Lianna

R

Released Jan 18, 1983

1h 50m

Drama

LGBTQ+

List

82%

22 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Linda Griffiths plays Lianna, the naive young wife of a professor bored with her life and angered at her husband's blatant sexual indiscretions. She has an affair with another woman, Ruth (Jane Hallaren), and when her affair becomes common knowledge, she finds herself shunned by both her friends and family.

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Anna Maria Dell'oso

Sydney Morning Herald

A stodgy relationship movie, laden with naive ideological goodness but unleavened by real psychological insight.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Ciara Pitts

Vague Visages

Sayles wonderful gem might not receive the attention it deserves — even in the realm of LGBTQ cinema — but it contains a message that undoubtedly resonates: no one needs to apologize for who they love.

Dec 15, 2023

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

John Sayles has carried out his mission here in the spirit of inquiry and compassion.

Rated: B

Dec 1, 2022

Full Review

Cindy Rizzo

Gay Community News (Boston)

Lianna is an oasis in a desert of films about our lives. It’s a movie we always hoped they’d make.

Aug 31, 2022

Full Review

Sue Zemel

Bay Area Reporter

Lianna is an important addition to the collection of films that explore the subject of Lesbianism.

Jul 20, 2022

Full Review

Octavi Marti

El Pais (Spain)

An exciting and sincere film. [Full Review in Spanish]

Feb 6, 2020

Full Review

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Audience Member

Directed by John Sayles this focuses on a woman Lianna She's the naive young wife of a professor bored with her life and angered at her husband's blatant sexual indiscretions She has an affair with another woman, Ruth (Jane Hallaren), and when her affair becomes common knowledge, she finds herself shunned by both her friends and family Lianna starts to discover who she actually is and deserves the love and comfort one humbles for But will it come at the expense of her children as well as her livelihood? Definitely a lot of silent moments in this so it's supposed to absorb the situation Lianna finds herself in Plus it's tough feeling she's obligated to support herself with Ruth so it's not 100% in sync Stinks that Ruth disappears after the second half of this Plenty of nudity here but the sole focus is this woman learning to come to terms with her sexuality and this was one of the rare 1980s films as far as LGBTQ representation Who knows if we are straight or not, it's not our job to love someone unless we actually feel it, the subject of lesbianism should be explored even if we don't fully understand it This is very well-acted even if it falls below John Sayles' superior works full of love, friendship, and camaraderie

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The best romance movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Why I watched an Indy movie from 1983 is beyond me.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

the subject matter Is rather forward for a film of the early 80s, and it definitely ain't an exploitative, cheap & titillating kinda flick. the club scene felt really dated though, one particular actress looked like she was on drugs. (was she meant to be?? ) watching this made me frustrated and really pissed with the ruth character though. and lianna too- for being naive. or maybe she just had too much 'balls'.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

renee c

A very positive lesbian film! Definitely ahead of it's time.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sayles tackles the subject of lesbianism with his usual smarts. It's just not that interesting a subject for me. It is engaging to watch Lianna struggle through juggling her newly discovered lesbian desires and how they affect upon her family and friends. I like how smart both her kids are - and funny sometimes; "So my Mum's a Dike - no big deal" [in an Italian-American accent]. I was surprised that her elder love left and basically rejected her - I thought it was all going to revolve around their relationship, but Lianna was basically thrown in the deep end on her own once that happened, which was a better way to go with the plot than the above. A good and well made film from Sayles, it's just not a subject matter that I can have much interest in. Also, this is an 80s film, so the year above (2001) is wrong and the poster looks wrong too - I think they're mixing this up with another film. Whereas the cast and director and such is right.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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John Sayles

Director

Linda Griffiths

Lianna

Jane Hallaren

Ruth

Jon DeVries

Dick

John Sayles

Writer

Jeffrey Nelson

Producer

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Synopsis

Linda Griffiths plays Lianna, the naive young wife of a professor bored with her life and angered at her husband's blatant sexual indiscretions. She has an affair with another woman, Ruth (Jane Hallaren), and when her affair becomes common knowledge, she finds herself shunned by both her friends and family.

Director: John Sayles
Screenwriter: John Sayles
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Winwood Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 1983, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2002
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 19, 2017
Runtime: 1h 50m

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