Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Robert J. Maxwell I enjoy legal conflicts and courtroom movies. Not much action, usually, but lots of chicanery. There seems to have been a spate of movies over the last decade or two about strong-willed women having their way with miscreants. "Zero Dark Thirty," though not a courtroom drama, was quite good except for the strident and unnecessary outburst by Jessica Chastain employing the MF word in the presence of the Secretary of Defense. "Erin Brokovitch," also a professional piece, had Julia Roberts shocking the rest of the room by claiming she'd seduced the witnesses with BJs. I wish the fad would exhaust itself because it provides a cheap thrill at the expense of verisimilitude.In "Marie," one of the earliest, Sissy Spacek as the principled Chairman of the Parole Board in Tennessee is spared that chore. And Spacek, with her tiny figure and long red hair, is sort of loomed over by the guys she works for -- especially Fred Dalton Thompson, in his debut role playing himself, who wears the same dyspeptic expression he wore throughout his career. He looks like what you would look like if you were losing a duel of wits with a claw machine in an arcade. In one scene, when Spacek wins her court case, she hugs him and he tries to smile but what emerges is a teeth-filled snarl, as of a threatening junkyard dog.The problem is that it's a kind of clunky picture. The major performances are good enough, and Spacek is thoroughly convincing. She's also a genial lady with pretty legs, my co-star in the unforgettable "Crimes of the Limbic System" or whatever it was.There's a murder in here. Spacek's only true friend, who is going to testify at her trial and save her bacon, is strangled. A slight problem there. The incident is never referred to again. Instead we're immediately back to Spacek's underwhelming tribulation: Will she be able to hang onto her job, despite the governor's accusations of sloppiness? Never mind the murder of her friend, who denounced her in a letter. (Some friend.) But will the jury accept the governor's lies? Guess.It's a mid-range movie that loses its focus and takes us on a tour of a pistachio nut that one of her three kids swallowed. The peregrinations of the nut make no medical sense. Neither do some other details, not worth going into. The writing is pretty murky and the direction is adequate, no more than that. Little in the way of local color.Not a bad movie but I'd rather expected more because I'd seen both "Brokovitch" and "Zero Dark Thirty" first. They're both fine but this one is a bit like a Lifetime Movie Network feature. Not a knock on the performers, just that their roles are poorly written.

moonspinner55 Uninteresting vehicle for Sissy Spacek, an adaptation of the book "Marie: A True Story" by Peter Maas (the biographer of Frank Serpico), concerns divorced single mother Marie Ragghianti, who was fired from her job as chairman of the Tennessee Board of Pardons and Paroles in 1977 after refusing to release certain convicts (all rotten and threatening for effect) whose pardons were the result of bribes going back to the governor (similarly rotten). Ragghianti sees the corruption, understands its origins, and is tempted to go along with it for the sake of her job, but eventually has to take a stand for justice. Sally Field's Oscar-winning performance in 1979's "Norma Rae" provided a much-needed boost for actresses looking for substantial roles in 1980s cinema; however, by 1985, audiences had cooled on female stars such as Spacek, Field, Jessica Lange and Meryl Streep all taking noble stances on-screen for the sake of audience empathy (and prestige). Nothing in "Marie" rings true, not Spacek's relationships with her co-workers, her troubles with doctors over her sick son, nor her humble beginnings as an undereducated and abused housewife (the actor playing Spacek's bad-tempered husband looks about 10 years younger than the actress). The writing is vapid, Francis Lai's music is 'heart tugging' in the worst sense, and Roger Donaldson's direction is scattershot, with artificial details dotting the scenario. Fred Thompson plays himself as Marie's attorney, and is the only cast member to successfully overcome the phony dramatics. ** from ****

Cernan68 This was a great thriller, and is especially timely today, with all the corruption and lawbreaking at the top of government,But I disagree with Michael Morrison when he says that Ray Blanton ended his governorship the way President Clinton ended his presidency. I've seen the movie twice, and have researched Blanton. The truth is, Blanton was a very corrupt official who did very little for his constituents and did not care about upholding the law or about the people who elected him. Unless everything I've read about Blanton, and saw in the film, was incorrect, Mr. Morrison is wrong. The truth is, Blanton left office in disgrace, with a dismal record as governor. Among those who remember him, he holds very little respect. In fact, even though The Tennessee State Constitution was amended in 1978 to allow Blanton and future Tennessee governors to succeed themselves. he did not run for reelection. In fact, due to the controversy surrounding his administration and lack of respect the public felt about him, it was very unlikely he would have been renominated, let alone reelected, had he chosen to run.So Mr. Morrison observations are 180 degrees wrong.As far as the movie, itself, is concerned, the story is strong. I was actually getting hot under the collar watching the corruption going on, even though it was only a movie. Spissy Spacek's performance as Marie Ragghianti made me genuinely feel the frustration of being in a position where she has to choose between siding with the law and your citizens or siding with a corrupt government official (who will abuse his power and authority in order to put you down if you don't join his side). This is true testimony to her acting skills.Fred Thompson plays himself in this film; a skillful performance which led to his eventual full-time career as an actor. As a real life politician, himself, he skillfully is able to draw on his personal experience to bring certain depth to both his role here and subsequent acting roles he carried.Although the situation in Tennesee, back in the 1970s, doesn't come close to the level of corruption today, at the Federal level, it does serve as an excellent morality tale of what can and, indeed, has happened. It's a bite size version of the bigger story that is going on today.

Karl Emmett Its fuuny how time changes how you see a movie. If this film came out in the cinemas today it would look terrific compared to the current rubbish around.The premise for Marie is a god one for a thriller and although the script bottoms out, great acting in almost all areas and powerful direction from Roger Donaldson save it from mediocrity and turn it into a really effective, attention grabbing, suspensful and emotionally involving film.Apart from Roger Donaldson and Chris Menges moody atmosphereic lighting. The film is served best by Sissy Spaceks lead performance, if any actress had greater ability to allow you to feel how their character is feeling I'd like to know who it is. Sissy makes a great protagonist with a mixture of vunerability and strong resolve. She's not so headstrong as too seem a bitchy self-interested character, yet she has enough strength and integrity to make Marie the hero of the story.I thought the whole production was great. And the fact that this film wasnt one of the best ones whe it came out just goes to show how far behind hollywood has gotten.On a last note. Jeff Daniels played a great role in this. He really made you see him in a completely different light to normal.