I am going to try not to be redundant. Other commenters have quite rightly lauded the brilliant performance of the late Geraldine Page, but lost in the shuffle is just how damn good John Heard also is in this movie. His character is all about failure and disappointment and trying not to have to face your past. (You get some of the same feel from the corrupt cop he played in the Sopranos.) The first time I watched this movie, I was awestruck by Page, but the second time I saw it, I realized the movie is really more about Heard's character, and why he is so intent on keeping his poor old mother from seeing her home town, a request that on its face seems fairly reasonable.
Carlin Glynn is also superb. Her character is actually a lot more complicated than one might think from reading the comments. To cite just one example: There is a scene near the start of the movie where the childless couple is retiring to their separated double beds for the night, and she looks over and sees him reading a book called something like "How To Succeed In Business." From earlier scenes, we know that Heard's character is going nowhere. Carlin Glynn's character, although a social striver, still loves her husband, and seems not at all resentful about his obvious shortcomings (in the way she is about her mother-in-law's presence). When he tells her the title of the book, she just gives him a kind smile. Does Hollywood even know how to tell a story anymore about someone who is both likable and unlikable? In the real world, aren't there a whole lot more people like that than like any of the characters you see in the movies? This movie is filled with understated scenes like this one.
Carlin Glynn is also superb. Her character is actually a lot more complicated than one might think from reading the comments. To cite just one example: There is a scene near the start of the movie where the childless couple is retiring to their separated double beds for the night, and she looks over and sees him reading a book called something like "How To Succeed In Business." From earlier scenes, we know that Heard's character is going nowhere. Carlin Glynn's character, although a social striver, still loves her husband, and seems not at all resentful about his obvious shortcomings (in the way she is about her mother-in-law's presence). When he tells her the title of the book, she just gives him a kind smile. Does Hollywood even know how to tell a story anymore about someone who is both likable and unlikable? In the real world, aren't there a whole lot more people like that than like any of the characters you see in the movies? This movie is filled with understated scenes like this one.