A political appointee risks her job and her life to expose corruption.A political appointee risks her job and her life to expose corruption.A political appointee risks her job and her life to expose corruption.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen this movie opened in Nashville theaters, it lasted only two weeks.
- GoofsThe song playing in the nightclub a day or two after her son chokes on the pistachio, is "Honey Honey" by ABBA. That song wasn't recorded until January of 1974, and the screen had previously just read that it was 1973, moments earlier.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Crossover Dreams/Maxie/Mishima/Plenty (1985)
- SoundtracksHoney Honey
By Benny Andersson (uncredited) and Björn Ulvaeus (uncredited)
Performed by ABBA
Courtesy of Polar Music International AB Sweeden
Featured review
Freedom for sale, with Fred Thompson as himself
Sissy Spacek plays Marie Ragghianti, a single mother of three who escapes her abusive husband in Georgia, moves back to Tennessee and her mother, and gets her degree. After getting her degree, she meets old college friend Eddie Sisk (Jeff Daniels), an appointee of the new Governor, and he gets her a job in the clemency and extradition bureau. She does her job well enough that Gov. Blanton (Don Hood) eventually appoints her to the parole board. On the parole board, however, she learns there may be high-level corruption going on, with paroles and pardons being sold, as well as delays in extraditions. At every turn she's stymied, until the governor fires her. She sues for wrongful dismissal, hiring former Senate Watergate counsel Fred Thompson (playing himself). Also in the cast are Keith Szarabajka as the civil servant trying to win Marie's heart; and Morgan Freeman as a fellow Parole Board officer who not only isn't impossibly virtuous, but is in fact a bit of a bad guy.
The performances are good, especially Spacek's, and the trial scenes are particularly good, as there's little of the histrionics that generally appear in Hollywood courtrooms. In fact, the courtroom itself is pretty cramped and much less majestic-looking than in most movies. The movie is generally based on a true story, although I do wonder how much liberty was taken with that story since Ragghianti has to go through so much that it gets ridiculous by the end. The other problem with the movie is the heavy-handed music score, which makes it very obvious when Something Dramatic Is About to Happen. It was to the point that I started laughing when I heard the change in music. Still, don't let that put you off the movie. It is a solid film.
The performances are good, especially Spacek's, and the trial scenes are particularly good, as there's little of the histrionics that generally appear in Hollywood courtrooms. In fact, the courtroom itself is pretty cramped and much less majestic-looking than in most movies. The movie is generally based on a true story, although I do wonder how much liberty was taken with that story since Ragghianti has to go through so much that it gets ridiculous by the end. The other problem with the movie is the heavy-handed music score, which makes it very obvious when Something Dramatic Is About to Happen. It was to the point that I started laughing when I heard the change in music. Still, don't let that put you off the movie. It is a solid film.
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- AlsExGal
- Sep 11, 2018
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Marie: A True Story
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,507,995
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $241,423
- Sep 29, 1985
- Gross worldwide
- $2,507,995
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