The Thanksgiving House is the story of a character's transformation (leading her down the path of forgiveness, to a rebirth, and the embrace of a genuine and unassuming love), all that from her contact with remarkable people.
Mary Ross, a successful Boston lawyer, inherits a Plymouth house from her aunt and goes to the "country" with her boyfriend Rick to make an "inventory" of what's been handed down to her. Enters Everett Mather, a local high school history teacher who has been looking for the site of the first Thanksgiving since his teenage years...
Aside from Rick and every subplot involving him, the movie is a gentle and smooth ride toward an equally subdued ending. The house in the title is connected to the female lead in ways that explain who she has become both emotionally and professionally. Emily Rose portrays Mary Ross superbly. She is as aloof and detached as ever, with only the occasional display of emotion, but her work would not have been enough to put the movie above the fray this season if not for Everett's parents. The two experienced actor and actress made every scene count and were appropriately used by the story to nudge Mary toward the right emotions and decisions. They provided the kind of relationship she needed to see to understand that she could aspire to something better with her own father and in her own love life. From watching Everett's parents who welcomed her in their lives in an endearing way, she could see she didn't have to settle for what she had and could contemplate working to improve her own little family and look for a better companion. This process was filled with little gems, like when Everett's mother ignored the burgeoning bickering and brought her cookies and then gently forced herself into the house for a chat, or when Parker Mather welcomed her back to their home in a way that really made her feel welcome.
The story allowed Mary to interact substantially with Everett and his parents without any of it appearing forced down our throats (or hers for that matter), and the love story (yes there was one), was so subdued that those who expected direct statements and a big kiss before the curtain might have been disappointed. The movie chose to rely on little moments and innuendos, a choice that fitted well with the casting of Emily Rose. The evolution of the relationship was followed exclusively through her point of view, via her interaction with her assistant Victoria and close-ups of their faces. Mary Ross gradually warmed up to Everett and her Olive branch to her father wasn't at all as awkward as it could have been.
I understand why, in a way, Rick (the boyfriend) had to be so "beneath" her. Given where she was emotionally, a boyfriend was just for "dating" and arguably chosen solely for that purpose. Still, that relationship (in which they never seemed to spend the night under the same roof) made for the only awkward scenes in the movie. My only other beef with the story is the science behind Everett's research, but that is a minor quibble.
I liked how The Thanksgiving House gently brought its leads together, how its female lead found her way back to herself, and how she arguably fell in love with the whole Mather family...
Mary Ross, a successful Boston lawyer, inherits a Plymouth house from her aunt and goes to the "country" with her boyfriend Rick to make an "inventory" of what's been handed down to her. Enters Everett Mather, a local high school history teacher who has been looking for the site of the first Thanksgiving since his teenage years...
Aside from Rick and every subplot involving him, the movie is a gentle and smooth ride toward an equally subdued ending. The house in the title is connected to the female lead in ways that explain who she has become both emotionally and professionally. Emily Rose portrays Mary Ross superbly. She is as aloof and detached as ever, with only the occasional display of emotion, but her work would not have been enough to put the movie above the fray this season if not for Everett's parents. The two experienced actor and actress made every scene count and were appropriately used by the story to nudge Mary toward the right emotions and decisions. They provided the kind of relationship she needed to see to understand that she could aspire to something better with her own father and in her own love life. From watching Everett's parents who welcomed her in their lives in an endearing way, she could see she didn't have to settle for what she had and could contemplate working to improve her own little family and look for a better companion. This process was filled with little gems, like when Everett's mother ignored the burgeoning bickering and brought her cookies and then gently forced herself into the house for a chat, or when Parker Mather welcomed her back to their home in a way that really made her feel welcome.
The story allowed Mary to interact substantially with Everett and his parents without any of it appearing forced down our throats (or hers for that matter), and the love story (yes there was one), was so subdued that those who expected direct statements and a big kiss before the curtain might have been disappointed. The movie chose to rely on little moments and innuendos, a choice that fitted well with the casting of Emily Rose. The evolution of the relationship was followed exclusively through her point of view, via her interaction with her assistant Victoria and close-ups of their faces. Mary Ross gradually warmed up to Everett and her Olive branch to her father wasn't at all as awkward as it could have been.
I understand why, in a way, Rick (the boyfriend) had to be so "beneath" her. Given where she was emotionally, a boyfriend was just for "dating" and arguably chosen solely for that purpose. Still, that relationship (in which they never seemed to spend the night under the same roof) made for the only awkward scenes in the movie. My only other beef with the story is the science behind Everett's research, but that is a minor quibble.
I liked how The Thanksgiving House gently brought its leads together, how its female lead found her way back to herself, and how she arguably fell in love with the whole Mather family...