neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Pieces Of April
	Peter Hedges Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, Derek Luke, Alison Pill, Alice Drummond, John Gallagher Jr., Sean Hayes, Sisqo 2003		It's never easy for relatives in dysfunctional families to tolerate one another, and it's harder around the holidays. So it's going to be difficult for the suburban Burns clan when estranged, punky April — played by pretty Katie Holmes — invites her disapproving mom Joy (a splendid Patricia Clarkson), in-denial dad Jim (a stout Oliver Platt), hyper-competitive sister Beth and evasive younger brother Timmy to Thanksgiving dinner in a tenement on New York's Lower East Side. That's the predicament in "Pieces of April," a tragicomic gem from writer and first-time director Peter Hedges, author of the lauded book and film "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" As April, Holmes gets a role many degrees removed from her teen-next-door on TV's "Dawson's Creek," and she skillfully achieves a multi-layered take on the black-sheep syndrome. April overestimates her catering capabilities. Worse, the oven won't work in the apartment she shares with boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke of "Antwone Fisher"). This doesn't bode well for April's attempts to make peace with Joy, who has serious problems of her own. All is revealed as the family drives into the city, where a sweet, sad denouement awaits. Extra treat: A caustic cameo from Sean Hayes.