Last evening I watched the DVD of 'Pieces of April.' It was one of those films where you're immediately suspicious of the preview you saw a year ago, but thought to yourself, "Maybe I'll just rent it later." It was worth it. The previews, which portrayed a much more whimsical, if not "cutesy" film, didn't really do justice. Instead, 'Pieces of April' is a much more simple account of one day that tells a year's worth of stories. It seems to know just what details are important, often ones that are overlooked, like a mislaid comment your mother made once during a long car ride that you've nearly forgotten.
Despite the morose premise -- a dying mother decides to accept a Thanksgiving dinner invitation from her wayward daughter, thus hauling the entire family to a dump in Manhattan's Lower East Side -- it really works. You never can tell if the family will get there or whether they'll change their minds, whether the turkey will be cooked or the neighbors will ever understand English. The characters are quirky enough to be realistic, without bounding off the deep end like an absurdist lemur. The movie is very much about timing, which, we are reaffirmed, is sometimes out of sync with expectation. The only trouble is Katie Holmes. I just wish she would stop shooting those doe-eyed expressions as if she was still living on Dawson's Creek.
Please note: The soundtrack features four very good songs by The Magnetic Fields.
3:07:03 PM 
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