The Turning (alternately titled Home Fires Burning, Pocahontas or Pocahontas, Virginia)[1][2][3] is a 1992 American independentdrama/thriller film[1][4] directed by L.A. Puopolo, based on the play Home Fires Burning by Chris Ceraso.[5]
After four years away, Cliff Harnish (Michael Dolan) returns to his hometown of Pocahontas, Virginia in a bid to stop his parents' divorce. Unsuccessful, he finds that his mother, Martha (Tess Harper), has turned to alcohol while his father, Mark (Raymond J. Barry), is seeing a woman called Glory (Karen Allen). Cliff also has an awkward reunion with his ex-girlfriend, April (Gillian Anderson).
Desperate to bring his parents back together, Cliff poses as a delivery driver to gain entry to Glory's house. Inside, he reveals his true identity and threatens Glory, calling her a "homewrecker" and ordering her to break off her relationship with his father. During this confrontation, it becomes clear that Cliff has formed white supremacist and neo-Nazi views. Disturbed by Cliff's actions, Mark disowns him.
Later, Cliff breaks into Glory's house while Mark is present and holds Glory at knifepoint, threatening to hurt her unless Mark – to whom he passes Glory's gun – shoots him first. Unable to kill his son, Mark fires into the wall behind Cliff and Glory. Glory seizes the gun and aims it at Cliff but Mark dissuades her from shooting him. Mark forces Cliff to drop the knife and tells him that he must learn to live with the pain of his parents' divorce. Mark and Cliff leave the house together.
Michael Dolan has described the film as "not very good ... My agent saw [it] and wouldn't talk to me for months."[4]
Reviewing The Turning at the time of its original 1992 release, David Stratton of Variety commented that the film "still smacks of the theater. Though it packs an undeniable emotional punch, [it] comes across as overwritten and contrived as a cinema experience." He described the ending as "an anticlimax, since the audience has been led to anticipate an act of cathartic violence that never occurs." However, he praised Dolan's "genuinely scary character" as well as the "strong performances" of the other cast members.[8] Ray Pride of the Chicago Reader wrote that despite its "pictorial and emotional strengths", the film is "too rooted in its theatrical origins to be truly memorable." He also criticised the film for its characters' "unconvincing" insights and its "distracting" musical score.[9]
In 1997, Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review, writing that "at every turn, The Turning is ridiculously vague. We get no real idea of what Martha and Mark did – or what happened to Cliff during his absence – that has turned him into a psychopath clutching madly at 'traditional family values.'" He also commented that Puopolo "directs his cast as if they were giving a stage performance, which means that the realism of the film's location not only ensures the artificiality of the entire endeavor but also shows up the many flaws in the basic material as well."[10] In a negative review of the home video release, Dave Nuttycombe of the Washington City Paper called the film a "tiredly talky Southern Gothic drama".[11]
Controversy
The film features a sex scene between Dolan and Anderson's characters, and was shot while Anderson was still a 19-year-old student in drama school. After the film was bought by British film distributor David Lewis in 1996, his company Unique Films released it on home video nationwide. By then appearing in the TV series The X-Files, Anderson hired lawyers in an attempt to stop the film's release. The British tabloid press, which described the film as a "B movie", reported that Anderson had tried to buy it back for "large sums of money" without success. They described the scene as "semi-topless". According to Dolan, the scene was shot at 4 A.M. after a long day and both he and Anderson were exhausted.
Anderson had a clause in her contract stating that her breasts could not be exposed in any scenes.[12][13][14] Despite the controversy, the Orange County Register judged the scene to be "fleeting" and argued that the film "deserves better than to serve as a salacious footnote to a television show."[5] Nuttycombe called the scene "gratuitous" and "irrelevant".[11]
In 2002, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club, who described The Turning as an "unconvincing melodrama", argued that the film had been re-released purely for the "one brief love scene featuring Anderson, much tamer than the video box's lurid cover would suggest."[15]
^ ab"Home Fires Burning (1992)". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute. from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
^"Pocahontas". film.virginia.org. Virginia Film Office. from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
^"New Film Starts". Variety. November 10, 1991. from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
^ abcdGaines, Allison (September 19, 1997). "Gillian Anderson's First Role". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
^ ab"The Turning talks itself out of making some real points // Review: Excessive dialogue is but one of the deficiencies of this tale of family breakdown and fringe violence". Orange County Register. May 2, 1997.
