mired in the film's swoony sensibility, most gratingly Marc Olsen's saccharine score.
UNDER HEAVEN
Banner Entertainment
A film by Meg Richman
Producers: Robin Schorr
Screenwriter-director: Meg Richman
Director of photography: Claudio Rocha
Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky
Co-producer: Paddy Cullen
Editor: Deborah Zimmerman
Music: Marc Olsen
Costume designer: Ron Leamon
Casting: Laurel Smith
Color/stereo
Cast:
Eleanor: Joely Richardson
Buck: Aden Young
Cynthia: Molly Parker
John:: Kevin Phillip
Cynthia's Mother: Krisha Fairchild
Mrs. Fletcher: Marjorie Nelson
Francis: Alisa Mackay
Brittany: Elsie Vance
Running time -- 112 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/21/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.