ThiefHott Too much of everything

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

gavin6942 May-Alice Culhane was a successful soap opera star, but a car accident has left her bound to a wheelchair. She returns to her now-empty family home in the bayous of Louisiana which she had eagerly left years before. She drinks heavily and vents her bitterness on the succession of nurses who are hired to take care of her and immediately quit because she is so unbearable.I write "more than a chick flick" because that's what you might assume from a film about two women bonding. But that just is not a fair summary, because this is really about character. The plot is thin, but the characters are deep. Even the secondary characters, like Sugar and "Bad News", are interesting. Oh, and the anal probe joke is priceless.If there was one big negative, though, it tends to run a bit long at well over two hours. If you don't mind a slow burn, you probably won't mind, because it's an interesting two hours. But for those who like their movies to be 90 minutes and not a second more, this will try your patience.

evanston_dad Mary McDonnell had a brief spate of success in films in the early 1990s before disappearing from the scene and reemerging recently on the television series "Battlestar Galactica." First she came to major attention in "Dances with Wolves," for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and then she graduated to the lead category in 1992 for her performance in "Passion Fish." McDonnell gives a lovely performance as a bratty soap opera actress who's confined to a wheelchair after an accident, and who must rely on a no-nonsense nurse (Alfre Woodard, lovely as well) for help. The film follows all of the requisite trajectories you'd expect from a movie like this, and the fish that give the film its name serve a heavy-handed symbolic purpose that seemed too much for me even at the time (and I was only seventeen). But the film does have a relaxed indie vibe to it, and I can see why people like it.Grade: B+

postmanwhoalwaysringstwice John Sayles works so independently of the Hollywood mainstream and follows his own voice so meticulously that he often leaves his fans just a little short-changed with each successive work. As brilliant a filmmaker as he remains, every one of his films has its own shortcomings that leave it in the "near-perfect" category. In a way it feels as though he purposely leaves something unnecessary in each time out. For this reason among others, Sayles' films are an acquired taste. His 1992 film "Passion Fish" struts along at a very self-assured, yet slow paced gait, much like the population of its Southern Gothic location.The main focus of the film is put on two women, one who returns to the place she left to dwell upon her current challenges and another who comes there for refuge from her troubles elsewhere. The women's paths intersect at a precarious point in their lives, leading to some very interesting results. Mary McDonnell stars as May-Alice, a feisty, soap actress forced into early retirement by a car accident. It's a challenging role and she brings a certain bravado that hasn't been shown by her previously. Alfre Woodard gives a highly nuanced performance as the nurse who has been hired to help the reluctant May-Alice.Like in many of Sayles' films, given his immense prowess as a writer, the true pleasure comes not from watching the main storyline but the local and supporting flavor chewing up scenery throughout. One such gem involves an outdoor luncheon with McDonnell's character attempting to keep her composure and a tactful face with two Southern Belle types she hates. It's moments like this that add texture to Sayles' films, but also tend to keep them loosely edited and occasionally overwrought.

Syl This film surprised me a lot. I liked it very much. It was well-written, acted, and worth watching Mary McDonnell who received her second Oscar nomination for this performance. Alfre Woodard should be nominated for best supporting actress. I was surprised to find two equally challenging roles for women in an almost extinct era. The relationship between the two women grows slowly. It is nice to see friendship between these two very different characters. May Alice becomes a likable person after awhile. Angela Bassett has a small role as her friend from New York City. David Straitharn plays an old flame who has since married and remain local in the Louisiana swamps of their hometown. It's a great story overall with characters that you grow to like over the time we spend with them.