THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND

Director: Jodie Markell
Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Will Patton, Ann-Margret, Ellen Burstyn
Year: 2008
Rating: PG-13

If you've ever seen a Tennessee Williams play, or seen a film based on his work (A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, or Suddenly, Last Summer - to name a few), you'll find lots of a familiar territory here: flighty southern belles, hunky objects of affection, hints of madness in the family lineage ... even a grim, controlling matriarch. All are present here, in the story of Fisher Willow (Bryce Dallas Howard, in a liberating and captivating performance), daughter of a wealthy Tennessee landowner hated by most of his neighbors for a past incident that caused the deaths of innocent people. Fisher's been in Paris for some time, and just arrives back in Memphis as the film opens, staying with her Aunt Cornelia (Ann-Margret, still a stunner - though not really given a lot to do here) as she prepares to be presented at all the local debutante balls for the upcoming summer.

Fisher dislikes Memphis, and the local society that frowns upon her for her father's horrible actions, but has to go through the motions that society demands - so in turn, decides to hire the son of the man who runs her father's commissary (a store on the grounds of the father's property) to escort her to all the dances. This son, Jimmy Dobyne (Chris Evans, in a nuanced, very understated performance, southern accent and all), is also the grandson of a former governor of Tennessee and could probably have a more affluent life than he's chosen - but instead, Jimmy has chosen to stay on with his father (Will Patton), to help manage the commissary but also so he can be near (and visit) his mother - who is locked away in a local institution after going mad.

Fisher, at first, sees Jimmy as only another adornment to wear to all the parties; she measure him for the proper suits, then takes him shopping and outfits him to hunky perfection until the two of them make nothing short of a stunning couple when the party rounds begin. True to form, Fisher and her handsome escort are the talk of the town - even if it is a town that also whispers nasty barbs about Fisher and her family, occasionally to the girl's face - and Fisher even manages a small scandal or two at a couple of the parties, cutting loose in a way that European living taught her, even if such things aren't done at the best of Memphis parties ...

Until one evening, when a special Halloween party has Fisher borrowing a pair of dazzling teardrop earrings from her aunt - a pair of prized beauties worth $10,000 that Aunt Cornelia is hard pressed to part with. She relents, finally, and the earrings are nothing short of stunning on Fisher; that is, until just after she and Jimmy arrive at the party, after a failed attempt by Fisher at romancing the young man at the levee, and Fisher discovers she's lost one of the immensely valuable earrings. This small incident - and the subsequent anger from Jimmy, who believes Fisher is accusing him of taking the earring - starts a chain reaction of events that has Fisher (who, herself, has done time in a mental institution years back) questioning everything from her growing love for Jimmy, to her ever being forgiven for her father's sins, to her place in a world she can't stand.

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond features two truly exceptional performances by its leading actors. Bryce Dallas Howard, as Fisher, evokes genuine sympathy while remaining a strong woman mentally (it seems) on the verge of collapse. She's really wonderful here. Chris Evans, not only incredible to look at, shows some genuine dramatic acting skills off here, bringing the brooding, more-complex-than-you'd-think Jimmy fully to life. The other outstanding performance, by Ellen Burstyn as a dying southern belle with one final wish - a wish that only Fisher can provide - is equally moving and real, and the screenplay (written by Tennessee Williams over fifty years ago) has everything you'd expect in a Williams story.

This last point - the script - is probably why the movie comes up a bit short in the end. It's all familiar territory here, with nothing really new to make the film (which starts to falter in its second half) really stand out. It's beautifully filmed, evoking the old south (the film is set in 1923) and Memphis society to perfection, and the story (along with Bryce Dallas Howard's wonderful performance) never allows the film to lag. I wasn't one-hundred percent satisfied with the ending, but it left room for hope (of redemption, of romance, of a new life) in a way that was satisfying, if not unforgettable.

An intriguing, thoughtful film worth seeing - especially if you're a fan of either of the leads, or of Tennessee Williams - but while wholly serviceable, the film itself is simply good, rather than anything (like much of Williams' other work) that is ultimately, heartbreakingly special. *** - Reel Cool