^Rose, Andrea (November 19, 1991). "Cameras Rolling: Location Shots under way in Pocahontas". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Vol. 96, no. 323. p. 1. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
^"The Turning: Pocahontas Movie Viewing set this Month". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. April 12, 1995. p. B-4. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
^Stratton, David (May 29, 1992). "Home Fires Burning". Variety. from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
^Pride, Ray (October 15, 1992). "This Week at the Chicago Film Festival: A Day-by-Day Critical Guide". Chicago Reader. from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
^Thomas, Kevin (May 2, 1997). "Vague Turning Moves from the Stage to the Big Screen". Los Angeles Times. from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
^ abNuttycombe, Dave (October 24, 1997). "The Truth Is Right Here". Washington City Paper. from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
^"Scully's X Cert Files – Exclusive: Calling Agent Mulder ... The Naked Truth is Out There and Your Partner's Trying to Ban It". Sunday Mirror. London, UK. November 3, 1996.
^"X-Files Gill's Naked Romp". The Mirror. London, UK. April 29, 1997.
turning, 1992, film, turning, alternately, titled, home, fires, burning, pocahontas, pocahontas, virginia, 1992, american, independent, drama, thriller, film, directed, puopolo, based, play, home, fires, burning, chris, ceraso, turningfilm, posterdirected, puo. The Turning alternately titled Home Fires Burning Pocahontas or Pocahontas Virginia 1 2 3 is a 1992 American independent drama thriller film 1 4 directed by L A Puopolo based on the play Home Fires Burning by Chris Ceraso 5 The TurningFilm posterDirected byL A PuopoloWritten byL A PuopoloChris CerasoBased onHome Fires Burning by Chris CerasoProduced byWilliam B O BoyleL A PuopoloStarringKaren AllenRaymond J BarryMichael DolanTess HarperGillian AndersonCinematographyJ Michael McClaryEdited byLesley ToppingMusic byHerb PilhoferProductioncompaniesPuopolo ProductionsWhite Deer ProductionsDistributed byPhaedra CinemaRelease dateMay 2 1992 1992 05 02 Running time91 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishIt is the film debut of actress Gillian Anderson 4 Both she and co star Raymond J Barry later appeared in the TV series The X Files although they did not have any scenes together The film was shot on location in Pocahontas Virginia and the neighboring communities of Abbs Valley Virginia and Nemours West Virginia It was released on home video in 1997 4 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Critical response 4 1 Controversy 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditAfter four years away Cliff Harnish Michael Dolan returns to his hometown of Pocahontas Virginia in a bid to stop his parents divorce Unsuccessful he finds that his mother Martha Tess Harper has turned to alcohol while his father Mark Raymond J Barry is seeing a woman called Glory Karen Allen Cliff also has an awkward reunion with his ex girlfriend April Gillian Anderson Desperate to bring his parents back together Cliff poses as a delivery driver to gain entry to Glory s house Inside he reveals his true identity and threatens Glory calling her a homewrecker and ordering her to break off her relationship with his father During this confrontation it becomes clear that Cliff has formed white supremacist and neo Nazi views Disturbed by Cliff s actions Mark disowns him Later Cliff breaks into Glory s house while Mark is present and holds Glory at knifepoint threatening to hurt her unless Mark to whom he passes Glory s gun shoots him first Unable to kill his son Mark fires into the wall behind Cliff and Glory Glory seizes the gun and aims it at Cliff but Mark dissuades her from shooting him Mark forces Cliff to drop the knife and tells him that he must learn to live with the pain of his parents divorce Mark and Cliff leave the house together Cast EditKaren Allen as Gloria Glory Lawson Raymond J Barry as Mark Harnish Michael Dolan as Clifford Cliff Harnish Tess Harper as Martha Harnish Gillian Anderson as April Cavanaugh Michael P Moran as Jim McCutcheon Jim Simmons as Mayor Madison Arnold as Mr Cavanaugh Tannis Benedict as Vivian Sinott John Newton as Mr CreasyProduction EditFilming took place in November 1991 Shooting locations included Pocahontas and Abbs Valley in Tazewell County Virginia as well as Nemours West Virginia 6 7 Critical response EditMichael Dolan has described the film as not very good My agent saw it and wouldn t talk to me for months 4 Reviewing The Turning at the time of its original 1992 release David Stratton of Variety commented that the film still smacks of the theater Though it packs an undeniable emotional punch it comes across as overwritten and contrived as a cinema experience He described