‘Don’t worship me until I’ve earned it...’
Another day, another Best Picture winner. This one felt different however. Rather than the box ticking exercises of Driving Miss Daisy and Ordinary People, James L. Brooks’ Terms of Endearment is a genuinely wonderful cinematic experience and probably has to go down as one of the best directorial debuts ever. High praise indeed…
Emma (Debra Winger) and her mother Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) have a tumultuous relationship to say the least. Aurora disapproves of Emma’s oafish husband Flap (Jeff Daniels) and seeks solace in the arms of her next door neighbour and retired astronaut Garrett (Jack Nicholson). Terms of Endearment allows us to settle down with this tangled web of quirky characters over a number of years and a couple of hours.
It should be noted that Winger and MacLaine argued constantly offset, but this is one of those rare examples when this friction seems to have benefitted both of them. The scenes they share sizzle and pop with competitive tension, resulting in a deserved Oscar nomination for both of them (a gong eventually won by MacLane).
Elsewhere, Jack Nicholson is at his malevolent best, not even bothering to hide his bad intentions and Jeff Daniels manages to make an extremely flawed character mostly likeable. Indeed, it is this ambiguity that powers Terms of Endearment. Brooks presents us with a group of people who make mistakes, do bad things, but generally try to do the best they can with the little they have been given. While his movie is undoubtedly funny in places, the tragic conclusion really packs an emotional punch and by combining these two disparate styles, Brooks creates a true masterpiece.
A truly deserving Best Picture winner. Drink it in.