Thursday, February 28, 2008

Tree of Hands (1989)

Tree of hands is a very mediocre film. Helen Shaver plays Benet Archdale, an American writer living in London. Lauren Bacall is her manic-depressive mother, Marsha Archdale, who has come to visit and meet her three-year-old grandson James. On her first night there Benet is forced to rush James to the hospital, where he dies some hours later. Benet is obviously devastated, and her mother is doing everything she can. While on her way back from a lunch date Marsha sees a lone child wandering the street, and picks him up and brings him home. When Benet finds out the child, Jason, has been abducted she is very upset at first and feels he must be returned. However when she goes to give him a bath she sees that his entire body is bruised and badly beaten. She does a little investigating of the family and comes to the conclusion that the child is really much better off with her. This film is almost impossible to find, and not really worth going to the trouble unless you are a Bacall completist like myself. Gone Baby Gone by Ben Affleck has a very similar subject matter and is a far superior film. Overall 2.0/4 Stars Grade = C-

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