Vänskap på Spitfire Grill

Some films are a triumph due to their pure simplicity and naturalness, such as for instance when the characterization and the setting seem to have found an innate balance in the depiction itself. In such cases, you are tempted to use adjectives like ''genuine'' and ''convincing''. However, when it comes to Lee David Zlotoff's first feature, The Spitfire Grill, such epithets are justified. The story begins when Percy Talbot is released from prison, after having served a long prison sentence, and she finds herself standing at the slightly brutal crossroads that society creates for outsiders. She is forced to choose a new track in life which takes her to the small town Gilead in Maine. Here, her alienation is met by suspicious and contemptuous glances from the dissociated locals. Despite those tensions, carrying her burdensome past on her shoulders, she gets a job as an assistant to Hannah, who runs a restaurant in the town. To Percy, the immediate struggle is about recreating her fundamental human values, as regaining the necessary respect in order to be accepted by the social community. She finds an opening in the relationship that develops between herself, Hannah and Shelby, who also work at the restaurant. Here, a portrayal full of warmth is depicted, of an intimate togetherness that is built on trust, mutual feelings and an ability to see a human being for what she really is, beyond the social stigmatization that the norms of society inflict on a young woman. Zlotoffs story is a warm and touching reflection on the form and conditions human relationships successfully depicted through the clearly-defined terseness of the small town environment, but also through the use of several strong and complex characterizations. The film, however, has also a more serious and dark tone, where the scenario creates questions about people's obvious social struggle for power, about aspects of alienation, the ability to adjust oneself, origins and identity. In a line from the film, Percy captures such a phenomenon when she reflects upon the town Gilead: ''...the roots are so deep that nobody could tear them out from under you.'' TB

Orig. titel
The Spitfire Grill: Medverkande
Alison Elliot, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden: Producent
Forrest Murray: Manus
Lee David Zlotoff: Foto
Rob Draper: Musik
James Horner: Talat språk
English