The Prince Of Tides (DVD)

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Adapted from the 1986 novel by Pat Conroy

Screenplay: Pat Conroy and Becky Johnston

Music: James Newton Howard

Released: December 1991

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Mixed up, unhappy English teacher turned football coach Tom Wingo, lives in South Carolina with his wife and children. There are problems with his marriage, mainly caused by ...
...New York hospital after surviving the latest in a whole series of suicide attempts. Not wanting to go and visit Savannah herself, Lila manipulates Tom into taking her place.

After a massive row with Lila over her misplaced loyalties (she gave the excuse not to go to New York because of having to plan her husband's - Tom & Savannah's stepfather - birthday party), Tom makes the journey to see his sister's psychiatrist, Lowenstein. During ... more

Main Cast:

Tom 'Coach' Wingo (Nick Nolte)
Dr Susan Lowenstein (Barbra Streisand)
Sallie Wingo...Tom's wife (Blythe Danner)
Lila Wingo/Newbury...Tom & Savannah's mother (Kate Nelligan)
Henry Wingo...Tom & Savannah's father (Brad Sullivan)
Herbert Woodruff...Lowenstein's violinist husband (Jeroen Krabbé )
Savannah Wingo...Tom's twin sister (Melinda Dillon)
Eddie Detreville...Savannah's flatmate in New York (George Carlin)
Bernard Woodruff...Lowenstein's & Herbert's son (Jason Gould)

Director & Producer: Barbra Streisand

Adapted from the 1986 novel by Pat Conroy

Screenplay: Pat Conroy and Becky Johnston

Music: James Newton Howard

Released: December 1991

*****************************************************

Mixed up, unhappy English teacher turned football coach Tom Wingo, lives in South Carolina with his wife and children. There are problems with his marriage, mainly caused by his inability to communicate with his wife, Sallie, and his continual blocking-off of emotions.

Tom learns from his mother Lila, that his twin sister Savannah is in a New York hospital after surviving the latest in a whole series of suicide attempts. Not wanting to go and visit Savannah herself, Lila manipulates Tom into taking her place.

After a massive row with Lila over her misplaced loyalties (she gave the excuse not to go to New York because of having to plan her husband's - Tom & Savannah's stepfather - birthday party), Tom makes the journey to see his sister's psychiatrist, Lowenstein. During his first meeting with Lowenstein, a somewhat angry (at his sister's condition) Tom is told by Lowenstein that his sister Savannah has huge blocks in her memory of her childhood, and Lowenstein requests that Tom assist by meeting and having a "session" with her each day, the intention being that he could perhaps act as Savannah's memory and help unravel some of the repressed things from childhood which would assist her mental recovery.

Mistrustful and defensive at first, Tom attends Lowenstein's office each day, and gradually begins to open up, revealing the horrifically abusive childhood that he, Savannah and their dead brother had suffered at the hands of Henry, their cruel and brutal father, and Lila, their placid but controlling and manipulative mother.

Much of the film revolves around Tom's sessions with Lowenstein, and as he opens up, he relates some terrible scenes from his and Savannah's childhood - we see these on the film in flashback form.

I don't want to give any more of the storyline away, but I'll speak a little about my own feelings on The Prince Of Tides.

I watched this film on the recommendation of a friend, and I was a little apprehensive because my friend's and my own tastes in films, music etc. doesn't always coincide, but when she told me this was about delving into the history of a deeply dysfunctional family, I decided to give it a watch - at the time I was going through some counselling myself, dealing with a few of my own childhood issues, and I thought it may be something I could perhaps identify with.

I settled alone one evening to watch The Prince Of Tides, and as the film rolled on and got into the storyline, my eyes were becoming more firmly glued to the screen. I found one or two parts of it touched a little too close for comfort on a couple of my own childhood experiences, but that was a good thing - as it made me examine myself in a way which was necessary at the time, but I hadn't until that point been able to find a way of connecting with my past. On the lighter side, I was marvelling at the acting skills of Nick Nolte as Tom, but particularly those of Barbra Streisand, as I truly didn't believe she had it in her.....I'd never thought of her as being any more than a singer.

Barbra also directed and produced this film and I was delighted with her portrayal of Lowenstein the psychiatrist. There are some superb scenes in the film, acting-wise, where Nick Nolte gives us some outstanding displays of previously pent-up emotion, with an accuracy and realism that is almost second to none.

The only part of the film that I really didn't like, was the ending. What had for the best part been a set of gritty and realistic scenarios between psychiatrist and client, suddenly did an all-change into something wet, soppy and mawkish. Each time I have since viewed The Prince Of Tides (and that's rather a lot of times as it's one of my favourite films), I make a point of stopping it when I know it's all going to fall apart and get not stupid exactly...but maybe a tad embarrassingly over-acted.

Another little thing in the main body of the film that I feel maybe needs drawing attention to, is that here and there, Lowenstein displays very fuzzed up boundaries with Tom - boundaries which should be clear and firmly in place at all times when dealing with patients/clients. I'm not sure if this was done deliberately or if that's how psychiatrists and therapists practice in the USA, but I feel overall it could give a poor impression to anybody who may seriously be considering seeking therapy for themselves.

Despite those two little sidetracks though, this is a truly great film and is extraordinarily well acted. The Prince Of Tides was nominated for a grand total of 11 awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay....and a few others. Nick Nolte ended up walking away with the Best Actor Award.

The Prince Of Tides is a thoroughly fascinating and absorbing film, which has a couple of scenes in it that possibly may shock certain people who might have been through similar experiences in their own pasts, but it is definitely up in my all-time top three films list.

I strongly recommend to anybody who hasn't seen it to give it a try....with the warning that if your own childhood was seriously dysfunctional, you may find parts of it hard to watch - but who knows, it could encourage you to seek the help you may need in order to come to terms with it?

Thanks for reading!

~~ Also published on DooYoo under my GentleGenius user name ~~ 

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