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Christine Lahti, Sarah Walker, Andrea Burchill, Anne Pitoniak, Barbara Reese ... see more see more... , Bill Smille , Margot Pinvidic , Wayne Robson , Karen Austin , Georgie Collins , Betty Phillips , Enid Saunders , Dolores Drake , Brian Linds , Sheila Paterson , Betty Thomas , Antony Holland , Sara Walker

Housekeeping is the film in which Christine Lahti invites a guest into a living room half-submerged in water. This is hardly the oddest moment in this characteristically quirky Bill Forsyth film (his ... read more read more...first American production). When their grandmother dies, Idaho pre-teens Sarah Walker and Andrea Burchill are watched over by their late mother's sister (played by Ms. Lahti). This strange young woman has throughout her life made unconventionality a life form. The girls are at first embarrassed by their loopy aunt, but when Burchill moves in with another family, Walker draws closer to the older woman. They hit the road, where Lahti has spent most of her life, and experience several picaresque episodes before the more sober-sided Burchill informs the authorities about their vagabond lifestyle. Threatened with losing custody of Walker, Lahti makes an effort to clean up her act, but by this time her niece has become just as endearingly unpredictable as she. Director Forsyth adapted his script from a novel by Marilynne Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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86% liked it

547 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

8 critics

PG, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Bill Forsyth

Release Date: January 1, 1987

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Flixster Reviews (47)

  • gator681
    April 16, 2010
    gator681
    "And there was an end to housekeeping."

    (Sorry. I just love that quote.)

    There are rare films that I like to watch over and over again which has happened increasingly less as time goes on. Of those, three films by Bill Forsyth are prime examples that combine high quality ... read morewith unmatched enjoyment. They are "Gregory's Girl," "Local Hero" and "Houskeeping" which form an informal trilogy containing characters who feel out of place.

    I saw "Housekeeping" for the first time in a long time in New York City last night and recall having seen it on campus shortly after it came out. And I loved it then, and love it now, especially Bill Forsyth's perfectly unassuming direction, classic dialogue and gorgeous cinematography. Basically, it is about two sisters, Ruth(Sara Walker) and Lucille(Andrea Burchill) who are left with their grandmother(Georgie Collins) in Fingerbone shortly before their mother(Margot Pinvidic) drives into a lake. The grandmother's death brings in two elderly aunts(Anne Pitoniak & Barbara Reese) who in turn contact the mother's vagabond sister Sylvie(Christine Lahti) before departing suddenly, leaving her more or less in charge.

    One of my prime memories of "Housekeeping" is the scene where Sylvie breaks out in laughter at an advertisement for vacuum cleaners that perfectly expresses the domesticity of the 1950's when the movie is set. When I first saw the movie, I thought she is simply rejecting traditional roles. Watching it now, I picked up on some additional dialogue which not only gives new meaning to that scene but also hints at Sylvie's dark past which she will not speak to her nieces about when they are desperately looking for information about their mother. This is important since Sylvie's relationship to her sister reflects on the present relationship between Ruth and Lucille. It also gives a deeper impression that she had some more experience in a home than otherwise indicated and explains her ambivalence towards household chores, preferring the freedom of the open road, as she takes life in stride, where the unknown is preferable to the known. In the moment, she stays longer than normal in a small town, where rules can be bent but not broken, that tolerates her eccentricity up to a point and is still haunted by a disastrous train crash decades before.
  • HuskersNC949597
    September 27, 2011
    HuskersNC949597
    Sara Walker and Christine Lahti have pretty decent chemistry, but I thought the sisters, when on screen together, were reading off cue cards or something. Was this intentional to try and illustrate the growing rift betwixt the two? Because it just looked like they were bad acto... read morers. Didn't expect Mike Hamar (Wayne Robson) to show up, that was a nice surprise. The story is great.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
November 30, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's beautifully played out as a proverbial fable that leaves a lasting impression. Full Review

Carol Cling
March 10, 2006
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Haunting and one-of-a-kind, with a knockout Lahti performance.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
July 10, 2003
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Explores the challenging relationship between two sisters and their eccentric aunt who marches to the beat of her own drummer. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 1, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Linda Cook
November 17, 2003
Linda Cook, Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

No review available.

Michael Szymanski
July 9, 2003
Michael Szymanski, Zap2it.com

No review available.

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Facts

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    • Ruth: There's a man yelling at us.
    • Sylvie: Oh, I know.
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