Movie: 3 Backyards

Movie: 3 Backyards

Genre: drama

Synopsis: This movie follows three people from a suburban Long Island during the course of a single day. John (Elias Koteas) and his wife (Kathryn Erbe) have been having problems, culminating in a serious argument.  When John’s business flight is cancelled, he tells no one and takes an odd day off. Peggy (Edie Falco) is excited when an popular actress (Embeth Davidtz) who has rented a nearby house asks her to give her a ride to the ferry.  Peggy is hoping to bond with the actress.  Things don’t quite work out. Christina (Rachel Resheff) sneaks into her mother’s room before school and tries on some jewelry.  When a jewelry malfunction causes her to miss the school bus, Christine walks to school via shortcuts that take her through some woods and several backyards.  She happens across a very disturbing scene – which she fortunately does not understand.

My two cents: I probably would not have taken a chance on this were it not for the presence of Edie Falco and Kathryn Erbe.  I was always amazed at how quickly Nurse Jackie managed to put Carmela Soprano behind her.  It took about 5 minutes for Peggy to make me forget all about Nurse Jackie.  This movie is a hard one to summarize.  All three stories were interesting in their own way. All three stories ended with me scratching my head in puzzlement.  Usually this annoys me, but it did not really bother me in this movie.

Bottom line: if you are looking for a lot of action or for a straightforward storyline, you might not like this.  If you don’t mind some meandering and a “slice of life” type of movie, give this a shot.

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