Pieces of April DVD Review

"PIECES OF APRIL" reviews

DVD

PIECES OF APRIL

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-26 11:16:32

Provider

DVD Review

Pieces Of April stars Dawson's Creek girl-next-door type Katie Holmes as April, a rebellious punk / Goth chick who is trying to mend a rift with her family by cooking them Thanksgiving dinner in her pokey New York apartment. Unfortunately her oven doesn't work, her boyfriend has gone AWOL and her family's drive is proving a bit more eventful than they anticipated.

Written and directed by Peter Hedges, Pieces Of April has some pretty familiar themes running throughout and fortunately none of them are tied in too tightly with the holiday which can be a bit of an enigma to UK audiences.

Holmes does well to shed her all-American girl image as the tattooed and independent April but most of those on show give quality performances. Central to the film is April's relationship with her mother (Patricia Clarkson). Sharp and ascerbic, her engaging character is made all the more interesting by the fact that she worries this will be her last Thanksgiving (she's suffering from terminal cancer).

This is a well written and tidily directed little indie flick.