The Grass Harp

...based on a short story by Truman Capote, and is mainly set in 1940. The film meanders at times, and the sad ending (right from the story, probably) is a bit of a letdown, but its still worth seeing for an excellent cast and graceful staging.

As the story begins in a prologue set in 1935, a young boy (Edward Furlong) is sent to live with his two spinster aunts following the death of his parents. These aunts might be sisters, but they are decidedly different; one is a hard-nosed businesswoman who owns many of the shops in town (Sissy Spacek), the other (Piper Laurie) is gentle and childlike, keeps house, and makes a homeopathic dropsy cure. After a few years pass, the two sisters have a falling out over taking the homeopathic cure into a factory setting, Laurie, Furlong, and maid Nell Carter decamp to the woods while waiting for Spacek to change her mind.

That is the main thrust of the plot, but there are all sorts of familiar faces in here as well: Walter Matthau as a retired judge and suitor for Laurie, Mary Steenburgen as a tent revivalist with 15 children, and brief cameos from the likes of Jack Lemmon, Roddy McDowell, Charles Durning, Scott Wilson, and Doris Roberts. This film is very little known, but it's worth tracking down for Laurie's performance especially.

This is a technically perfect adaptation of Capote's stunning story based upon partially on his own experiences. Laurie is all things Dolly should be: ethereal, giddy, of understated intelligence, committed, etc. Spacek had to stretch to play the cold-hearted sister, but that's what great actors do. It is leisurely paced, but that's totally in keeping with the story. Music, sets, and all are done with precision and with plenty of soul. Matthau and Lemmon have no scenes together, and for a change, Matthau plays the ethically superior character. Edward Furlong is perfect as the story's protagonist, and Mary Steenburgen steals each scene in which she appears.

I recommend this movie highly to all who enjoy character development and Southern-US Americana.

After watching The Grass Harp I felt I had just experienced a feast! If you are tired of the McDonald's diet of recent Hollywood formula movies than you will welcome this gourmet quality film!

Based on Southern writer Truman Capote's boyhood, the story reveals the nuances of small town life with humor and wit. The lush visuals and lyric pace create a leisure mood befitting the 1930's when life was simpler. The golden sepia tones of the scenes subtly transport us into the memories of Collin, through whose eyes the story is told. The Southern ambiance, social graces and simple pastimes of a bygone era are beautifully recreated in the world surrounding the characters.

I love the barbershop scenes, where locals gather to socialize and get the latest news. You just want to hang out in the shop and shoot the breeze with Walter Matthau and Roddy McDowell. Joe Don Baker is the perfect southern sheriff and his sidekick Ralph (a rooster) adds a hilarious touch of eccentricity to his tough good-old boy demeanor. Charles Durning is hilarious as a self-righteous preacher that can't wait to kick Mary Steenbergen and her brood of a dozen kids out of town.

Piper Laurie is the heart and soul of the movie as Dolly Talbo. The timid and ethereal Dolly has been living under the thumb of her overbearing sister (Sissy Spacek) but manages to create a unique life of meaning for herself. Edward Furlong plays their teen nephew Collin who comes to live with them.

Dolly and her housekeeper (Nell Carter) take Collin under their wing and try to help him adjust to life in this small southern town. As Dolly advises Collin about the girl he has a crush on, she too falls in love for the first time in her life.

Piper Laurie glows like a young girl around the young-at-heart Judge Cool (Walter Matthau). Their scenes together are sweet and heartbreaking.

The movie is beautiful, both visually and emotionally. It is funny, sad, and touching. Don't rush this viewing. Sit down with a glass of wine and savor.

The Grass Harp is a feast for the eyes and soul!

A delightful movie from Truman Capote's memoir of his boyhood in the South. It is both tender and poignant. The acting is excellent. Piper Laurie as the orphan's free-spirited aunt is superb. Sissey Spacek as the other aunt is excellent. The atmosphere of that time, comes alive. A worthwhile movie for those with a tender heart.

"The Grass Harp" (1995) will remind a lot of viewers of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Not a huge surprise given that both stories involve Truman Capote's childhood (Harper Lee based the Dill Harris character on Capote). Both films also use small Alabama towns for their locations.

Capote loosely based his 1951 "The Grass Harp" novella on the eccentric maiden cousins of his childhood. For the film Piper Laurie plays good Aunt Dolly and Sissy Spacek bad Aunt Verena (who is even less likable than Pollyanna's Aunt Polly). Spacek gets to do something out of character and nicely underplays this one. Laurie gets to have even more fun and turns in a joyful performance. She is a little too good to be true but Laurie manages to sell the character with a remarkable performance. In the 1950's Laurie was an extremely pretty (and hot) young starlet but it is obvious from this and her performance in "Carrie" (playing Spacek's mother) that there was a lot of substance in that pretty package.

Edward Furlong (best know as John Conner in "Terminator 2") avoids the "Pollyanna" trap and is pretty easy to take. The coming-of-age side of the story works quite well.

"The Grass Harp" is a bit underrated, probably because the screenplay fails to capture the lyrical quality of Capote's storytelling, giving the viewer a surfeit of sentimentality compounded by a too sweet score. The title is a reference to the musical sound of blowing grass, a metaphor about intergenerational connections and the primary theme of the story.

The film would have benefited from a little more restraint. This is not a fatal flaw but the film would have been more powerful with Mockingbird's toned down production design and less colorful characters; maybe even going so far as to release it in black and white.

Those looking for action adventure and hot romance should look elsewhere. But there are a lot of "Mockingbird" fans out there who should really enjoy "The Grass Harp".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.