Video Review |
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Video Review |
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Last Updated 12/14/00
Email: robitai@our-town.com
The Big Chill
Since we're
in the midst of the holiday season, no doubt you'll find yourself communing with family
and friends. It's a time to renew acquaintances, remember why we love the people that we
do, and be thankful. When the season is on
and the occasions happy, it's easy to handout hugs and exude merriment; only the
scroogieset among us with refuse to meet with kindred spirits. We reach out to reaffirm connections. It happens at all the major holidays. It happens at special occasions, wrapped in hope
and happiness: weddings, birthdays, and graduations.
But what
about those other times? Times of tragedy and
loss when the reunion's an event forced by circumstances of disaster. Emotions raw and unsteady, we look for comfort in
those who share the sorrow, wondering why the powers that be chose to shatter our
universe.
Such are
circumstances of "The Big Chill,"
a 1983 classic that's worth watching again and again.
A far-flung group of college friends, now in their mid-thirties, reunite for
a fallen comrade's funeral. Alex's death
shocks them into high soul-searching and introspection.
They'd all thought Alex to be the best and brightest among them. It's the slashes on his wrists that give silent
testimony to hidden demons.
In the
post-funeral gloom, the group gathers at the home of Sarah and Harold Cooper (Glenn Close
and Kevin Kline). A steady progression of
enlightenment and disappointment occurs as each of the eight guests confronts demons of
his or her own.
It's a fearless accomplishment, and none of the
group anticipates the process or the results. As the time they spend together after the
funeral heightens their perceptions of the past, they rekindle old romances and old pains
while opening themselves to new ones. Life
can be a messy business.
The cast
alone makes the effort of handing over your 99 cents worthwhile. Glenn Close and Kevin Kline give two of the most
perceptive performances of the careers. William Hurt (Nick), Mary Kay Place (Meg), Jeff
Goldblum (Michael), and Meg Tilly (Chloe) all play characters who come across as aloof,
spacey, and marching to a different beat. It's
a strange combination that works when it shouldn't.
The sound
track takes on a life of its own. Great hits
like "A Whiter Shade of Pale," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine,"
"Joy to the World," and "My Girl," just to name a few, pepper the
movie, heighten its pace, and give the characters an avenue to revisit their past.
"The Big Chill" is one of those movies
that I keep coming back to. Every time I see
it, I'm reminded that our roots go down to deep waters, and the line between staying
afloat and drowning isn't all that bold.
available on video