Marvin's Room (film)

Marvin's Room
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jerry Zaks
Screenplay by	Scott McPherson
Based on	Marvin's Room by Scott McPherson
Produced by	Scott Rudin Jane Rosenthal Robert De Niro
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Meryl Streep Diane Keaton Robert De Niro Hume Cronyn Gwen Verdon Hal Scardino
Cinematography	Piotr Sobociński
Edited by	Jim Clark
Music by	Rachel Portman
Production companies	Scott Rudin Productions Tribeca
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date	December 18, 1996 (1996-12-18)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$23 million[1]
Box office	$30 million[2]

Marvin's Room is a 1996 American drama film directed by Jerry Zaks. The script was written by John Guare and based on the play of the same name by Scott McPherson, who died in 1992. McPherson had completed a screenplay for a film version before he died; however, Guare was hired to update it when the film eventually started production years later.^[3][4]

It stars Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Hal Scardino, and Dan Hedaya. Original music for the film was composed by Rachel Portman. Carly Simon wrote and performed the theme song "Two Little Sisters", with Meryl Streep adding background vocals.

For her performance, Keaton received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. Meanwhile, Streep was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Plot

Marvin, a man who had a stroke 20 years ago, is left incapacitated and bedridden. He has been cared for by his daughter Bessie in their Florida home, and ignored by his other daughter, Lee, who moved to Ohio with her husband 20 years ago and has never contacted her family.

Now, however, Bessie's doctor has informed her that she has leukemia (the same disease her and Lee's mother died from in their youth) and needs a bone marrow transplant and she turns to her sister for help. Lee, in turn, turns to her 10-year-old son Charlie and 17-year-old son Hank, the latter of whom has been committed to a mental institution for setting fire to his mother's house. However, the rebellious Hank says he won't submit himself to be tested for a match.

Nevertheless, they all travel down to stay with Bessie. When Lee finds that she may have to take over her father's care, she at first begins shopping around for nursing homes, fearing that she'll have to uproot her life. Eventually, however, the estranged family grows close and Hank agrees to get tested.

As Bessie progressively seems to get worse, and testing shows the boys are not a match as bone marrow donors, Lee comes to terms that it is now her turn to take care of her family. The film closes with Lee familiarizing herself with her father's medication, as she walks into his room with his lunch, overlooking Bessie flashing sunlight off the mirror that makes Marvin smile.

Cast

• Meryl Streep as Lee, Hank and Charlie's mother
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Hank, Lee's 17-year-old son
• Diane Keaton as Bessie, Lee's sister
• Robert De Niro as Dr. Wally
• Hume Cronyn as Marvin, father of Lee and Bessie
• Gwen Verdon as Ruth, Marvin's sister
• Hal Scardino as Charlie, Lee's 10-year-old son
• Dan Hedaya as Bob, Wally's brother
• Cynthia Nixon as the Retirement Home Director
• Margo Martindale as Dr. Charlotte
• Joe Lisi as Bruno

Reception

The film holds an 84% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 50 reviews and an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Marvin's Room rises above the pack of dysfunctional family dramas thanks to an impeccable cast that includes Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Leonardo DiCaprio."^[5] Metacritic gave the film a score of 68 out of 100 based on 20 critical reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[6]

The film grossed $12.8 million in the United States and Canada and $30 million worldwide.^[1][2]

Accolades

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	Best Actress	Diane Keaton	Nominated	[7]
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Actress – Drama	Meryl Streep	Nominated
Camerimage Awards	Golden Frog	Piotr Sobocinski	Nominated
Chlotrudis Awards	Best Movie		Nominated	[8]
	Best Director	Jerry Zaks	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor	Leonardo DiCaprio	Won
	Best Supporting Actress	Meryl Streep	Nominated
Christopher Awards	Motion Pictures		Won
Critics' Choice Awards	Best Actress	Diane Keaton	Nominated	[9]
Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Meryl Streep	Nominated	[10]
Kyiv International Film Festival	Best Full-Length Fiction Film	Jerry Zaks	Nominated
Moscow International Film Festival	Golden St. George		Won	[11]
National Board of Review Awards	Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking		Won	[12]
Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Hume Cronyn, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dan Hedaya, Diane Keaton, Hal Scardino, Meryl Streep, and Gwen Verdon	Nominated	[13]
	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Diane Keaton	Nominated
	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role	Gwen Verdon	Nominated

Further reading

• Marvin's Room Screen Adaptation: A Scriptwriting Handbook, by Kenneth Portnoy. Published by Focal Press, 1998. ISBN 0-240-80349-3.
• McPherson, Scott (1992). Marvin's Room (First ed.). New York: Plume drama. ISBN 0-452-26922-9.
• Grace in Suffering: Marvin's Room Praying the Movies: Daily Meditations from Classic Films, by Edward McNulty, McNulty. Geneva Press, 2001. ISBN 0-664-50155-9.

References

1. "Marvin's Room (1996)". The Numbers. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
2. "International Star Chart". Screen International. 5 September 1997. p. 16.
3. Marks, Peter (December 8, 1996). "Two Wrenching Dramas Find Unexpected New Lives". The New York Times.
4. A Door Left Opened accessed 11/23/2016
5. "Marvin's Room (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
6. "Marvin's Room Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
7. "The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
8. "3rd Annual Chlotrudis Awards". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
9. "The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards :: 1996". Broadcast Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on December 12, 2008.
10. "Marvin's Room". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
11. "20th Moscow International Film Festival (1997)". Moscow International Film Festival. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
12. "1996 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
13. "The 3rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2016.

External links

• Marvin's Room at IMDb 
• Marvin's Room at Rotten Tomatoes
• Marvin's Room at Box Office Mojo
• Marvin's Room at San Francisco Chronicle.