SYNOPSICS
A Change of Heart (1998) is a English movie. Arvin Brown has directed this movie. Jean Smart,John Terry,Gretchen Corbett,Phillip Geoffrey Hough are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1998. A Change of Heart (1998) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
Joe Marshall is the perfect father and husband and is respected and admired in his community. But Joe is living a lie that he has tried to keep suppressed throughout his marriage. It is only when Elaine catches her husband in bed with his lover that Joe's lie rips through the facade. Joe's lover is a young man. This film is an honest, moving account of a woman struggling to cope with the discovery that her husband and father of her two children, the man that she has worked with side by side, is gay. The movie sees all four members of the family struggle to integrate this new complication into their family life.
A Change of Heart (1998) Reviews
A Step Up From "Making Love"
Watching this film 13 years later helps to be kinder to the way subject material is portrayed. Some parts of the movie were just a little silly...having a scene where the son can't perform with his girlfriend...an absurd court resolution that excuses gay-bashing if you just learned your dad is gay...a dad that behaves like his decision wouldn't have consequences, and the total failure of this film to address such blatant infidelity in the first place (whether it was committed by a straight or gay man or woman). Worst of all is the Disney ending, which is totally out-of-whack when we see what had come before. It was as if the family had been sprayed with some surreal fairy dust. Hey look, I am all for an upbeat resolution, but it wasn't especially honest. What I did like about this film was its willingness to tackle the subject to begin with. Homophobia infuriates me, but this film was just loaded with one politically correct event after another. And yet, maybe America needs a bit of educating on gay issues, so I won't hold that against the writer. What surprised me the most was what a good and natural actress Jean Smart was. There were quite a few nice touches she gave to her character throughout...I didn't realize she was that good. While there were some clichés in the script, it did have a nice feel for dialogue. A film on the same topic today would probably be presented far differently. Then again, this was a significant improvement over "Making Love," though I respect the historical significance of the earlier film.
Fairly strong and involving for a television movie...
Jean Smart is a tower of strength as married mother of two who follows a hunch one afternoon and tracks her husband of 20 years to a hotel room--where he's cozily wrapped in a white terrycloth robe and making chit-chat with a strapping man in a matching towel. His secret's out! Of course this is all cliché by now, and some viewers will bemoan that fact and give up right there, but the TV film "A Change of Heart" addresses these issues with a lot of forceful emotion and realistic exchanges. There's hurt, and anger, and tears, but it doesn't sink into sap. The male lover isn't given any dimensions--and seems to have a great home of his own, so why were they meeting in a hotel?--and the teenagers involved are tiresomely belligerent, but Jean Smart is the acting centerpiece here and she does the movie a world of good. Her speech to the board of directors where she and her husband work is flawlessly handled, and her bravura spirit at the end will give a lot of viewers hope. A good actress can do that.
Love Story with a twist
This movie is a true love story with a twist. The story revolves around Elaine Marshall. A happily married doctor, who has her whole life in a perfect status. A perfect husband, perfect children, perfect job, two houses, indeed... a perfect life. Then...one day she finds her husband sleeping ... with another man. From this point on her life goes into a complete whirlwind of problems, and begins to perfectly fall apart. In her mission to save her marriage, Elaine finds herself learning what life is all about, and taking a good look at her inner self. Jean Smart shines as Elaine Marshall. Worth watching - An 'A' movie !
Nine-tenths believable
The perfect family--Mom, Dad, teenage daughter and son--is thrown into absolute turmoil when Dad is discovered to be a closeted gay with a male lover. The unanimous hysterical reaction of wife and kids to his carefully guarded secret is all too believable. One could question his judgement in marrying and raising a family, but not his fear of the consequence of discovery (which probably drove him into marriage in the first place). In about nine-tenths of this film, knee-jerk responses, closed minds, and programmed thinking reign. Given this, the last few scenes stretch credulity to a cinematic breaking point.
How not to react when you find your husband in bed with another man...
Jean Smart's character acts like an absolute bitch to absolutely everyone after her discovery. Everyone who crosses her path gets the full load but she can't even say the words... I realize it's probably your worst nightmare to find out your husband's bisexual, but - as one character aptly puts it - it's better than finding your husband in the arms of a 25-year old bimbo. Hats off to the people who dared to make a movie about the subject! If this means that one more person feels it is now easier to talk about it, this movie has done it's job! If there is an underlying moral, it must be; TALK ABOUT IT! Keep the channels of communication open!