‘Pieces of April’ (Part 6)

“Despite its flaws, Pieces of April has a lot of joy and quirkiness; it’s well-intentioned in its screwy way, with flashes of human insight, and actors who can take a moment and make it glow.”
Roger Ebert 

Pieces of April is not a perfect film, but it’s the perfect film for low-budget indie-filmmakers to study. It’s a great example of writing a script good enough to attract some great actors, and embracing your limitations and getting the film made. And getting it distributed.

That’s why I’ve spent the first two weeks of April writing about a film shot on standard def video cameras 14 years ago.

Let’s pick-up where we left off in the last post…

So after April (Katie Holmes) realizes her oven is not working as she starts preparing Thanksgiving dinner for her estranged family, and after she found a small repreive from a couple who let her use their oven for two hours—now April has to find someone else in her apartment building to have mercy on her to continue cooking her turkey.

That’s when she has a ray of hope from Wayne (Sean Hayes), the man who proudly has the newest and nicest oven in the whole building. But even though he’s willing to help doesn’t mean that writer/director Peter Hedges didn’t find a way to add obstacles in April’s path and fill the “Tick-tock” sequence with conflict, and continue to push April toward the end of her rope.

Related post:
Conflict-Conflict-Conflict
Aaron Sorkin on Theme, Intention & Obstacles
The End of the Rope Club (Oscars ’14)

Scott W. Smith