Crimes of the Heart

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Crimes of the Heart

PG-13

Released Dec 12, 1986

1h 44m

Drama

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

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22 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

In this tearjerker based on a successful stage drama, an untimely death haunts a trio of sisters, yet their love proves stronger than any familial tragedy. Meg (Jessica Lange), Lenny (Diane Keaton) and Babe Magrath (Sissy Spacek) aren't exactly mirror images of one another, as becomes clear through their dealings with Old Granddaddy (Hurd Hatfield). But when one of the siblings is pushed to the brink by desperation, they pull together during a makeshift reunion.

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The movie has some élan anyway, because these women working together are something to see. They giggle over the stagy exposition, treating it like choice, well-loved gossip.

Sep 13, 2023

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Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

It is excruciating: a combination of Beth Henley's insistently eccentric screenplay, Bruce Beresford's frenzied direction and the sight of three singular talents on an acting roller coaster with no one riding the brakes.

Rated: 1/5

Apr 11, 2013

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Time Out

Beresford fails to generate sufficient chemistry to bind the performances. Occasional bursts of delicious tragic humour nevertheless make this a not unlikeable 'feminist' mood piece.

Feb 9, 2006

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TV Guide

A dismal affair that reeks of pretentious self-importance.

Rated: 1.5/4

Apr 11, 2013

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2008

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Using eccentric personalities situated in seemingly ordinary locales, Beresford's comedy is still too theatrical to qualify as cinema, but it's well acted by Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and particularly Sissy Spacek, as three Chekhovian sisters.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 3, 2006

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Alec B

I understand that the weepy melodrama here is grating to some but what makes the movie (and the original play even more so) work is the odd little character moments and the dark humor, both of which add a crucial layer of honesty.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

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Audience Member

This is a powerful group of ladies providing the foundation for this film. But, as deep as the plot of losing their mother to suicide could go, we're left with a bunch of awkward moments and an ending with cake and bizarre laughing. Not sure why the reviews are so great.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

There are crimes then there are those of the heart Starring Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, and Diane Keaton as 3 sisters not entirely on the same wavelength as far as personality and character But one thing brings them together Based on the stage drama of the same name by Beth Henley and directed by Bruce Beresford it follows Babe, Lenny, and Meg McGrath They all grew up in Hazelhurst, Mississippi but grew apart over time Babe is married but after suffering abuse from her husband she takes a gun and shoots him damaging his spinal cord Lenny is the wallflower of the siblings and Meg used to be a Hollywood singer but suffered a nervous breakdown Coming home they all have to face their own personal demons The performances are top notch from all 3 actresses, they each have their own set of problems and hardly come to a mutual understanding Sure they chew the scenery every now and then and hardly anything is resolved by the time the credits roll but the film has that feminist mood Nothing grand but as a stage play it works well enough

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I understand that the weepy melodrama here is grating to some but what makes the movie (and the original play even more so) work is the odd little character moments and the dark humor, both of which add a crucial layer of honesty.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

steve d

I didn't care about the characters so I didn't care about the film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

It's my favorite movie of all time. Beautifully Southern.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

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Bruce Beresford

Director

Diane Keaton

Lennora Josephine 'Lenny' Magrath

Jessica Lange

Margaret 'Meg' Magrath

Sissy Spacek

Rebeca 'Babe'

Sam Shepard

Doc Porter

Tess Harper

Chick Boyle

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Synopsis

In this tearjerker based on a successful stage drama, an untimely death haunts a trio of sisters, yet their love proves stronger than any familial tragedy. Meg (Jessica Lange), Lenny (Diane Keaton) and Babe Magrath (Sissy Spacek) aren't exactly mirror images of one another, as becomes clear through their dealings with Old Granddaddy (Hurd Hatfield). But when one of the siblings is pushed to the brink by desperation, they pull together during a makeshift reunion.

Director: Bruce Beresford
Producer: Freddie Fields
Screenwriter: Beth Henley
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.3M
Runtime: 1h 44m

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