Reviewing Movies

Paradise /The Prince of Tides

Two movies which came out in 1991 set in the tidal plains off the Carolinas among shrimp boaters. Both storylines feature dysfunctional families haunted by repressed memories of family traumas and deaths. Both casts involve family members.

Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson have their stoic existence invaded by the arrival of ten-year-old Elijah Wood whose pregnant mother has shipped him off to her best friend in Paradise. His summer is enriched by the presence of a lonely young neighbour played by Thora Birch.

Tom Wingo’s static existence is rocked by the attempted suicide of his twin sister in NYC. Traveling to New York to meet with his sister’s shrink he finds that even the rich and famous can have marriages as shaky as his own. This latter movie is told through flash-backs that illustrate Tom’s memories.

Both movies proceed at a slow southern pace amid beautiful scenery. The focus of the first is the two children; of the second the childhood experience of the Twin Brother and Sister. Although some may find both overly sentimental I have watched them repeatedly.