Grace of My Heart

Starring:Illeana Douglas, Sissy Boyd, Christina Pickles, Jill Sobule, Jennifer Leigh Warren, Tegan West, Richard Schiff, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Kathy Barbour, John Turturro, Diane Robin, Eric Jerome Kirkland, Irving Eugene Washington III, Kurt Jackson, Michael Saulsberry, Drena De Niro, Jade Gordon, Eric Stoltz, Tracy Vilar, Amanda De Cadenet
Director: Allison Anders
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

The traditions of old-fashioned melodrama are given a hip facelift in this homage to the Brill Building era (the late 1950s to the early 1970s) of pop-music glory, providing a perfect match between writer-director Allison Anders and her excellent cast. Illeana Douglas plays a singer-songwriter (loosely modeled after Brill recording artist Carole King) whose life runs emotionally parallel to popular music trends. John Turturro is a stand-in for "wall of sound" producer Phil Spector and Matt Dillon is a thinly disguised version of maverick Beach Boy Brian Wilson. It's a bit too schematic in the way the central character is always in the right place at the right time, but as a tale of fame and romantic highs and lows in the '50s and '60s the movie is funny, touching, and sincere. It's a lively and loving tribute to timeless music and the colorful characters who created it. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Excellent........2007-05-13

It got here quick, and was in great condition! I love the movie too!

Lovely........2007-02-28

Grace of My Heart (Allison Anders, 1996)

Allison Anders spent the early part of her career making little gems that no one saw (with the exception of one film upon which she collaborated with, among others, Quentin Tarantino). Grace of My Heart is one of them, a loosely-fictionalized account of Carole King's career in the Brill Building, writing hit song after hit song for other artists before reaching into herself and drawing on that material for the groundbreaking 1971 album Tapestry, to this day considered one of the best records ever released in America by many critics.

Illeana Douglas (Bondage) plays Edna Buxton, a socialite from the Philadelphia suburbs who wins a recording contract in New York. When she gets there, she finds out the whole thing was something of a scam, and finds herself down and out until she meets Joel Millner (John Turturro [Rounders] in what may be one of his finest roles), a producer who renames her Denise Waverly and gets her caught up in writing songs for other artists, and Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz [who would come back and work with Anders again in Things Behind the Sun]), who becomes her songwriting partner, and after a while her husband. The marriage is anything but stable, and Denise's life continues on its rocky path through a succession of friends, lovers, and inevitable heartbreak. Until, that is, Tapestry-- excuse me, Grace of My Heart.

What Anders brings to the table is that, while she was obviously going for some sense of the reality underlying the fiction, she never lets it get in the way of telling a good tale. Music historians will find a good deal to munch on where this picture is concerned, but the rest of us can just sit back, chew popcorn, and have a good time without worrying about whether we understood all the in-jokes or not. (Not that that stops us. It seems there's been a debate raging for years over whether Bridget Fonda's character in the movie is a lesbian or not. I don't understand why; isn't it patently obvious?) The primary goal of any good film should be to entertain, and Grace of My Heart delivers. Everything else is just icing on the cake. ****

Great Movie, Great Value DVD, the 'white Dreamgirls'?.......2007-02-05

A lot to recommend here, Illeana Douglas deserved an Oscar nomination, and much more popular recognition than was forthcoming for her terrific performance in what should have been her breakthrough movie. Her portrayal of Denise Waverly (nee Edna Buxton) is just so RIGHT that it has to be seen rather than droned-on about.
As the beautiful but snooty British songwriting colleague of Denise's, Patsy Kensit is just perfect, the eventual friendship of the two women unfolds believably and very enjoyably. Douglas and Kensit are terrific in their scenes together.
Matt Dillon gave one of his best film performances here, Eric Stoltz and John Turturro were spot-on in roles that seemed to be (loosely) based upon Gerry Goffin and Phil Spector. The Edna/Denise character clearly has shadings of Carole King, while Dillon's character seems to have more than a tad of Brian Wilson used as inspiration. Chris Isaak, in a miniscule role, unfortunately, is totally forgettable as Kensit's husband.
Recapturing what NYC's Brill Building may have been like circa 1963, progressing with a satisfying segue into early 70's Los Angeles, the movie hits all the right notes.
Members from the girl-group that Denise wrote early hits for nicely weave in and out of the movie, the female teen-star who struggles with her 'Secret Love' provides another memorable segment amongst many.
There were enough 'original' aspects in the movie for it to stand upon its own, but the film may have undone itself by the not-so-subtle maskings of aspects of the lives of Carole King and Phil Spector. The 'fictional' characters seem to a treatment of 'what if Phil Spector had discovered Carole King?' (It is less obvious that the roles of Kensit and Isaak could also be intrepreted as being based upon Mann and Weill, the UK's answer to King and Goffin in the 1960's).
Maybe 'karma' somehow prevented this film from being the huge smash it should have been, only in that if the lives of King, Goffin, Spector and Wilson actually were the inspiration of this movie, it may have been better to be upfront about it. Yet, the film is so life-affirming, the music so good, the feel of it so resonant, 'Grace Of My Heart' is a success of its own entity.
Today in 2007, Motown, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard are getting similar treatment with 'Dreamgirls'-- aspects of their lives are used without monetary compensation, changing just enough not to have to pay. 'Dreamgirls' is 2007's "Grace of My Heart", with louder box-office ka-ching and some Oscar noise that 'Grace of My Heart' was actually more deserving of.
The DVD is a great value for the price, loaded with extras and a sufficient fold-out booklet. See it for a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Illeana Douglas.

Great Movie!.......2006-07-05

Surprisingly, this movie is quite unknown. I first saw it a few years ago on cable and have been waiting for it to come out on DVD and had almost lost hope. Illeana Douglas, always absolutely fantastic, just takes this one all the way home. The story is great, the cast amazing, this is a just a great story. Great movies, to me, are ones that you dont feel compelled to pick to bits to justify why you liked it. You just do. This is an entertainment medium after all. I loved this movie the first time I saw it and I still love it.

Amazing.......2006-04-19

I thought this movie was amazing. I loved everything about it. I read were someone had written that no one under 40 would probably like it, well I agree, with some exceptions. I am 27 and I fell in love with it. There are great minds behind this story and the actors and actresses were terrific. I would love to have a soundtrack for this movie. I have searched everywhere for one and can't seem to get one. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know. I am amazed at the story and characters, what can I say except brilliant.

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