FILM: The Spitfire Grill (1996;DVD/video)

This movie was kinda slow. But it was well worth watching because it has some of the most interesting, complex characters I've encountered out of all the films I've seen.

Percy is a young woman who's just been released from prison and comes to a small town to start over again. She has a secret past. Hannah is an old, grouchy lady who owns the Spitfire Grill, where Percy gets a job as a waitress. Hannah has a secret too. Shelby is a sweet, timid woman with low self-esteem because she has a bastard for a husband who tells her she's dumb. This husband is Nahum, Hannah's nephew, who is a hateful, scoundrel of a man, and he eventually has a secret, too. Then there's Joe, who quickly falls in love with Percy. I might add that how he proposes to Percy is how I would prefer to be proposed to someday (I have old-fashined ideas about marriage proposals; I've read too many 19th century novels). Finally, there's a hermit in the woods that Percy discovers and befriends. And he's one giant secret. So the fun of this drama is to see these secrets unveiled one by one.

Lee David Zlotoff, who wrote the screenplay and directed the film, really fleshed out these characters well. And the actors all did an amazing job bringing the characters to life. All gave very genuine and convincing performances.

The location of the film was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. The location itself was practically a character in the movie. All those trees! (you know me and trees). It was filmed in Vermont by the way.

::4 stars::