Love Field

source: Love Field

Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance anchors 1992's LOVE FIELD, a surprisingly moving marriage of character study and buddy movie that draws the viewer in with the draw of vividly human characters involved in a somewhat over the top story that manages to hold our attention due to the extreme likability of the two main characters. Pfeiffer plays a Dallas beautician named Lurene in 1963, who is so devastated by the assassination of JFK that she decides, against her husband's wishes, to travel to Washington DC to attend JFK's funeral and, en route, befriends a black man (Dennis Haysbert)traveling with his daughter, and the relationship that develops between the two when circumstances find the three of them on the run together. The story takes on an unexpected richness because these two people are part of the racially turbulent 1960's and because of the beautifully evocative performances from the stars. Pfeiffer, in particular, gives us a sad and slightly pathetic creature, wearing a platinum blonde Marilyn Monroe wig that seems to represent her desire to be someone else, her Lurlene is slightly ditzy, bored,lonely, but with a heart as big as all outdoors and the quiet dignity that Haysbert brings to his character in this tense situation is on target. Brian Kerwin also scores in the most significant role of his career as Lurene's abusive brute of a husband, but it is the performances and chemistry of the two stars that make this journey a memorable one.

Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance anchors 1992's LOVE FIELD, a surprisingly moving marriage between character study and buddy movie that draws the viewer in with the draw of vividly human characters involved in a somewhat over the top story that manages to hold our attention due to the extreme likability of the two main characters. Pfeiffer plays a Dallas beautician named Lurene in 1963, who is so devastated by the assassination of JFK that she decides, against her husband's wishes, to travel to Washington DC to attend JFK's funeral and, en route, befriends a black man (Dennis Haysbert)traveling with his daughter, and the relationship that develops between the two when circumstances find the three of them on the run together. The story taken on an unexpected richness because these two people are part of the racially turbulent 1960's and because of the beautifully evocative performances from the stars. Pfeiifer, in particular, gives us a sad and slightly pathetic creature, wearing a platinum blonde Mariyln Monroe wig that seems to represent her desire to be someone else, her Lurlene is slightly ditzy, bored,lonely, but with a heart as big as all outdoors and the quiet dignity that Haysbert brings to his character in this tense situation is on target. Brian Kerwin also scores in the most significant role of his career as Lurene's abusive brute of a husband, but it is the performances and chemistry of the two stars that make this journey a memorable one.

I loved this movie! Pfieffer's child-like naiveté is beautifully balanced with the mature competence of Dennis Haysbert's character. This is the first time I'd ever seen Haysbert and I've been a fan ever since. Something about that man...the viewer understands why she falls for him. I ached for both characters. The movie stirs up some feelings about injustice, racism, oppressed women -- a memory of those times but not nostalgia for them. The ending soothes and satisfies all that was stirred up. Love Fields uses only a few people and not a lot of scenery to tell its story, but its quite enough. It is, essentially, a love story -- unexpected, but so right. The period (mid-60's)is well-established and well-maintained. See this movie!

Can't believe that this is another movie that I find the legendary Roger Ebert's review to be totally worthless. The performance are uniformly great particularly Michelle Pfeiffer and Dennis Haysbert. The story is involving and ultimately moving. The little girl's almost numb with abuse and fear, shock is well portrayed. The story is believable, and the ending happily, optimistic. A shame that the film is comparatively unknown. See it, if you like something more substantial than a simple chick flick, or the latest blood and gore offering. A movie for people with an adult mentality. It once again proves that Michelle Pfeiffer was perhaps the most under appreciated actress of her time.

Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a naive, warm-hearted woman in Dallas who lives to follow the presidential couple. The move takes place during the assassination of JFK and Lurene(Michelle Pfeiffer) meets a black, mysterious man and his daughter. She falls in love with them but she's just about to find out that everything isn't as it seems.

It is 1963, and Lurene like a lot of Americans loves the Kennedy's almost to the level of hero worship. Perhaps it is her only escape from a life that consists of servitude to an indifferent husband who stays glued to the tube. Then a light comes into her life, as she receives that news that John and Jacqueline Kennedy are coming to Dallas. She takes a neighbor with her, a woman in a wheelchair mostly along so that Lurene can get through the crowd at the airport. Suddenly a murmur goes through the crowd and we already know what has happened. John's murder hits Lurene like one of her own. She decides, against her husband's protest that she must go to the funeral in Washington. Along the way she stumbles across a black man (Dennis Hysbert) and his daughter. She automatically assumes that the girl is kidnapped and later realizes her mistake. This takes on a series of events that leaves them in a stolen car running from the law. This is where the movie falls apart. I was so content to let this movie be a character study about two people trapped, she in a boring marriage, he in a society that is trained to hate him. I thought the director Jonathan Kaplan would be content with just these two people. Instead he piles on an unnecessary and distracting plot developments. Michelle Pfeiffer's performance is wonderful, giving us a woman who has led a sheltered and boring life. A lot of her best dialogue in the movie is made up of assumptions that she has about this man. Hysbert is the perfect counterpoint, a man who has seen more of the world and realizes the dangers surrounding him. 'Love Field' is a movie that has a smooth unforced flow in it's first 45 minutes then feels compelled to weigh it down with a lot of plot baggage. I loved the rapport between the characters in this movie but the ebb and flow of the development of their characters get bogged down with too many bumps in the road.

Had made this movie with great cast become so unbearably boring. We love Michelle Pfeiffer, she's a great talented actress, but the screenplay forced her to blabbering all the time and too much. The screenplay was not crafted concisely enough, the directing too textbook traditional and boring. It's just feel so outdated when we tried to watch in the 2021.

The sound track behind this film would make a good atmospheric Cd. There are fine performances by the principles. The film has many good moments and several dark ones that include such racist behaviour by southern police officers, that if that is reflective of how they are,one would not want to go to the southern states of America ever. The film is crosscut with the assassination of J F K Kennedy moving from Dallas to Washington, the funeral of the President then the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. Remembering the paranoia in America at the time about conspiracy, Red plots, Castro involvement or Mafia killing and the condemnation of the Dallas police force that followed because they seemed to prefer Kennedy dead and wanted only to put it to bed as quickly as possible. The police would have been very twitchy, but that wouldn't excuse the kind of pure nastiness portrayed here.

I'm speechless. The acting was sentimental on Michell's part, but who's wasn't when JFK got shot. She had a hum-drum life with a man that knew nothing about compassion or empathy toward others. He was only interested in himself and whether or not she'd stay with him. He could not understand the importance of her wanting to "pay her respects" to he late President. Her character actually GROWS in this movie, and she begins to fall in love (maternially) with the black man's daughter. (Not to mention the black man......hot!) In the end, I actually thought they were heading their separate ways, but then you see her car return to where the man's daughter is staying. Now that is true romance, and it goes against most of society which hints, "Stick with your own kind,"and I like the fact that she decided to return to him where she felt herself and safe.