The Latent Promise

Author(s): Sergio (Spain)
The Latent Promise

Directed by Robert Benton
Written by Nicholas Meyer
Music by Gabriel Yared

Main Cast:

Ed Harris as Paul LaGrange
Sam Shepard as Thomas LaGrange
Debra Winger as Johanna LaGrange
Eva Green as Lorraine
Jesse Bradford as Vince
Jack Rovello as Vince (Child)

Tagline: "A promise is a sacrifice. To fulfill it can be a condemnation".

Synopsis: The only person Vince has in life is his father Paul, but he is going to leave his home to start a new life. He has never received a sample of affection from his father and that has caused a big empty hole in his personality he can’t refill. They work together with the beasts all day long and the agricultural program of the New Deal doesn’t benefit them at all. They spend all day without speaking because Paul has never been a very communicative man. His life is a continuous big sensation of deception and that is causing him a lot of frustration and depression. Vince needs to open his heart to anyone but he is not able to do it. His mother, his family, his origins… everything is a big mystery for a boy who needs answers in his lonely life.

Years ago, Thomas was Paul’s only family, his beloved brother, his reference, his mirror. Paul and Thomas work together, they are friends too and confidants. Thomas has formed his own family besides Johanna and, after several years of marriage, she has give birth to a little boy called Vince, an unexpected miracle at their age. Paul is a lonely, traveling single man and a family is not in his plans. Paul adores his nephew Vince and he is happy because he has never seen his brother happier before. But all that happiness will disappear, inevitably. Paul loses his nephew one afternoon when he was under his care, while Peter and Johanna spend the day in the city after a year enclosed in their town. Vince appears drowned in the river the morning after.

From this day Paul and Thomas cannot look at the each other’s face. The forgiveness is impossible and the town is getting smaller day by day for both. Paul can’t stand this situation because his brother’s life is broken and he can fix it in any way. Life gives them a big blow again and their hearts can’t stand more pain. The day of the funeral Paul whispers something to his brother and his reaction is very violent, he throbs his brother and doesn’t accept what his brother has secretly told him. Paul leaves the town, leaves the judgments, and leaves the heavy pain over his shoulders.

Paul begins his life in another place, working in a factory. He sells everything he owns and gives all his money to a young and desperate woman, called Lorraine, in exchange for something: a son.

Thomas realizes the truth when he finds a baby at his door. Paul has done it. He is upset because he can’t accept what his brother has promised him but he doesn’t know where his brother is and they now have to take care of the small baby with a very big responsibility on his name: Vince. Thomas and Johanna refuse to love the baby but they can’t help the strong feelings they’ve dug up again. Maybe they can be happy again, maybe this time. But life is ironic and sometimes cruel and unexpected.

Thomas gets ill. The crisis is getting bigger and after Thomas’ death, she has to sell the farm and the house. Johanna searches for his brother-in-law, carrying her child, following the few clues she has researched. She finally finds Paul, a drunkard man who lives in a small and greasy apartment. She asks him for help, she has some money, but she needs him to start a new life, in a new house taking care of Vince. He refuses the proposal because he has lost his job after the last big strike. Johanna buys a little farm and she works alone on it all day carrying her child. But one day Paul appears in her house and finally helps her to survive. They rarely talk. They sacrifice the affection, even their sexuality. After her death, Paul remains on Johanna’s farm working the land and taking care of a child he promised he would never love. A big sacrifice he has to do in life to expire the words he said the last time he saw his brother alive.

What the press would say:

Before seeing the film what I have find more attractive is the name of Robert Benton as the director. Renowned scriptwriter and the correct director, Benton has directed in the nineties two excellent movies (Nobody's Fool, Twilight), in which he has shown an absent virtue almost completely in the current cinema: the classicism, allowing his cinema to be developed without exclamations, taking the necessary time in order so that the spectator could assimilate, to live through the history, and to savor it while it is digested.

Nicholas Meyer has created a story based on the definition of the characters and how they confront the challenges of their lives in a very complicated epoch, when the priority is to survive, leaving the emotions in a second plane. The most difficult were the casting choices. The actors had to be credible and coherent with the story. Ed Harris was the first choice to play Paul LaGrange because he was able to bring to life this complex man. Ed Harris is one of the best actors nowadays and he can transmit the austerity of the role. Robert Benton was looking for a very strong actress to play Johanna, a very hard character but with some sweetness and charisma. Nicholas Meyer told him that he was thinking of Debra Winger when he wrote Johanna’s character but they knew that it was impossible because she was retired. Debra was perfect for the role and after a disappointing search they decided to send the screenplay to her agent. She was reluctant but she finally accepted it, and fell in love with the character. Sam Shepard was very interested in the screenplay and he gets the role because he was perfect as Paul’s older brother. This melodramatic story obtained a big support from the producers because of the cast and the strong background story that they wanted to tell. The dramatic moments of the film are executed in an excellent way because they don’t try to look for the easy tears but for the big emotion and empathy. The plot turns around a boy with a big responsibility over his shoulders without knowing. It’s about the secrets of our parents, how they affect us and how even the saddest person has had a life full of joy, the only problem is that we haven’t met them in the right time.

FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director: Robert Benton
Best Original Screenplay: Nicholas Meyer
Best Leading Actor: Ed Harris
Best Supporting Actress: Debra Winger
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Shepard