Thanksgiving and film are an interesting pair. Sure, television has provided some great moments – Friends and the turkey, Charlie Brown – but film is a different dance. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles works for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and that is just as much a Steve Martin and John Candy buddy-comedy as it is a holiday film. That's not to mention Thanksgiving’s complicated history and the event’s framing.
Pieces of April is a dark comedy that understands the messy aspect not only of a holiday but also the complicated dynamics of bringing family together. Writer-director Peter Hedges’ film centers around April Burns (Katie Holmes) inviting her family for Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment with her caring boyfriend, Bobby (Derek Luke). April has a toxic relationship with her family but wants to make amends with her mom, Joy (Patricia Clarkson), but both sides want to make amends as Joy is dying of cancer. The low-budget film works on finding the humor in these dysfunctional family gatherings while also digging out the heart underneath.
Making the Most of Low-Budget
Early on, the quality of the film stands out immediately. From the quick jump cut, montage introduction, to the badly overexposed shots near the end of the film, Pieces of April looks very cheap. And it is. With that said, the shaky camera and shoddy look help the film stand out. The apartments look like low-cost Manhattan apartments, from the closed space to the mediocre walls. The film feels like it is inviting the viewers into the lives of April and company. We are standing with her when she feels embarrassed admitting she is cooking cranberry sauce from a can. Then, you go to sit in the car with Joy and her family as they question whether they should travel to the city in the first place. And then you motor downtown to feel frustrated with Bobby when he cannot find the right suit to impress April’s family.
Even with the cheapness, the film does take its time to put some genuine great edits and shots in the film. There is a montage early in the film that flips between April and Bobby making love while April lists everything she has to make for dinner and the Burns family leaving their house with a persistent drumbeat in the background. This sets the scene with the anxiousness involved throughout each parties’ journey. The beat in the background almost plays like a ticking clock, propelling the characters forward.
Family During the Holidays
In many respects, the low-budget look makes the film a more intimate experience, which helps with the family-centric holiday. Thanksgiving is an event defined by spending close-knit conversations with family. The content of those chats may be wholesome, and they may also be ugly political discussions that derail into arguments.
And this film fully endorses the grime that comes with the community at times. Joy acts desperately and asks Jim (Oliver Platt), her husband, to stop the car, making it seem like she was badly sick. She just wanted to ask how they would throw out April’s cooking without her knowing. She then laughs hysterically as Jim and her daughter, Beth (Allison Pill) sit in shock. Later on the trip, Beth sings some beautiful operating music and Joy bitterly asks her to stop. She then apologizes and calls Beth a perfect daughter – while also saying she has a weight problem.
Found Family
The same bitterness shows up at points in April’s apartment. Several neighbors refuse to let April borrow their oven after her breaks. One neighbor (Sean Hayes) goes as far as to hold her turkey hostage after a strange encounter. Also, the film is mostly comprised of medium to tight shots to bring even more tension to the conversations had on screen. Bobby, meanwhile, has to wait seemingly hours for his friend, Latrell (Sisqó), to show him suits – only to see tacky clothing.
With that said, the tight shots also allow for the kinder, more reflective moments to shine as well. One set of neighbors (Lillias White and Isiah Whitlock) lets April use their oven for two hours. Also, they teach her how to make cranberry sauce after giving her a cold stare for using store-bought stuffing and canned cranberries (which is an appropriate reaction for the mushy, canned cranberry sauce). Another set of neighbors who barely speak English offer April their oven when she’s at her lowest point. Even Latrell offers Bobby the nicest suit he saved in the back and listens to Bobby discuss his love for April.
These moments along the day help build an ecosystem amongst the apartment complex. There are obnoxious neighbors and people who just have no interest in helping but there are kind people who want to help make the holiday warm. Like the family and community aspect of the holiday shines through.
Even April’s family has shreds of kindness. They clearly have bitter feelings for April, particularly Joy, but they still want to make the trip to New York even as their matriarch is badly sick. Joy spends multiple scenes throwing up at pit stops along the way and at one point, Jim breaks down in tears because he thinks his sleeping wife is dead. Even then, they keep trying to make it there.
The dynamic within that car ride tells a lot about their past. You see how April could resent her mother as she criticizes her oldest daughter every chance she gets. However, the rest of the family does little to dissuade her. They even collectively struggle to remember a single good memory they had with April as a child. Joy misremembers a lovely moment, switching Beth and April, and Jim can only conjure a moment where April was sleeping like a baby. Such shows the complicated nature of family dynamics and that bringing people together on the holidays is not easy. Lots of families have baggage and perfectly good reasons to stay apart.
Once again, Pieces of April manages to perfectly capture the most important aspect of the holiday: union. Right at the end, the Burns family decides to ditch April after seeing Bobby beaten up from getting jumped by a vengeful ex-boyfriend of April. They sit down at a diner and Joy goes to the bathroom. She sees a mom abandon her young daughter in the bathroom and Joy shares a glance with the girl. After that moment, she asks a pair of motorcyclists to drive her and Timmy back to April’s apartment. For a reflective character, Joy sees herself and her daughter in that family and relives so many painful memories. She sees herself mistreating April and feels compelled to make amends and not make the same mistake again.
Throughout the film, April’s brother, Timmy (John Gallagher Jr.) takes photos of his family so that Joy has pleasant memories when she is older. The final scene of the film pauses to show April and Joy embracing, switching to still photos for a few moments before cutting back to clips of the family interacting with the song “One April Day” playing, ending with the family taking a group Christmas photo. The final song lyrics go “I’ve always loved you, in my way/I’ll always love you, in my way.” This not only connects the motif to the end, but it wraps up the whole filmmaking style in a bow. It makes remembering the film play out like a wholesome memory, like the ones that Joy wants to have before she dies.
Pieces of April works as a Thanksgiving film because it is willing to capture the warm and messy nature of family gatherings. The film also has a deep ensemble cast and a sense of humor dryer than store-bought stuffing (in a good way, because store-bought stuffing is underrated). This is an intimate, funny, and touching film that captures the worst and the best of this tricky holiday that for all its warts, still brings people together.