Housekeeping (1987), Starring Christine Lahti

I saw it on Tubi last night for the first time in years. I loved it then and it held up pretty well. Just a beautiful, whimsical, lyrical film.

What I didn't know was Diane Keaton was originally supposed to star. She left due to "creative differences". She made a mistake. It definitely would have been a great role for her, it practically seemed written with her in mind. But Christine Lahti was superb.

Any fans here?

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by Anonymousreply 41July 21, 2023 8:46 AM

I love this film, OP. Great book as well. Christine Lahti is forever underrated.

by Anonymousreply 1July 21, 2022 1:17 AM

I read the book as well. A pretty faithful adaptation from what I recall.

by Anonymousreply 2July 21, 2022 1:33 AM

The actresses who played the sisters were wonderful, but their careers never went anywhere.

by Anonymousreply 3July 24, 2022 9:02 PM

"Christine Lahti is forever underrated."

She deserved an Oscar for RUNNING ON EMPTY, but she wasn't even nominated.

by Anonymousreply 4July 24, 2022 9:44 PM

Lahti was also great in Swing Shift, and even better in the Director's Cut which I was able to watch on line a few months ago. Practically a different movie than the hatchet job released.

by Anonymousreply 5July 25, 2022 7:22 AM

Bill Forsyths film of the 80s were superb. Whet him?

by Anonymousreply 7July 25, 2022 7:44 AM

Forsyth's Local Hero was also great.

by Anonymousreply 8July 26, 2022 7:41 PM

It's in my top five favorite novels. I had no idea it was made into a film. And the fact it stars Lahti!! I am SO in.

by Anonymousreply 9July 26, 2022 8:04 PM

R9 It's available for free on Tubi (tubitv.com). It has commercials, but they're not all that distracting and I don't think anything was edited out.

by Anonymousreply 10July 27, 2022 7:19 PM

R4 I watched that again recently and that scene with her father is just heartbreaking. Wonderful film and agree she should have won (or at least been nominated!) for an Oscar.

by Anonymousreply 11July 28, 2022 12:36 AM

I didn’t know Diane Keaton was originally cast. I like her, but glad it went forward with Lahti who I thought was perfect. One of my favorite films.

by Anonymousreply 12July 28, 2022 2:55 AM

Great film based on an even better novel.

by Anonymousreply 14August 5, 2022 8:27 PM

As a young adult this was one of the first movies I dipped my toes into as a indie art film, choosing it over regular mainstream fair that was at the movie theaters. And I recall it being a revelation in the way a story could be told with emotional honest.

by Anonymousreply 15August 5, 2022 9:04 PM

Loved this movie, the first time the public got to see a hoarder, unless you happened to be one yourself. Way better than the "Thelma and Louise" ripoff Christine made around the same time, Normal Ohio or something like that.

by Anonymousreply 16August 5, 2022 9:08 PM

What a depressing movie. No thanks

by Anonymousreply 17August 5, 2022 9:19 PM

I like version with Peter Griffin.

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by Anonymousreply 18August 5, 2022 9:40 PM

Great film, Christine Lahti is awesome and amazing. :-)

by Anonymousreply 19August 5, 2022 9:42 PM

I can't decide if Housekeeping or Running on Empty is her Best Performance. RoE would seem the obvious choice, the role itself is an actor's dream, but I think Housekeeping needed a special quality that very few actors possess. She displayed it here.

It was sort of the more difficult of the two roles.

by Anonymousreply 20August 7, 2022 9:09 PM

A beautiful score and beautifully filmed.

I think the story sort of tapers off into a WTF moment - are we supposed to believe that life on the rails is going to be easier for these two than simply staying in the home their grandfather built?

But the cast is completely convincing.

by Anonymousreply 21August 7, 2022 9:12 PM

It was supposed to be a big Oscar prestige picture but the studio head changed and Housekeeping just got sort of thrown away with no support.

by Anonymousreply 22August 8, 2022 7:49 AM

I had to read the book as part of a college course. It was alright, but pretty standard of a certain type of female childhood disclosure novels. I’ve never seen the movie, but I have been curious about it.

