Pieces of April (the new Katie Holmes vehicle) is a funny yet realistic film depicting a dysfunctional family from the view of the black sheep herself. April Burns (Holmes) is “the one in every family”, as the tagline for the movie states. However, as the story moves between her attempts at preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for her family, and her family’s reluctant road trip to April’s low-rent apartment in New York City, we see from April’s point of view that perhaps it’s the other way around-she might just be the only normal member of her ‘black sheep’ family.
The film begins on Thanksgiving morning, with April’s boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke) waking her up for the big day. As she saunters into her cluttered kitchen to find that her oven is broken, it is obvious that the day is going to be a long one. She frantically ventures throughout her shabby apartment building looking for an oven to use while becoming acquainted with her friendly-and unusual-neighbors.
Parallel to that storyline is the one featuring April’s family, consisting of her ailing mother Joy (Patricia Clarkson), her optimistic father (Oliver Platt), grandmother and siblings, preparing themselves for what they anticipate will be a disastrous evening. While the first glimpse of the family’s opinion of April comes from her overachieving, bratty sister Beth, it soon becomes apparent that even her cancer-ridden mother lacks any motherly tenderness when it comes to April, as she constantly brings up her failures throughout the ride.
As the movie progresses, it becomes hard for the audience to reconcile the thoughtless, malicious April her family reminisces about with the girl painstakingly writing up place cards and putting up Thanksgiving decorations. The Burns’ family seems hypocritical in their judgment of April, as it becomes evident that they themselves have their own shortcomings, as illustrated by their quirks throughout the ride.
Pieces of April is not your typical glossy Hollywood movie-in fact, writer/director Peter Hedges (About a Boy) films in digital video, which brings out the raw reality of the story, from the details of April’s apartment to awkward silences in the car. This simple attention to detail makes the film enjoyable and moving-it’s something every family can relate to. The story is a microcosm of life, sweetly summed up by April during her attempt at retelling the first Thanksgiving: “They all needed each other.” However, the crux of the script is that this is no simple conclusion- April’s constant struggle with her own identity, not the one her family has prejudged her of, is juxtaposed with her neighbors’ interactions with her, which expose different aspects of her personality.
Holmes finally breaks free of her Dawson’s Creek image by capturing the essence of a character that comes from a troubled past and is determined to succeed-in many ways, April is the antithesis of Dawson’s Joey. Longtime indie film fave Patricia Clarkson’s star continues to rise with her stunningly realistic performance as April’s cancer-stricken mother, simultaneously managing to invoke feelings of sympathy and animosity. Another notable performance comes from Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) as the ever-supportive boyfriend, representing April’s attempt at an improved lifestyle and the one constant factor in her life that balances her negative past.
This film is definitely worth the ever-increasing cinema prices-while simple and humorous, it is also painfully realistic in depicting the role different people play in our lives and how we create our own identities both from and despite this.
