Richard Russo adapted his own novel into this HBO mini-series. Miles Roby (Ed Harris, APOLLO 13) is a mild-mannered diner manager in the depressed town of Empire Falls, Maine. His eccentric father Max (Paul Newman, NOBODY’S FOOL) is allows hitting him up for money — or just stealing it. He has separated from his wife Janine (Helen Hunt, AS GOOD AS IT GETS), who is now engaged to slimy, gym owner Walt “Silver Fox” Comeau (Dennis Farina, SNATCH).
Janine is loud, combative and likes to flaunt her recent loss of 50 lbs. His teenage daughter Tick (Danielle Panabaker, forthcoming SKY HIGH) has just broken up with her violent football playing boyfriend Zack Minty (Trevor Morgan, MEAN CREEK), who is the son of dimwitted police officer Jimmy Minty (William Fichtner, BLACK HAWK DOWN), who was only an acquaintance of Miles when he was a kid, but thinks they were friends. Tick feels sorry for John Voss (Lou Taylor Pucci, PERSONAL VELOCITY), a poor kid who Zack mercilessly picks on.
Miles’ brother David flips food for the diner and is sweet for the waitress Charlene (Theresa Russell, WILD THINGS), who Miles has had a crush on since high school. David has been in and out of trouble, but now makes a sensation on weekends at the diner with his specialty menu. He wants Miles to team up with his former mother-in-law Bea (Estelle Parsons, BONNIE & CLYDE), turning her saloon into a bar and grill. He has long worked for Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward, RACHEL, RACHEL), who pretty much owns and controls the town. Francine’s emotionally starved, handicapped daughter Cindy (Kate Burton, SWIMFAN) has always loved Miles, but he never loved her.
Miles dreams of the day Bea will die and bequeath the diner to him so that he can buy his dream bookstore. Miles also has troublesome memories of his beloved mother Grace (Robin Wright Penn, FORREST GUMP) and her relationship with the mysterious Charlie Mayne (Philip Seymour Hoffman, BOOGIE NIGHTS).
In being adapted into a four-hour mini-series, the story is allowed time to develop slowly and gets into the real complexity of these characters. A two-hour film probably could have been made out of this story, but you wouldn’t have felt the weight of these people’s lives.
The entire cast was amazing. Harris’ performance is so subtle that he gets overshadowed by some of the more flashy roles, but he is still the heart and soul of the film. Newman keeps saying he’s going to retire, but after seeing his work here that would be a loss to society. He’s still got the stuff. His wife Woodward also crafts an intriguing “bad guy” who subtly enjoys her evilness, but in a natural realistic way. Another major standout is Fichtner, who elevates what could have been a one dimensional “stupid jock” type character into a tormented and lonely soul.
The story is so engaging that I sat through the entire film in one sitting without ever looking at the clock. I liked the ways the film layered the theme of us not being able to choice who we love into every nook and cranny of the film. This engaging, funny and subtle ode to life is well worth every minute.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
