A young couple, Nancy (played by Kathleen Quinlan) and Michael (played by Stephen Collins) have prospects of getting married. Or at least Michael does. Nancy seems a little hesitant but still overall happy about the whole thing.
They had already gotten married on their own terms. By having their own private ceremony on the edge of a cliff wherein they bury a small amount of beads beneath a large Rock to symbolise their everlasting Bond.
So Michael than takes a plane to his mother's house (play by Beatrice Straight*) and tells her of the good news.
She's having absolutely none of it. Not only is she against the marriage but she has ''dirt'' on Nancy's parents.
Which becomes all the more ridiculous when you realise that Nancy was an orphan. Her parents were both killed when she was less than 2 years old, she would have no memory of them and no real connection. Even if she had it still shouldn't have made a difference. They're the ones with the dirt on their hands, not Nancy.
Beatrice Straight only reason for being so against her son's marriage has to do with the nasty image that could associate to her company, of which her son is supposed to inherit one day. The whole thing reeks of business manoeuvres with little to no interest in her son's personal affairs.
This as you can imagine upset Michael quite a bit. He decides that he's going to get married right then and there in defiance of his mother (or possibly as some form of insurance to ensure that his mother can't stop the ceremony sometime in the future).
Michael meets up with one of his friends to convince him to be his best man. Then they pick up his soon-to-be-wife and head on their way. But tragedy strikes as the three** of them are involved in a massive car collision. Michael is becomes unconscious for over a week and Nancy received serious damage to her face. Michael's mother is contacted.
She comes to the hospital to look over the damage of her son. and also looks over the damage to Nancy. It's here that Michael's mother finds an opportunity to rid herself of a potential thorn in the side.
From this point on that we see the true colours of Michael's Mother. She makes a horrible deal with Nancy.
She'll pay for Nancy's medical needs to reschedule her face, if she promises to travel to the other side of the country and never speak to her son again. Not only does she threatened Nancy with overburdened medical bills. But she also convinces Nancy that Michael wouldn't love her without her good looks. Thus convincesing Nancy that abandoning her current life is the only way to go.
Now we get into the true drama .Nancy is trying to restructure her life both mentally and physically. Michael has to live with the anguish of what he assumes is his dead wife as he becomes a recluse only interested in his job. Then the deeper problems that arise as the two characters begin to clash with one another over time.
And I don't want to get into those details because I'd rather you stop reading my crummy summary and simply see the film for yourself. I recommend this wholeheartedly. Not only is it one of the best movies I've seen in months but it's one of the best dramatic romances I've seen in years.
It's not littered with special effects or fancy camera techniques or over-the-top acting either. It's just dramatic tension as various people try to interact with each other and discover they can't because of shady back door deals and general Internal trauma.
I think there might be a tiny bit of music manipulation in the movie. But only in the smallest amount and it doesn't do anything to ruin the overall atmosphere of an overall good movie.
*Maybe it's just me but Beatrice Straight looks a little like Nancy Reagan in this film.
**Michael's friend is perfectly fine after the crash. I guess being in the back means that he didn't get injured during the Collision. I don't know how realistic that is especially considering he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I don't even know if that model of car had seatbelts.
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