Crimes of the Heart

Released December 1986

Starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange (as Meg McGrath), Sissy Spacek, Tess Harper, Sam Shepard
Directed by Bruce Beresford
105 min.

Box Office gross - $22.9 million

See complete credits at Internet Movie Database

Based on the play by Beth Henley, Crimes of the Heart is the story of three eccentric southern sisters, who have all reunited one hot summer at their family home because the youngest, Babe, has decided to shoot her husband. This disconcerting piece of news does not really faze the sisters. After all, this is a family in which their mother made national headlines when she hung herself along with her cat (“she was just having a really bad day”). Diane Keaton is the eldest sister, Meg, who lives the spinster life at home and takes care of her ailing grandfather. Jessica Lange plays Meg, the middle sister, who left home to pursue a singing career but never quite made it. And Sissy Spacek is Babe, the younger sister who has had an affair with a teenage local boy. It is Babe’s husband’s attempt to break up the affair that prompts her to decide to shoot him.

A powerhouse ensemble cast makes this a fun film although it is not as funny as you expect it to be. All three actresses (actually four, Tess Harper is equally good as a meddling cousin named Chick) are quite good and they do so without attempting to outshine each other. Diane Keaton is great as the jittery Meg - she is hilarious as she runs through the house with a box of chocolates accusing Meg of taking a bite out of each one. Sissy Spacek (the one who received the Oscar nomination) is wide eyed and dreamy as Babe, who is not quite with us. Her suicide attempt scene is the funniest scene in the movie. And Jessica Lange - dressed in blue denim with spiky hair that she trims with a razor blade - is the epitome of the road worn slut Meg.

Critical Sampling:

"Lange, as the chain smoking Meg with her mop of straw-colored hair and heavy makeup, offers the most astounding portrait - a loser who is down but never out". - Lawrence O'Toole, Macleans

"Lange seems an effortless comic virtuoso here - there's no fussiness in her acting." - Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

"Lange, lusciously blowsy, gives a sharp, wonderfully sexy comic performance." - David Ansen, Newsweek

Back to Filmography

Everybody's All American