Marvin's Room Movie Review 1996

Guaranteed sobfest with a gifted set of performers. Sensitive spinster Bessie (Keaton) is living in Orlando where she's been caring for her bedridden father, Marvin (Cronyn), who's been dying for the last 20 years, and her eccentric aunt Ruth (Verdon). When she's stricken with leukemia and needs a bone marrow donor, Bessie must rely on tough, estranged sister Lee (Streep) to help out. But divorcee Lee's got her hands full with rebellious teenaged son Hank (DiCaprio) and his geeky younger bro Charlie (Scardino) and is none too eager to renew the family ties. Based on Scott McPherson's 1991 Off-Broadway play.

Distribution

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521-1120, Toll-free: 800-723-4763, URL: http://www.bvhe.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 98 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Tearjerkers, Family Ties, Adapted from a Play, Teen Angst, Death & the Afterlife, Doctors & Nurses, Disease of the Week

Screenplay

Scott McPherson

Cast

Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Hal Scardino, Robert De Niro, Dan Hedaya, Margo Martindale, Cynthia Nixon

Cinematography

Piotr Sobocinski

Director

Jerry Zaks

Music

Rachel Portman

Producer

Scott Rudin, Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Tod Scott Brody, Lori Steinberg, Tribeca Productions, Miramax