FFVP review - In Her Shoes

IN HER SHOES

Director Curtis Hanson cut his teeth on modest thrillers that successively went up in budget and quality peaking with his masterpiece, “L. A. Confidential.” It had all the mystery and suspense of his earlier films. It also had more imperfect people in an imperfect world than all of those films combined. Hanson followed “L. A. Confidential” with “Wonder Boys” about an imperfect English professor living off the fumes of his one great novel who takes a talented student under his wing. Next came “8 Mile,” another character study, this time about a wannabe rap star (Eminem). He continues the trend with ”In Her Shoes,” a story about two sisters, their love-hate relationship, and the grandmother they didn’t know they had.

The first fifteen minutes of “In Her Shoes” is a laughathon thanks to realistic dialogue, plausible situations, and Cameron Diaz’s uproariously honest portrayal of Maggie Feller, a party animal who can’t hold her liquor, can’t hold a job, and has no desire to hold onto a man. She hops from bed to bed with the frequency of a change of stockings, is an imposition to her self righteous step-mother, and a thorn in her sister Rose’s life. In the parlance of life before women’s lib, she is what was once called - a slut. Ah! But there’s a reason! - that comes to light when she blows an audition for an on-air spot on MTV. Maggie is spunky and gregarious, has a an infectious smile and an unerring beauty that is perfectly suited to television. But she can’t read. In one fell swoop, Maggie’s impulsive lifestyle: a way of seeking approval - and her mood swings: her reaction to her poor choices are filtered through this one moment of enlightenment.

Toni Collete’s Rose is the complete antithesis of Maggie. She is a successful lawyer, has a neatly ordered life, and is overweight. Maggie thunders into her life with the force of a gale wind leaving emotional debris - and a messy house - in her path. The sisters love each other. They go out, dress up, talk about the future, memories of their mother and make promises to each other that are destined to be broken. After the glow wears thin, each of the sisters is compelled to make some life altering decisions that will bring the past back to life and reunite them on common ground. But first they must separate and reexamine their lives to find out who they are, why they are so different, and what drives them apart. The answers are in the unopened letters that Maggie discovers in the back of a drawer at her remarried father’s house. They are from the sisters’ maternal grandmother.

Maggie shows up uninvited, but welcome, at her grandmother Ella’s retirement home. For Maggie, it’s a stopping off point, a place to replenish her thoughts, think strategy and maybe steal a few bucks. Ella (Shirley MacLaine) is wise to her but not unsympathetic. She sees a troubled woman with the same irrational impulses that characterized her daughter, the sisters’ mother who died in a car crash under mysterious circumstances. Ella tries to fill in the spaces of Maggie’s life with a brutally honest assessment of her behavior. Ella offers to help in any way possible as long as Rose is included in her plans. She brokers a deal that could help Maggie straighten out her life and, hopefully, bring the splintered family back together.

“In Her Shoes” was adapted by Susannah Grant from a novel by Jennifer Wiener whose work is not familiar to me. But anyone who has seen “Erin Brockovich” with Julia Roberts knows all they need to be know about Ms Grant. It was not just a ‘woman’s picture’ - and neither is “In Her Shoes.” It is a family saga that weaves a family’s history in miniature into its first person narrative. The movie steps up to the plate and hits one home run after another with it’s savvy take in the human condition.

“In Her Shoes” is funny the way people can be funny. A laugh or a smile can come from a simple reaction to a particular situation like Rose’s obsession with shoes and Maggie’s pointed view of her taste. It is heartbreaking in the way a lover’s betrayal, or the callous treatment of an insensitive stepparent can break a heart. “In Her Shoes” is also life affirming in its portrayal of an older generation that knows how to savor life. The retirees’ zest for life, and the interest of a blind English Professor (veteran character actor Norman Lloyd) in Maggie’s welfare gives her life a positive energy that affects everyone around her.

“In Her Shoes” is an emotionally satisfying journey into the hearts and souls of a family torn apart by tragedy, trying to piece together the threads that define the very fiber of their being. It is funny, witty, dramatic and totally engrossing from beginning to end.

The one movie about family that came immediately to mind.

“Secrets & Lies” (1996) - Writer/director Mike Leigh: A working class White Woman’s life is turned upside down when she discovers that the Young Black professional Woman seeking her out was the baby she signed away for adoption in her youth. Mother and daughter are played by Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptisite. Timothy Spall and a host other fine British actors fill out a family that have a lot of other secrets to reveal by the end of the movie. Like “In Her Shoes,” this is funny, witty, dramatic and totally engrossing from beginning to end.

Some early films from director Curtis Hanson

“The Bedroom Window” (1987) - Hanson also wrote this clever thriller about a love triangle, a murder seen from a bedroom window and a lie whose underlying truth hinges on the eyesight of the star witness. With Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, and Isabelle Huppert as a femme fatale.

“Bad Influence” (1990) - Rob Lowe is the evil bad guy who invades the personal life of a do-gooder who comes to his aid. James Spader is the guy who first warms to Lowe and then lives to regret it.

“The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” (1992) - Rebecca De Morany is a crazed baby sitter who makes Annabela Sciorra’s and Matt McCoy’s life a living hell. Predictable but still a hit thanks to the two performances of De Morany and Sciorra.

“The River Wild” ( 1994) - This one put Hanson on the A List. Meryl Streep is an expert at running the rapids whose family outing turns into a nightmare when Kevin Bacon climbs on board. He forces her to take him down river with his cronies to escape the law. She uses her boat like a rapier slashing through every twist and turn of the river to throw the bad guys off balance. With David Straithairn as the husband hoping to patch up his marriage and Joseph Mazello is the young son caught in the middle. Also with John C, Riley and Benjamin Bratt. This is one hell of an exciting movie!