I’ve never liked Christine Lahti as an actress though. Too mannered and always looks like she’s on the verge of tears. She also gives off major Karen vibes like Jan Kazmarek.

by Anonymousreply 23August 8, 2022 10:41 AM

Loved Christine Lahti here, as well as the two girls.

So….did she die on the tracks or not? I always thought the ending was hopeful and they made it across. A close friend says no, they died. We saw this movie together in a theater on its release.

by Anonymousreply 24August 8, 2022 1:58 PM

I don't think they could have died and had the girl narrate the story.

by Anonymousreply 25August 8, 2022 2:35 PM

But it was told by the sister that turned goodie two shoes and ran to her “normal’ aunts. Not told by Lahti’s character or the niece that stuck by her.

by Anonymousreply 26August 8, 2022 3:14 PM

The film. or the book?

The film is narrated by the girl that stayed with her aunt.

by Anonymousreply 27August 8, 2022 3:17 PM

I’m referring to the film in this instance.

by Anonymousreply 28August 8, 2022 3:22 PM

Then the film, as I said, is narrated by the girl who stays with her aunt.

by Anonymousreply 29August 8, 2022 4:19 PM

I have a copy of the book. I vaguely remember that the niece got tired and refused to on further on the tracks and the aunt did not want to leave her behind. So it is in the book that they did not cross the bridge. Am I right? Such a downer ending. I prefer the ambiguous one in the movie. Oh well..

by Anonymousreply 30August 8, 2022 6:00 PM

I think it is that they died from the cold, not drowning?

by Anonymousreply 31August 8, 2022 6:02 PM

One of my favorite books of all time. Unfortunately, Robinson's next books were wildly pretentious and almost unreadable.

But Housekeeping is an all-time classic. The movie was good, but not as great as the book

by Anonymousreply 32August 8, 2022 6:19 PM

Such a great, unheralded movie.

by Anonymousreply 33August 31, 2022 8:39 PM

OP Lahti is so much less mannered than Keaton and the film is better for it

by Anonymousreply 34August 31, 2022 8:42 PM

A summary of the end of the novel, which is liberating - "an end to all housekeeping":

At dawn, Sylvie and Ruth reach the other end of the bridge and climb down just as the first train of the day roars past. They hop on a boxcar, and begin a life of drifting. Ruth occasionally takes a waitress or clerical job, but leaves before anyone can get close to her. People soon realize she is an outsider. Ruth speculates that she was always different from other people, and that every event of her life increased that distance until the harrowing midnight walk across the railways bridge sealed her destiny. She and Sylvie talk about contacting Lucille, but she knows they never will.

by Anonymousreply 35August 31, 2022 9:01 PM

The growing divide between the two sisters - one content to be an outsider and the other desperate to conform - really resonated with me as a teenager going through an awkward period in which all my old friends outgrew me. The two young actresses played their roles perfectly.

by Anonymousreply 36August 31, 2022 10:38 PM

R35 Thank you so much for that!

by Anonymousreply 37September 1, 2022 8:24 PM

I saw it recently for the first time and expected to love it, but I didn't. I haven't read the novel, though, and maybe that makes a difference. I was surprised by how sad and weird Lahti's character was; I thought it was going to be a story about being unconventional and free.

by Anonymousreply 38September 1, 2022 8:33 PM

R38 That's fine. It's supposed to throw you off-balance and leave you feeling a bit melancholy. Let it sit for awhile and resonate. First time I saw it, I loved Lahti's performance but had similar issues. Yet certain scenes, dialog, images kept appearing in my head. I had to watch again at some point, and it's been one of my all-time favorites ever since.

by Anonymousreply 39September 1, 2022 9:00 PM

Oh, interesting. Thanks, R39. Maybe I'll give it another chance sometime.

by Anonymousreply 40September 1, 2022 10:01 PM

I recently watched this for the first time and loved it. It feels especially close to home since I was raised in Oregon and the locales (even though they shot it primarily in BC and Alberta) and references (Spokane, Seattle, Portland) feel very familiar to me. It is a strange and downbeat movie, but worth watching. Lathi's performance in it is great.

by Anonymousreply 41July 21, 2023 8:46 AM

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