The Spitfire Grill (1996)

This well-acted drama won the Audience award at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, causing a festival ruckus when several distributors entered a bidding war in response to the movie's positive buzz. When the movie was finally released, audience and critical response provided a sudden reality check: the movie's good to a point, but hardly worth the fuss it received at Sundance. Packing a miniseries' worth of melodrama into 117 minutes, the story centers on a young woman named Percy (Alison Elliott) who served prison time for manslaughter and arrives in a small town in Maine with hopes of beginning a new life. She works as a waitress in the Spitfire Grill, owned by Hannah (Ellen Burstyn), whose gruff exterior conceals a kind heart and precious little tolerance for the grill's regular customers, who cast their suspicions on Percy's mysterious past. The plot unfolds when Hannah holds a $100-per-entry essay contest to find a new owner for the grill. There's ample mystery surrounding the collected money, a local hermit who's really Hannah's shell-shocked Vietnam veteran son, and circumstances that lead the locals to adopt a lynch-mob mentality at Percy's expense. By the time Percy is nearly drowning in a raging river, The Spitfire Grill has taken its melodrama a few steps 'round the bend. Fine acting is the movie's saving grace, however, and newcomer Alison Elliott anchors The Spitfire Grill with a subtle, emotionally involving performance. Thanks to Elliott and Burstyn, you don't have to feel too guilty if you find yourself reaching for a Kleenex as the closing credits roll. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Fantastic Movie

This is a tremendous movie. It is a movie that you can get into from the beginning and it keeps your attention. It also has a extraordinary ending that will get to your heart.
July 4, 2008

Surprising Treasure

I was quite impressed with this movie. Well acted, excellent character development, thoughtful and interesting plot, well-timed unveiling of Percy's past, multi-layered symbolism, and an excellent combination of sadness and hope. The fundamental theme is redemption, and it presents this theme in a nuanced, light-handed yet serious and complex manner. Deeply human and moving. There are no special effects, and some people might find it a bit slow, as it is set in small-town Maine, though I thought it moved along quite well. It is a thoughtful human drama, not an action thriller, and as such, I found it to be remarkable. January 4, 2008

REALLY didn't like ending/otherwise film is nice

I REALLY REALLY REALLY didn't like the ending of this. I think that's why the movie bombed at the box office. Up till then the film is quite nice. The performances & directing are excellent. Can't say why I didn't like ending without giving it away, except to say that the line "redemption is served at the Spitfire Grill" (the last line of copy on the rear of the box) is quite inaccurate. November 29, 2007

Great movie

This is a very interesting movie that shows distrust, love, and compasion. Loved it. November 8, 2007

"SPITFIRE GRILL" dvd

Outstanding film; saw it years ago and never forgot it. It would be classified as an "art film," as it's a gentle movie, not overstated, and wonderfully written and acted. I searched for it for years...under "The Balm of Gigiad," as that was its theme...the actual title is a surprise. I LOVE the movie...great human-interest and character-study film; it's about redemption and healing. September 21, 2007

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