The Spitfire Grill | | Cast : | Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn | | Director : | Lee David Zlotoff | | Studio : | Castle Rock | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | August 23, 1996 | | DVD Released Date : | March 01, 2005 | | Language : | Unknown (Dubbed), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 02, 2005 | | Summary | A good movie. | Content
 | This movie has a atmosphere.
I can't describe it well ,it's warm ,cold and mysterious.
Percy's past is the dark side of this story.
It has built up walls around her.
It's not her who built the wall.It's people in that town.
This movie has a lot of story in it.
The story of Percy ,that of Hannah and Shelby... and all those enhance this movie's quality.
Life is what you make of it.
Sometimes ,it's filled with mistakes and flaws but you have to live with it.
This movie told me a lot. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 13, 2005 | | Summary | A Heartbreaking Look at Pain | Content
| This very touching and rewarding film was brought to prominence thanks in large part to Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival. It is a slow and gentle film which is true to life and makes us actually feel its pain. Often described as a small film, it is rather a very large film about the small things in life. The small town of Gilead, Maine is the setting for this tender drama you will never foget once you have seen it.
Alison Elliot gives a quiet yet unforgettable performance as Percy Talbot, a young girl fresh from prison and trying to start her life over. One of the most touching moments in the film comes shortly after Percy reveals the reason she had been incarcerated, with the words: "I thought maybe, in some place small...." It is quiet and heartbreaking, like the entire film.
The day to day life of a small town and its people is perfectly captured as Percy comes to work for Hannah (Ellen Burstyn) at The Spitfire Grill. Hannah is a woman who knows about pain and gives Percy a chance. Marcia Gay Harden gives a fine performance as a shy and sweet soul who befriends Percy. Her husband uses her for a doorstop and hates Percy for being her friend and encouraging her to be herself. It is a hatred which will bring about tragedy.
Many lives are touched in this small town by Percy, who has seemingly found her home at The Spitfire Grill in Gilead, Maine. Percy slowly becomes part of Hannah's life as she leaves food out back of the Grill at Hannah's request that is mysteriously gone the next morning. But there is always an underlying sadness to Percy's past which prevents any kind of permanence. Her deep sadness extends to a young man who wants a life that Percy can not give.
This film reminds us in a sad and deeply moving way that life does not always give us the chance to start over. But there is also redemption and the message that what we do in our lives does affect others and can even change the way they think.
Alison Elliot is magnificent here, giving a Kevin Spacey like performance of so much going on just beneath the surface. A beautiful score from James Horner a year before Titanic matches perfectly the quiet beauty of the story. The supporting cast is equally good in this wonderful and moving film you will remember for a long, long time..... |
| Rating | | | Date | May 08, 2005 | | Summary | Please don't bring up the past | Content
| Small-town suspicions are very difficult to overcome by a newcomer with a questionable past. How does one simultaneously forget the past and educate the misdirected about its causes? It would seem that focusing on the here-and-now would suffice. It does for all but one. This is a very touching story about hope, courage, love, inner beauty, and circumstantial assumptions. (Two curse words earn the PG rating.) |
| Rating | | | Date | November 01, 2004 | | Summary | See the play! | Content
| I rented this movie only after having seen the play. The play, written by James Valcq and Fred Alley did MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS to the storyline of the movie! The movie only gets a 3, the play, 10+
For fans of this movie, I highly recommend the theatrical production! You won't be disappointed! |
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