Disapointment

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I rated this high because any film that stays on your mind for weeks afterward means it had an impact. that being said, I also have to admit that this is one film that I never want to watch again...unless I am introducing it to someone.the viewer is going to go through some very deep valleys during this movie. how many of us have felt that it would be easier to step off the bus at our own discretion than to ride it to the end of the line? it begs you to question your own morality and mortality. spacek approaches her character with an understanding of feeling so exhausted from the life she is living from the moment she begins to explain herself to Bancroft. and, even though she is determined to end her life on her terms, she shows great compassion towards her mother, knowing that she will never truly be understood regarding her decision.Bancroft embodies the emotional roller-coaster of being a helpless mother witnessing her child made what she feels is a terrible mistake. running the gamut between supportive to berating to acceptance to the final desperation will take your breath away.some feel that this is a very depressing movie and I can understand why they feel that way. in my opinion, it does bring you low but it makes you question what would be your bottom line in order to make such a decision.

Written for the stage by Marsha Norman, 'NIGHT, MOTHER opened on Broadway in 1983 with Anne Pitoniak and Kathy Bates in the roles of Thelma and Jessie Cates. It proved a stunning success with critics and audiences alike, running 380 performances, receiving the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Tony award for Best Play, and Tony nominations for Pitoniak, Bates, and director Tom Moore.In 1986 Marsha Norman herself adapted the play to film. The roles of Thelma and Jessie went to Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek, and in the process of writing--and possibly under pressure from producers--Norman expanded the original play to include characters mentioned but never seen. The result was something slightly less than ideal. Spacek is perfectly cast as the suicidal Jessie, but although she gives an excellent performance Bancroft is intrinsically miscast in the role of Jessie's "plain country woman" mother. The expansion of the original story also has the effect of diluting the claustrophobic intensity of the original. As for director Tom Moore, although his work for the play was memorable, his work with the film was unremarkable.But unexpectedly, such is the power of the story's basic premise that these flaws hardly matter. Watered down, fiddled with, and somewhat miscast, 'NIGHT, MOTHER is still a knock-you-flat story that raises the sort of questions that keep you awake on a sleepless night. Thelma is an ordinary, uneducated woman who takes life as it comes; Jessie, however, is an uneasy mixture of introspection and uncertainty, a woman whose marriage failed when she developed epilepsy, whose son has become a bit of gutter trash, who has over the years become a recluse in her mother's home. She's tired of the whole thing, and on this particular evening she informs her mother that in a few hours she's going to shoot herself and put an end to it.Like the play, the film is essentially an emotional explosion between the two women, Jessie spelling out her reasons for her suicide, Thelma working to turn Jessie from it. Although the suspense of the film arises from a "Will she do it or not?" situation, the real interest here is in Jessie's motivations, the how and why of her decision, and the tactics that Thelma uses in an effort to bring Jessie's plans to a grinding halt, and the way they battle each other over the course of the film. The interest is in the characters, plain and simple.As noted, Bancroft is not ideally cast here. It is extremely difficult to accept her in the role of Thelma Cates. Even so, Bancroft gives it all she has--and the end result is quite powerful as acting pure and simple, a remarkable feat. But the real powerhouse here is Spacek: we believe her, never question her in the role, and buy into it from start to finish. Even with Bancroft's miscasting, the dilution of the play, and the uninspired direction, Spacek's performance is more than enough to render the film powerful, memorable.This is not a film that I casually recommend. It rather depends on the viewer's life experiences, and I would hardly send it off to a person in a depressed state of mind or one who had a suicide in the family. But it is worth the trouble it takes to seek out, particularly if it leads you on to reading the play itself--or better yet, seeing a stage production of the same.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This has to be one of my top ten films.Speaking for myself, I related so much to Jesse it was scary. I myself have suffered from suicidal depression for years and I just hang on day by day wondering why I am still here? I am right now in the exact same situation Jesse was in in the film, my Mother lives with me and my story follows the film well. If I'd only known years ago when I saw the film I would be in Jesse's shoes later on in life.My Mother is really all that is keeping me here for right now, I just can't seem to do anything until she is gone. I know that sounds horrible to someone that has no idea and probably never will know how I feel and I understand that. It is a constant sense of helplessness, nothing more to look forward to and of not belonging here that drives my thoughts on a daily basis. I am not a coward or afraid to die, far from it. I just can't leave my Mother behind like Jesse did. The really sad part is, it is making both of our lives miserable and I see no way out for right now.I wish people would at least try to understand before they judge myself or anybody that is afflicted with these feelings. I think this film goes a long way in helping them to do just that. As I said this is an excellent film, a no miss in my eyes. If you know someone that is dealing with depression of any kind I would suggest sitting down and paying full attention to this entire film, it may help you save someone's life some day. I think it may have saved mine in a lot of ways.

Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft have really immersed themselves in the characters in this movie, to the point where I really suspended disbelief. I empathize with both of the characters so much in this film. I know this sound so cliché, but this movie touches me on a personal level like few films ever do. I am a smoker, and I have never heard a better description in a movie of why someone smokes. There are so many lines from both characters that touch me so deeply. When i first saw this movie, it reminded me of the MacDonald's scene in the movie Ordinary People as to why someone would be driven to suicide. This movie i will watch again and again, despite how it turns out, to enjoy the powerhouse acting and the great dialog.