SYNOPSICS
Perfect Pie (2002) is a English movie. Barbara Willis Sweete has directed this movie. Wendy Crewson,Barbara Williams,Alison Pill,Rachel McAdams are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2002. Perfect Pie (2002) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
On the invitation of her childhood best friend Patsy McCann née Willets, famed opera singer Francesca Prine - whose real name is Marie Beck - returns to Marmora, Ontario to sing in a benefit concert. Patsy and Marie were best friends from the time Marie and her family arrived in Marmora when she was ten years old to the time she left Marmora at age fifteen, which was thirty years prior. With the exception of Don Rayford on who Marie had a crush, Patsy was shy Marie's only friend in Marmora. However, Marie and Patsy have not been in touch since due to issues that drove Marie out of town at the time. Those issues include Marie being physically abused by her alcoholic mother, but most specifically what happened the evening of the Sadie Hawkins dance - where Don accompanied Marie - and post dance down by the railroad tracks. Marie and Patsy's reunion may not be able to endure the thirty years of silence and the events of that night.
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Perfect Pie (2002) Reviews
Something was missing and it could have been better.
This is a film for women. It is a story about the reunion of two once childhood friends who have drifted apart after a terrible incident. Wendy Crewson is wonderful as the friend (Patsy)who didn't leave the small, hometown and became a housewife. Barbara Williams plays the friend (Francesca/Marie) who left and became a world famous opera singer only to return for a benefit concert on behalf of her estranged friend. Neither character was sympathetic and I could not connect with Marie. One of the problems was that the story was told in three different timelines: the present, the past around the time the incident occurred, and the past when the two friends first met. The editing was problematic. As soon as I was getting into the present storyline, the scene would jump into the past. This broke upset the pace and rhythm for me and when they did go to scenes in the past they never stayed long enough to flesh out the story. At least for me. I also found the ending to be anticlimatic and could have ended with the friends reconciling.
Great friendship movie
Perfect Pie is a beautiful film about friendship. It weaves the past with the present and the stellar performances of the actresses make the trip through time seamless and enjoyable. Wendy Crewson's portrayal of Patsy is gentle and lovely while never allowing the audience to lose sight of the character's inner strength and determination. A "must see" movie for anyone who has ever had a best friend.
Uneven small town Ontario film
Some wonderful vignettes but all in all cohesion was missing. A pivotal scene - the very heart of the plot, so to speak, was handled almost dismissively, a real shame. Three time frames are in the movie and sometimes you just don't get quite enough before another time shift. A very mixed bag. Crewson and Williams play off each other beautifully as do their 15 year old selves played by Pill and MacAdams ( one scene of Patsy picking nits out of Marie's hair is particularly poignant). But most of all it played flatly, not enough meat in any scene to grab one and connect one with the characters. Some tightening of the editing and a longer key scene would have increased the horror and given the viewer more of a connection. And one major flaw was that Marie, a hopelessly neglected and filthy child of a down-and-out, alcoholic mother (she apparently does not bathe and smells) is remarkably clean and looks well cared for throughout. At the end the character of Francesca was still at a remove from her audience. 6 out of 10.
Bad title. Good movie
This is a low budget woman's movie with a bad title. But that doesn't detract from the fact it is an extraordinarily sensitive and engrossing item. It is a simple story of female friendship, neatly knitted to-gether with well done flashbacks. It's a film anyone, male or female, rural or urban, can identify with, nicely shot, well performed and ably crafted with a definite Canadian accent and style.
not a true representation of the play
I found it hard to be sympathetic with the characters in this film, especially the character of Francesca/Marie. They just seemed to missing depth--I could not get into them. One of the reasons for this, I think, is that the pivotal rape scene was not filmed correctly. It appeared hackneyed while at the same time lacking drama. This scene is the basis for the entire film, especially with the flashbacks, and to have it appear lackluster and dull makes the entire film need something more. Moreover, for a dirty poor girl, Alison Pill is presented in the film as too clean and pretty. I could not connect with her in this context. This is not to say that the story isn't good. In fact, Thompson's play is quite engaging and was successful at making me feel for the characters. However, in contrast, the film was quite a disappointment. The film deviates from the original play too much and the meaning behind the story is lost.