Pieces of April

Dom Robinson reviewsPieces of AprilShe’s the one in every family.

Distributed by

MGM

• Cert: PG-13
• Cat.no: 1005951
• Running time: 80 minutes
• Year: 2003
• Pressing: 2004
• Region(s): 1 (US NTSC)
• Chapters: 20 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: English, French
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: No
• Disc Format: DVD 9
• RRP: $24.99
• Extras: Featurette: “All the Pieces Together”, Trailers, Audio Commentary
  

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  Director:

  Peter Hedges

  (Pieces of April)

Producer:

Alexis Alexanian, John S Lyons & Gary Winick

Screenplay:

Peter Hedges

Music:

Stephin Merritt

Cast:

April Burns: Katie Holmes
Bobby: Derek Luke
Jim Burns: Oliver Platt
Beth Burns: Alison Pill
Timmy Burns: John Gallagher Jr
Joy Burns: Patricia Clarkson
Grandma Dottie: Alice Drummond
Evette: Lillias White
Eugene: Isiah Whitlock Jr
Latrell: Sisqó
Wayne: Sean Hayes
Tyrone: Armando Riesco

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What first struck me about the clips I saw from Pieces of Aprilwas that this appeared to be a low-key and low-budget film that actually had actors who could act,and a story that actually garnered interest. Thankfully, in the most part, I was not wrong.

The entire film takes place on Thanksgiving Day, not something we have in the UK – although manywill give thanks on the day when Tony Blair resigns, but the only WMD on display here are KatieHolmes‘ weapons of mass distraction. Back to the plot, though, and for those not familiarwith the celebrations, you cook a turkey, rather like we might do for Xmas.

As the day begins, April Burns’ (Katie Holmes) first task of the day is to prepare, stuff andcook said bird. She’s worked out perfectly how long it’s going to take. This is a special daylike no other, because it’s going to feed her whole, dysfunctional, family and her boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke),yet when the time comes… her cooker’s broken down (witness her dangerously testing it with a nakedflame), so she tries her luck round the apartment block, full of oddballs and weirdos – and somenice people – on the busiest cooking day of the year to see if anyone else can help.

It plays out like a road movie for April – despite the fact she never leaves the building – so Idon’t want to spoil anything that happens, aswriter/director Peter Hedges cleverly fills in all the inbetweens, bringing out the fullflavour of the individuals she comes across in the building – Eugene and Evette, the fat blackcouple; the man who hated his mother yet would love to see her again – and has an unwelcoming lookabout his apartment; and Wayne (Sean Hayes, above-right with Holmes), the posh puff further upstairs in 5D.

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At the other end of things are April’s family who are coming to her “home” and going to meet Bobbyfor the first time. April’s siblings, Alison Pill as Beth and John Gallagher Jr fulfiltheir roles when they need to play up against their parents as well as being touching, and I’mwondering if the character Grandma Dottie (Alice Drummond, aka the Librarian at thebeginning ofGhostbusters)was so called because she’s really not all there? Either way, there’s more welcome contributionsfrom parents Jim (Oliver Platt) and Joy (Patricia Clarkson), particularly thelatter as Clarkson puts on a fantastic performance as a young mother struggling with illness(of which I won’t divulge here, as the revelation and images will hit you like a hammer),which will mean this is the last Thanksgiving dinner she’ll ever experience.

This film does an expert job when, on the occasions that it’s needed, it cuts you to thequick from making you laugh out loud, such as April first taking the turkey from the sink,to bringing about the full reality of how sick Joy is. The only real weak link seems tobe the character of Bobby. While April’s up to her eyes in a culinary catastrophe, he’soff on a mission that makes him look like he’s up to no good with a scam to bring homethe bacon with his mate Latrell (the rapper, Sisqó), yet he’s just buying acheap suit. However, does anyone know what those electronic numbers – some staying static,some increasing quickly while some decrease – on the front of the Circuit City buildingmean? I just couldn’t work it out.

For fans of L’Holmes, though, I thought she was stunning throughout – it’s in the eyes as well asher perfect body, even though she’s meant to be looking a little bit daggy. TheIMDBhas her height listed as 5’10”, but I always had her figured for a bit of a short-arse, around 5’4″,and my preference is for women of my height, 5’7″ or under. She also looks verybuxom in this movie, although a picture printed in the paper in late May 2004showed her breasts to be rather akin to a pair of deflated balloons that haven’tbeen taken down since Christmas. Still, I’ll cross that bridge if and whenI come to it.

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Filmed and presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen (there’s also a 4:3 version if you so desire,although if you can’t accept a 16:9 image on a 4:3 TV then you don’t deserve to live), this moviewas shot on a digital video camera for that requisite, intimate feeling, giving the film a purposelywashed-out look. That’s not to say it looks bad to watch but it’s difficult to assess the qualityof the print but I certainly didn’t notice any problems.

Soundwise, it’s a drama not a science-fiction blast, so the DD5.1 sound doesn’t do a massiveamount. It does do the job though, and got those same open/close door sounds I’ve heard inCold Feetand the late 90s PC game SiN.

The brief extras are as follows:

• Featurette: “All the Pieces Together” (16 mins):Presented in 4:3 with letterbox film clips, it’s the cast talking aboutthe film inbetween those clips, and not a great deal else, although it does tell youthe reason why the writer/director came to put it together.
• Trailers:Primarily there’s a 16:9 anamorphic trailer for this film itself, but MGM go a bitoverboard from promotion for others as there are letterboxed trailers when you putthe disc in, for Uptown Girls and Out of Time. Then, selectablefrom the special features menu are a general MGM Means Great Movies one,a Contemporary Romance Trailer, which features a lot of the same films,plus individual ones for Casa de los Babys, Girls Will Be Girls, On Edgeand Season 1 of Dead Like Me.

  And there’s the promise of more, but those are just packshots(!)

• Audio commentary: from writer/director Peter Hedges.

20 chapters, subtitles in English, French and Spanish, plus static andsilent menus. Worth a rental for sure. Worth buying if you think Katie Holmesis gorrrrrrrrrrrgeous. 🙂

The extras on the Region 2 DVD, released June 2004 in the UK, containsmore or less the same extras, only losing out on the trailers for otherfilms and programmes. Also, the menus are done differently, but certainlynothing worth buying two versions for.

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FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALLReview copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2004.

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