Three Tall Women

Authors: Jack
Location: Connecticut

"Three Tall Women”

Directed by Ron Howard
Written by David Hare
Music by Rachael Portman

Principal Cast:

Patricia Neal- A
Meryl Streep- B
Jennifer Aniston- C
Ralph Fiennes- Son

Tagline: "That's the happiest moment. When it's all done. When we stop. When we can stop"

Synopsis: A is an exceedingly wealthy and affluent senile old woman who is suffering from the first stages of Alzheimer’s. B is A’s noticeably cynical and disparaging caretaker in her fifties. C is the 20 something agent of A’s law firm sent to help A with work she had been neglecting. She is often made fun of and patronized by A and B. The film opens with A, B, and C talking together in A's bedroom. Throughout, A talks while the others listen. She habitually reminisces and tells stories about her life as a younger woman. B, while helping her do everyday things that are now very difficult for her, smiles and nods. C, while seldom saying a word, partly because of shyness and partly because of A’s loquaciousness, tries to explain her duties she is there to accomplish, usually is deterred because of the effortlessness by which A goes into rambling storytelling. She is habitually confused over the mean, conflicting and irrational statements made by A, but is downcast by B who is evidently in the habit of humoring A and her routine. During one of her stories, A has a stroke and is rushed to the hospital. We then pick up in a hospital room with a mannequin of A lying in a bed.

We see A, B, and C are no longer the different entities as observed before, but now we see they are all A at different times in her existence. Most of this involves each of the unseen specters talking and relating about what they’d done, wish they’d, and turning points. The A, B, and C here are all very solid, the reader gets a much deeper and different insight into this woman's history.The woman's son then comes in to sit and be near the dummy. The hidden entities B and A are not pleased to see him because of the great deal of tension between mother and son, (who we find out is gay) which is looked at through reminisces and memories. C does not know, as she is from too early in the woman's life to know about her marriage and son. He says absolutely nothing during his entirety. He leaves. We end with a discussion, or more of a debate, between A, B, and C. They argue about the happiest moment in their life. A ends it, saying: "That's the happiest moment. When it's all done. When we stop. When we can stop."

What the press would say:

The women of this movie glide with a grace and purpose that no film has shown before. Adapted from Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, with a verbose and vibrant screenplay will give visuals that can let the viewer imagine, instead of being shown. The three actresses savor their long monologues as if it would be the last thing they said. If under the wrong direction, the film could be entirely tedious, but with everything being brilliant about this film, it will be unforgettable. Another thing about this is the brilliant cast. Oscar veteran Patricia Neal is entirely jumbled, then coherent. She has the hard task of making an angry old woman who shells out insults and slurs likable. The performance will be one of the highlights of the night come Oscar time, and we all know how the Academy loves to honor veterans. Meryl Streep, arguably the greatest living actress of our time, gives a cynical and pessimistic performance as a caregiver to A, this is just thing and she is stupendous as always. Last, Jennifer Aniston gives a dazzling performance as the lawyer who just doesn't know what to think of this well-off elderly woman and her ever failing and wondering mind of continual prattle. We later find out we did not see three women, but the same at different times in her life. The women fight, trying to figure out why they became so bitter, mad and alone. No one lets the energy level drop. Fiennes has the hardest role, with not one line; he has to express feeling and reactions through body language and facial expression. The fine work of this ensemble is felt long after departing.

Oscar Potential:

Best Picture
Best Director- Ron Howard
Best Original Score- Rachael Portman
Best Actress- (Patricia Neal, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston)
Best Adapted Screenplay- David Hare