Pieces of April
What got me interested in Pieces of April was the Oscar nomination for Patricia Clarkson, whose performance in The Station Agent SHOULD have been Oscar-nominated (as should a lot of that film’s other features, but down the Oscar-bitching road lies madness.) And Clarkson’s performance was definitely the best thing about this very hit-or-miss film.
Much like in The Station Agent, not a whole lot happens in Pieces of April. The difference between them is that at the end of the former, the characters have changed and we understand why, and in the latter, a phony attempt at a character-driven ending is duct-taped on, completely forgetting the conflicts the entire film has developed. Roger Ebert thinks the filmmakers simply ran out of money prematurely, but if so, they shouldn’t have taken the boyfriend character on location around New York City for a complete red herring of a subplot.
Clocking in at 81 minutes, Pieces of April won’t waste too much of your time, and it redeems itself at times. The family’s car journey to the city, with Clarkson as the mother in the final stages of cancer, is funny and emotional at the same time. Some of April’s interactions with her neighbors are well-done, though the vegan and the dog-lover are painfully unfunny. Watch it some night when you don’t want to think too hard, and it’ll be worth your while.