Review of Passion Fish (1992) by Mikael K — 13 Aug 2012

Sometimes when you take two amazing actors and put them together to star in a film, pure magic ensues. This is pretty much the case with âPassion Fish,â? in which magnificent Mary McDonnell plays May-Alice, a soap opera star who is paralyzed in a car accident. After the accident May-Alice returns to her family house in Louisiana where she wallops in her depression and self-loathing. She bullies all the nurses that are sent to tend for her, none of them enduring for long. Finally she is told that she will only be given one more nurse to try it out with.

Enter wonderful Alfre Woodard who plays Chantal, a nurse desperate for a job. The two women with formidable willpowers clash instantly, resulting in tense psychological warfare. Held together by their circumstances the relationship between them begins to evolve into a peculiar friendship of sorts, one filled with complications and nuance.

John Sayles directs with vision and his script is extremely strong and literally ambitious. He mixes strong, painful drama with witty humor and irony, connecting the story to themes of mortality, discrimination and social inequality.

But what truly makes âPassion Fishâ? a masterpiece is the near metaphysical dynamic between its two stars. Iâ(TM)ve always thought that McDonnell and Woodard are both geniuses as actors, and here they take all that talent they have and create something unique. This is acting at its most convincing and emotionally effective. Every gesture and tone of voice is perfect, yet nothing feels artificial or theatrical. Both got nominated for a Golden Globe from their roles and McDonnell received her second Oscar nomination; all most definitely deserved.