Reckless (1995 film)
Encyclopedia
Reckless is a 1995
American
dark comedy film
directed by Norman René
. The screenplay
by Craig Lucas
is based on his 1983 play of the same title.
when her husband Tom announces he has taken a contract out on her life but is having second thoughts about his decision to do so. Wearing only a nightgown and slippers, she hastily leaves her Connecticut
home in a blizzard
to escape the fate he planned for her. She is rescued by Springfield, Massachusetts
social work
er Lloyd, who brings her home to his deaf, mute
, paraplegic
wife Pooty. Rachel moves in with the couple and begins working with Lloyd at Hands Across the Sea, a charitable organization
dedicated to helping the disabled
.
Eventually Rachel discovers both Lloyd and Pooty harbor secrets, his about a family he destroyed and abandoned, hers concerning a deception that has guaranteed her a life of ease and comfort. The trio's tranquil existence dissolves the following Christmas, and Rachel and Lloyd find themselves on a cross-country odyssey that takes them through numerous towns named Springfield, dogged by disaster. Lloyd's kindly facade shatters, and Rachel encounters a number of odd characters, including a less-than-helpful therapist and Tim Timko, the host of a television
game show
. Finally, having lost the power of speech, she finds herself in a homeless shelter
run by Sister Margaret, who has her own share of dark secrets.
, "Silent Night" by Jack Jones
, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" by Roger Williams
, and "Joy to the World" and "Jingle Bells" by Pat Boone
.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1998. It grossed only $103,351 in the US .
comic allegory
that suggests Alice in Wonderland fused with Candide
into a contemporary antidote
to Frank Capra
's holiday heartwarmer It's a Wonderful Life
. . . Reckless sustains the darkly zany atmosphere of a grown-up fairy tale far more successfully than Prelude to a Kiss
, the director's earlier screen transposition of a Lucas play. But that doesn't make it easy. Audiences conditioned to expect conventional movie naturalism should be warned that Reckless is surreally stylized in its writing and production design and even in some of its acting. Ms. Farrow is so perfectly cast as Rachel that the character seems a distillation of nearly every role she has played since she was a teen-ager in Peyton Place
. With her peaches-and-cream complexion and slightly whiny voice, Ms. Farrow has always epitomized a precocious, overgrown princess whose garrulity inspires protectiveness tinged with irritation. In Reckless, projecting a mixture of the sweetly forlorn and the intractably childish, she is nothing less than American innocence incarnate demanding to be snapped out of it."
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
said, "It's one of those films where you think it's only a dream, and then when everyone wakes up, it's worse . . . That's not to say the movie doesn't have its qualities; the production design is intriguing, and Farrow knows exactly what she's doing with her innocent naivete."
In the San Francisco Chronicle
, Mick LaSalle
said the film "is at its best in the beginning, before it discovers its limits and exhausts its bag of tricks . . . Once you realize that Reckless intends only to be one joke repeated, it becomes exhausting."
Hal Hinson of the Washington Post observed, "Lucas articulates his themes with artful lucidity, but the movie is so literate, so written, that its emotional impact seems almost incidental to its design and the elegant play of its symmetries. In the end, the story unfolds, not for any strong dramatic motive, but to maintain the playwright's carefully created sense of balance and proportion. Though Lucas deals with heavyweight issues, his cool, studied approach somehow diminishes them . . . At times, the movie is preposterously, darkly funny, but instead of building momentum as it goes along, it dribbles away. Despite the author's obvious talents and expert craftsmanship, Reckless disintegrates into trivia."
In the San Francisco Examiner, Barbara Shulgasser said, "Surprises are great when they retrospectively make sense. Even if you didn't anticipate them on first viewing, when you think back to earlier scenes you can see how the author has prepared for the shocking events. Lucas just drops events into the action like non-sequiturs in conversation."
1995 in film
-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dark comedy film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Norman René
Norman René
Norman René was an American theatre and film director and film producer who frequently collaborated with playwright Craig Lucas.-Biography:...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas
Craig Lucas is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director.-Biography:...
is based on his 1983 play of the same title.
Plot
Relentlessly cheerful and hopelessly optimistic Rachel's seemingly perfect life is upended one Christmas EveChristmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
when her husband Tom announces he has taken a contract out on her life but is having second thoughts about his decision to do so. Wearing only a nightgown and slippers, she hastily leaves her Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
home in a blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
to escape the fate he planned for her. She is rescued by Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
er Lloyd, who brings her home to his deaf, mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...
, paraplegic
Paraplegia
Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek: παραπληγίη "half-striking". It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida that affects the neural elements of the spinal canal...
wife Pooty. Rachel moves in with the couple and begins working with Lloyd at Hands Across the Sea, a charitable organization
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
dedicated to helping the disabled
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
.
Eventually Rachel discovers both Lloyd and Pooty harbor secrets, his about a family he destroyed and abandoned, hers concerning a deception that has guaranteed her a life of ease and comfort. The trio's tranquil existence dissolves the following Christmas, and Rachel and Lloyd find themselves on a cross-country odyssey that takes them through numerous towns named Springfield, dogged by disaster. Lloyd's kindly facade shatters, and Rachel encounters a number of odd characters, including a less-than-helpful therapist and Tim Timko, the host of a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
. Finally, having lost the power of speech, she finds herself in a homeless shelter
Homeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
run by Sister Margaret, who has her own share of dark secrets.
