Passion Fish

John Sayles' Passion Fish opens with May-Alice Culhane (Mary McDonnell) waking up in a hospital room. In her frenzied confusion, she switches on the TV, which happens to be playing her soap opera. The contrast between May-Alice's fictional life and her real one is stark.

After going through a roster of nurses, May-Alice ends up with Chantelle (Alfre Woodard), who has her own baggage. Chantelle sees that May-Alice needs (and, more importantly, wants) to not be pitied but her attempts to take control are mixed. But will the women work things out?

Sayles based Passion Fish on both Persona and his own experiences as both an orderly and a patient. Indeed, his film focuses on recovery not just physical. Sayles shines a light on the emotional rehabilitation of both May-Alice and Chantelle.

Much like Ingmar Bergman's film, Passion Fish shows how the two women are much more than their first impressions. May-Alice is implied to have been discontented before her accident. Chantelle, meanwhile, has a past she's trying to move on from and make amends for. But will either woman find happiness in their new life?

Passion Fish shows two women finding solace in their shared loneliness, a plot seen time and time again in made-for-TV movies on daytime television. But Sayles -- with his keen empathy for the common man -- makes sure not to tread into melodrama territory with both his script and direction. And like his later film Lone Star, it portrays a real sense of humanity during hard times.

My Rating: *****