Places in the Heart (1984)

My Review

“Places in the Heart” is a Depression-era drama movie about a widow struggling to make ends meet when the bank threatens foreclosure on her farm. Director-screenwriter Robert Benton (“Kramer vs. Kramer” 1979) paints a lush portrait of life in rural Texas in the 1930’s, winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Sally Field won the film’s other Academy Award for Best Actress. This was also Field’s second Oscar, the first one for “Norma Rae” (1979). Her famous line accepting the award is still remembered to this day: “…This time I feel it, and I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!” She heads a marvelous cast that includes Danny Glover, Lindsay Crouse, John Malkovich, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Lane Smith, Ray Baker, Terry O’Quinn, Bert Remsen, Jay Patterson, Toni Hudson, Gennie James, De’voreaux White, Yankton Hatton, and Jerry Haynes. Harris and Madigan met on this movie set and were later married.

The very watchable “Places in the Heart” was successful at the box office for Delphi II Productions and TriStar Pictures. It was filmed entirely on location in Texas.