Places in the Heart (1984)

Description

Places in the Heart (1984) is writer-director Robert Benton's nostalgic but thoroughly unsentimental memory piece about growing up in a small Texas town during the Great Depression. Focusing on a young widow (the Oscar®-winning Sally Field) who suddenly has to support her two young children, the film celebrates the community she gathers around her: a black hobo (Danny Glover) who begins as a thief and winds up as a friend and mentor; a cranky blind boarder (John Malkovich); a pragmatic sister (Lindsay Crouse) who is supporting her own family, including a husband (Ed Harris) with a penchant for her best friend (Amy Madigan). Their grit and determination are poignantly presented with an assist from the sterling cinematography of Nestor Almendros (Days of Heaven).