zetes Review of Resurrection

Resurrection (1980)

Not quite sure why, but I couldn't embrace this fully. Burstyn is great, though, for sure

[7/10 · 28 August 2011]

Ellen Burstyn is involved in a horrific car accident with her husband. The husband dies. Burstyn does, as well, but she's brought back by the doctors. Her near-death experience gives her the power to heal, which she embraces but doesn't understand. This bothers the local religious folk, who want her to invoke God's name (because if it's not the Christian God giving her the powers, it's the devil). Sam Shepard plays the son of the most belligerent Christian. Shepard, who is saved by Burstyn, is not religious like his father, but, as he becomes more intrigued by her supernatural powers, he starts to believe she might be Jesus resurrected. The film goes in some interesting directions, but, for whatever reason, it always felt a little flat to me. It's like it wants to have a religious edge, but it also really doesn't want to be at all Christian. In the end, it feels kind of New Agey, not unlike Terrence Malick's recent Tree of Life (although that one's far more successful). The one thing to really recommend here is Ellen Burstyn's performance. She's wonderful and received one of her six Oscar nominations for the role. Eva Le Galienne, who plays Burstyn's folksy grandmother, also got a Best Supporting Actress nod, and it's really one of the more ridiculous Oscar nominations I know of. She has almost no screen time, makes almost no impression. She was a very famous stage actress in her day, but she isn't at all a famous screen actress. Shepard is also very good in his role, and Richard Farnsworth has a far-too-small role as a gas station attendant.