Production notes
The soundtrack includes "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Bing CrosbyBing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, "Silent Night" by Jack Jones
Jack Jones (singer)
John Allan "Jack" Jones is an American jazz and pop singer. He was one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s.-Overview:...
, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" by Roger Williams
Roger Williams (pianist)
Roger Williams was an American popular music pianist. As of 2004, he had released 116 albums.-Biography:...
, and "Joy to the World" and "Jingle Bells" by Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 1998. It grossed only $103,351 in the US .
Cast
- Mia FarrowMia FarrowMia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
as Rachel - Scott GlennScott GlennTheodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...
as Lloyd - Mary-Louise ParkerMary-Louise ParkerMary-Louise Parker is an American actress, known for her current lead role on Showtime's television series Weeds portraying Nancy Botwin, for which she has received several nominations and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2006...
as Pooty - Eileen BrennanEileen BrennanEileen Brennan is an American actress of film, television, and theater. Brennan is best known for her role as Doreen Lewis in Private Benjamin for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in the TV adaption and won a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy...
as Sister Margaret - Debra MonkDebra MonkDebra Monk is an American actress, singer, and writer.Monk was born in Middletown, Ohio. She was voted "best personality" by the graduating class at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. She graduated from Frostburg State University in 1963...
as Therapist - Giancarlo EspositoGiancarlo EspositoGiancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-born American film and television actor and director.-Early life:Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same...
as Tim Timko - William FichtnerWilliam FichtnerWilliam Edward Fichtner is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, as William Sharp in Armageddon, and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.- Early life...
as Rachel's Father - Nancy MarchandNancy MarchandNancy Marchand was an American actress, whose career encompassed both stage and screen. She appeared in various theatre productions throughout the early 1950s, before being offered roles on film and television....
as Grandmother - Tony GoldwynTony GoldwynAnthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
as Tom - Stephen DorffStephen DorffStephen Dorff is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade and Cecil B. DeMented.-Early life:...
as Tom Jr.
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Stephen Holden called the film "a surrealSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
comic allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
that suggests Alice in Wonderland fused with Candide
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
into a contemporary antidote
Antidote
An antidote is a substance which can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek αντιδιδοναι antididonai, "given against"....
to Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
's holiday heartwarmer It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
. . . Reckless sustains the darkly zany atmosphere of a grown-up fairy tale far more successfully than Prelude to a Kiss
Prelude to a Kiss (film)
Prelude to a Kiss is a 1992 American romantic fantasy film directed by Norman René and starring Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan and Sydney Walker. The screenplay by Craig Lucas is based on his 1988 play of the same title.-Plot synopsis:...
, the director's earlier screen transposition of a Lucas play. But that doesn't make it easy. Audiences conditioned to expect conventional movie naturalism should be warned that Reckless is surreally stylized in its writing and production design and even in some of its acting. Ms. Farrow is so perfectly cast as Rachel that the character seems a distillation of nearly every role she has played since she was a teen-ager in Peyton Place
Peyton Place (TV series)
Peyton Place is an American prime-time soap opera which aired on ABC in half-hour episodes from September 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969.Based upon the 1956 novel of the same name by Grace Metalious, the series was preceded by a 1957 film adaptation. A total of 514 episodes were broadcast, in...
. With her peaches-and-cream complexion and slightly whiny voice, Ms. Farrow has always epitomized a precocious, overgrown princess whose garrulity inspires protectiveness tinged with irritation. In Reckless, projecting a mixture of the sweetly forlorn and the intractably childish, she is nothing less than American innocence incarnate demanding to be snapped out of it."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
said, "It's one of those films where you think it's only a dream, and then when everyone wakes up, it's worse . . . That's not to say the movie doesn't have its qualities; the production design is intriguing, and Farrow knows exactly what she's doing with her innocent naivete."
In the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
said the film "is at its best in the beginning, before it discovers its limits and exhausts its bag of tricks . . . Once you realize that Reckless intends only to be one joke repeated, it becomes exhausting."
Hal Hinson of the Washington Post observed, "Lucas articulates his themes with artful lucidity, but the movie is so literate, so written, that its emotional impact seems almost incidental to its design and the elegant play of its symmetries. In the end, the story unfolds, not for any strong dramatic motive, but to maintain the playwright's carefully created sense of balance and proportion. Though Lucas deals with heavyweight issues, his cool, studied approach somehow diminishes them . . . At times, the movie is preposterously, darkly funny, but instead of building momentum as it goes along, it dribbles away. Despite the author's obvious talents and expert craftsmanship, Reckless disintegrates into trivia."
In the San Francisco Examiner, Barbara Shulgasser said, "Surprises are great when they retrospectively make sense. Even if you didn't anticipate them on first viewing, when you think back to earlier scenes you can see how the author has prepared for the shocking events. Lucas just drops events into the action like non-sequiturs in conversation."