Film Review: The Prince of Tides (1991)

Singer and actress Barbra Streisand is one of the most celebrated personalities in American entertainment industry. She owes it to her various talents and that, despite relatively short filmography, includes reputation of an accomplished film maker. After her directing debut with feminist musical Yentl, she confirmed that reputation with her next film, commercially successful and critically acclaimed 1991 romantic drama The Prince of Tides.

The film is based on the eponymous novel by Pat Conroy, acclaimed writer of American Southern literature who also worked on script with Becky Johnson. The protagonist, played by Nick Nolte, is Tom Wingo, unemployed English teacher and football coach from South Carolina. While his marriage to wife Sallie (played by Blythe Danner) is falling apart he receives the word that his twin sister Savannah (played by Melinda Dillon), a poet living in New York City, attempted suicide and ended in catatonic state. Her psychiatrist Dr. Susan Loewenstein (played by Barbra Streisand) asks her to come to New York and help her with missing information about Savannah’s early life in order to develop proper therapy. Tom reluctantly agrees, because he doesn’t like big city and initially appears that Dr. Lowenstein, as a wealthy and urbane Jewish woman, belongs to different world than Tom, who is still loyal to rural Southern ways. Two of them nevertheless develop rapport and even become friends, with Tom volunteering to coach her rebellious teenage son Bernard (played by Jason Gould) in football. Dr. Loewenstein is soon aware that she, like Tom, has serious marital problems because of her smug and philandering husband, violinist Herbert Woodruff (played by Jerroen Krabbé). Tom gradually opens up about his past, which included growing up in dysfunctional family with violent father Henry (played by Brad Sullivan) and status-obsessed mother Lila (played by Kate Nelligan) and also finally confronts emotional aftermath of terrible event which traumatised entire family and drew Savannah to insanity.

Barbra Streisand is often accused of narcissism and there were critics, just like in the case of Yentl, who thought that she has miscast herself in main female role. Streisand, co-producer who also had her real life son Jason Gould in the role of on-screen son, is nevertheless solid and believable as Dr. Loewenstein. She wisely decided to play second fiddle in the film and although the romance, which was just one of the plot strands in Conroy’s epic novel, represents the basis of the film, The Prince of Tides in terms of acting belongs to Nick Nolte. He gives very strong performance, skilfully playing a character whose imposing macho physique hides deep vulnerability. Furthermore, the film tries and for the most part succeeds, to build the plot on the basis of flashbacks and those flashbacks give opportunity for talented actors in supporting roles, like Brad Sullivan and Kate Nelligan. Streisand was less successful in casting Krabbé who ends as one-dimensional and almost comical villain. Stephen Goldblatt’s cinematography, on the other hand, is much better in conveying sharp contrast between idyllic open spaces of coastal Southern Carolina and urban mayhem of New York City. Music score by James Newton Howard is, sadly, too sappy and makes The Prince of Tides sound too manipulative and sentimental. The Prince of Tides also have issues with pacing and it is slightly overlong. The film was nevertheless liked by the audience and critics and even had large number of Academy Award nominations, without winning a single one. In 2022 there were reports about Conroy’s novel being adapted again as television miniseries, in format that is likely allow more faithful and comprehensive adaptation. Until that happens, 1991 film would serve its purpose quite nicely.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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