Fonda as grandmother?
Here's a
piece of summer froth, a reprieve from the summer blockbusters. Peace, Love,
& Misunderstanding is peppered with genuinely good actors who could rise to
any challenge. Unfortunately, writer/director Bruce Beresford has handed them
the sights and sounds of Woodstock '69 unaltered for changing times. As fondly
as we may remember it, Woodstock looks silly in this movie, populated as it is
by aimless hippies and groupies in advanced middle age. Each character, except
for the New Yorkers, has been dipped in the attitudes, dress codes, and
mannerisms of the earlier time; but once we accept that discomfort, it's
possible to settle in to enjoy the generational story Beresford has sketched
against that background.
On the wings
of a divorce request from her husband, Diane (Catherine Keener) heads north to
visit Grace (Jane Fonda), the mother she hasn't spoken to in twenty years. She
brings her son Jake (Nat Wolff), and daughter Zoe (Elizabeth Olsen) who are
meeting their grandmother for the first time. Teenager Nat sees the summer drama
as fodder for the film he is making. Zoe is the perceptive observer. The story
unfolds in the town and fields of Woodstock and on Grace's nearby farm which is
headquarters for the multitude of unfolding local dramas.
Grace's
Daughter Diane is a smart, laced tight New York lawyer who disapproves of her
mother's role as unreconstructed Hippie enabler to the local population that
adores her. She asks Grace to tone down her behavior for the sake of her
grandchildren which is a little like asking a puppy to lie still for the
afternoon. Any relatives of this elderly Woodstock legend will inevitably draw
the attention of the town eligibles; Cole (Chace Crawford), the local butcher,
finds vegetarian Zoe while Tara (Marissa O'donnell), a waitress in the coffee
shop, targets Jake.
In a
genuinely appealing and credible connection, Diane the banker falls for Jude
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a leftover from '69 who is a statesman of modern
Woodstock. When he lures her to the stage for a duet at a Saturday night folk
gathering, the audience, quite understandably, melts in sentimental appreciation
partly because they do it well, and mostly because we're rooting for her to
unbutton herself.
The inherent
clashes over differing philosophies and beliefs are the hurdles that must be
cleared between setup and resolution. We enjoy that process because each actor
creates a real character. Chace Crawford is a sweet understated suitor to
Elizabeth Olsen's Zoe, and Olsen herself has all the marks of a real player.
She's good. Catherine Keener, always an actor in depth, is excellent as Diane,
the precise banker who finally allows herself to come alive. Is it odd to see
Jane Fonda as a grandmother? Not if you're a Millennial, but yes, a little, if
you stood against the Vietnam War. We're still kids, aren't we? I suspect Fonda
was doing other things in 1969 and Woodstock just isn't in her bones.
Copyright (c) Illusion
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