Little Girl Lost

It is 1963 in Maureen Foley's "Home Before Dark," and Nora (Stephanie Castellarin) is an adolescent girl forced to grow up quickly. Her mother (Patricia Kalember) has withdrawn from the world, having never recovered emotionally from a car wreck which took the lives of three of Nora's siblings. Nora helps her father (Brian Delate) with her younger brother and sister, but she's really still a girl, not able to cope with these added responsibilities. When her mother is hospitalized after a suicide attempt, Nora is thrust headlong into the adult world.

Shipped off to the home of her aunt (Katharine Ross, best remembered for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), she learns about adultery, thinly veiled sexual jibes, and billiards; once back at her own house, she's charged with the care of her two younger siblings while her dad struggles to make ends meet. The house itself, psychically centered on a mothballed room of boxed memories, symbolizes the past that haunts her mother, and Nora finally takes steps to create a new future for herself and her family. Nora may not know exactly how it all works, but she understands instinctively what she needs to do, how to reach out to her mother to pull her out of the past, and in doing so becomes a young woman.

The quality of "Home Before Dark" is remarkable considering its non-Hollywood-sized budget. All the acting is strong, with only momentary lapses into caricature. The editing, lighting, and sound are proficient, and two scenes--one a barn interior with beams of light pouring through a slatted roof, and the other a roomful of schoolchildren with outstretched arms reciting the rosary for a wounded President Kennedy--show a flair for memorable images. Another standout scene, in which Nora and a friend attempt somewhat successfully to re-wallpaper her mother's room, is both funny and touching, showing Nora caught in that awkward age between childhood and adulthood, but a part of neither--stymied by a very adult task (updating the decor both physically and emotionally), and then improvising as only a child can, finally resorting to staples.

There are, however, a few minor missteps, the foremost of which is Foley's inclusion of two songs by local band The Story. While fine unto themselves, the songs are too contemporary, and they are unnecessarily at odds with the early 1960s setting. And as for Foley's screenplay, it's well crafted, with no serious holes in the story ("big-time" screenwriters, take note!), but there were times when I wished she would have been bolder and taken more chances with both the characters and the events surrounding Nora.

"Home Before Dark," which tied for Best Feature at the 1997 Hamptons International Film Festival, shows Maureen Foley to be a promising filmmaker. Shot entirely in Massachusetts--Foley makes use of sites in Waltham, Boston, Newton, and Stoughton, among others--and with the help of many area businesses and individuals, "Home Before Dark" has a nice local feel to it, and is a welcome addition to the ever-growing list of strong New England productions.