the ending as an anticlimax since the audience has been led to anticipate an act of cathartic violence that never occurs However he praised Dolan s genuinely scary character as well as the strong performances of the other cast members 8 Ray Pride of the Chicago Reader wrote that despite its pictorial and emotional strengths the film is too rooted in its theatrical origins to be truly memorable He also criticised the film for its characters unconvincing insights and its distracting musical score 9 In 1997 Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review writing that at every turn The Turning is ridiculously vague We get no real idea of what Martha and Mark did or what happened to Cliff during his absence that has turned him into a psychopath clutching madly at traditional family values He also commented that Puopolo directs his cast as if they were giving a stage performance which means that the realism of the film s location not only ensures the artificiality of the entire endeavor but also shows up the many flaws in the basic material as well 10 In a negative review of the home video release Dave Nuttycombe of the Washington City Paper called the film a tiredly talky Southern Gothic drama 11 Controversy Edit The film features a sex scene between Dolan and Anderson s characters and was shot while Anderson was still a 19 year old student in drama school After the film was bought by British film distributor David Lewis in 1996 his company Unique Films released it on home video nationwide By then appearing in the TV series The X Files Anderson hired lawyers in an attempt to stop the film s release The British tabloid press which described the film as a B movie reported that Anderson had tried to buy it back for large sums of money without success They described the scene as semi topless According to Dolan the scene was shot at 4 A M after a long day and both he and Anderson were exhausted Anderson had a clause in her contract stating that her breasts could not be exposed in any scenes 12 13 14 Despite the controversy the Orange County Register judged the scene to be fleeting and argued that the film deserves better than to serve as a salacious footnote to a television show 5 Nuttycombe called the scene gratuitous and irrelevant 11 In 2002 Keith Phipps of The A V Club who described The Turning as an unconvincing melodrama argued that the film had been re released purely for the one brief love scene featuring Anderson much tamer than the video box s lurid cover would suggest 15 See also Edit Film portal United States portalList of films featuring home invasions List of racism related filmsReferences Edit a b Home Fires Burning 1992 bfi org uk British Film Institute Archived from the original on January 30 2018 Retrieved July 1 2018 Pocahontas film virginia org Virginia Film Office Archived from the original on February 18 2019 Retrieved May 29 2019 New Film Starts Variety November 10 1991 Archived from the original on May 29 2019 Retrieved May 29 2019 a b c d Gaines Allison September 19 1997 Gillian Anderson s First Role Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on October 25 2017 Retrieved July 1 2018 a b The Turning talks itself out of making some real points Review Excessive dialogue is but one of the deficiencies of this tale of family breakdown and fringe violence Orange County Register May 2 1997 Rose Andrea November 19 1991 Cameras Rolling Location Shots under way in Pocahontas Bluefield Daily Telegraph Vol 96 no 323 p 1 Retrieved May 29 2019 The Turning Pocahontas Movie Viewing set this Month Bluefield Daily Telegraph April 12 1995 p B 4 Retrieved May 29 2019 Stratton David May 29 1992 Home Fires Burning Variety Archived from the original on July 1 2018 Retrieved July 1 2018 Pride Ray October 15 1992 This Week at the Chicago Film Festival A Day by Day Critical Guide Chicago Reader Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved May 29 2019 Thomas Kevin May 2 1997 Vague Turning Moves from the Stage to the Big Screen Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on September 21 2015 Retrieved July 1 2018 a b Nuttycombe Dave October 24 1997 The Truth Is Right Here Washington City Paper Archived from the original on July 7 2018 Retrieved July 7 2018 Scully s X Cert Files Exclusive Calling Agent Mulder The Naked Truth is Out There and Your Partner s Trying to Ban It Sunday Mirror London UK November 3 1996 X Files Gill s Naked Romp The Mirror London UK April 29 1997 X Files Star Topless in Film The Cincinnati Post April 30 1997 Phipps Keith March 29 2002 The Turning The A V Club The Onion Archived from the original on July 1 2018 Retrieved July 1 2018 External links EditThe Turning at IMDb The Turning at AllMovie The Turning at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Turning 1992 film amp oldid 1118162831, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
