The Prince of Tides (1991)

Barbra Streisand's best film as a director is helped enormously by one of Nick Nolte's finest performances. Nolte plays a football coach who is estranged from his wife (Blythe Danner) and who enters into an affair with the psychiatrist (Streisand) of his suicidal sister (Melinda Dillon). Streisand is acceptable in her star turn, but behind the camera she paces the story very well and provides lots of room for Nolte to inhabit his burdened but likable character. George Carlin is a bit token as a gay New Yorker, although Jason Gould (Streisand's son) is good as a struggling teen in desperate need of a father figure. The whole film is worth watching just to see a great moment near the end where Nolte stands on a street, a bit slump-shouldered and wearing a look of sad resolve. It's great acting at its most minimal. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

 Barbra Streisand was one hot piece of Jew-booty!
I'm a little late, but I just finished watching Prince of Tides, not to be confused with The Fisher King, for the first time yesterday. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. For a film directed by and starring outrageously liberal Barbra Streisand, you'd think the whole film would be about abortions and homosexuality! Well, homosexuality does play a factor so I guess I'm not that surprised, but even with a Bush in the White House at the time it was made, every other sentence wasn't about a war for oil! Could it be true, were liberals at one time actually able to separate their ideology from their art?!

In this film, Tom and his 2 siblings grew up on an island in the South where their father owned a shrimping business. He was abusive and temperamental, and the mother was lying and manipulative, so in short they were your average family. His sister, Savanna grew up to be a suicidal poet, think Sylvia Plath, and his bro tried to stage a one-man coup and didn't succeed, think Al Gore. After Savannah's most recent attempt to knock herself off, Tom is summoned by her psychiatrist Dr. Lowenstein. In order to help her cure his sister, he has to delve into the family's past and reveal some troubling family secrets.

George Carlin was given the opportunity to play himself for once in the role of Savannah's flaming neighbor. I'm pleased he came out of the closet and became honest with himself about his sexuality, if even for this one role.

Dr. Lowenstein is played by Babs Streisand and I have to admit when she's acting like a lady and not screaming about George Bush she's actually...cute?...feminine? I actually found myself rooting for Tom when he was trying to make his moves on her.

What I don't understand is how Tom's revealing every embarrassing detail about his family is crucial to Savannah's recovery: she spends the whole film in a coma! Only near the end does she snap out of it; she must have sensed Tom's spilling the beans about their "dark secret" and awoke like Lady Lazarus. As the story of their childhood unfolds, Tom and Lowenstein start to fall in love with each other, and since they both have such awful marriages they decide to take a crack at an affair, but this happens much later. Certain subplots include Tom coaching Lowenstein's son in football and Tom visits his parents(now separated).

I think the ending drug a little to be honest, but not too bad. It just seems like Tom should have revealed the deep dark family secret closer to the end, instead it's like we got a premature climax here and afterwards Tom and Babs romp in a field for half an hour. The ending also could have packed a little more punch, like at the train station when Tom says "I got something for you!" and pulls a football out of his Macy's bag. It would have been so much more extreme if he'd pulled out an assault rifle and opened fire on the crowd, then firing his gun in the air ala Rambo while screaming "LOWENSTEIN! LOWENSTEIN!" Now that would have been a truly epic ending.
April 15, 2008

 Fascinating movie
I have not read Pat Conroy's book but I plan to. You will note that he wrote this screen play. This movie was quite intense. I did have a problem with the psychiatrist (Barbara) sleeping with her patient. Barbra's wardrobe would have been professional, had the skirts not been short. I also had some problems with the way Nick Nolte's character was played. I lived in South Carolina for 20 years and found many of Nick's traits to be outlandish and not typical of a southern man. Yet, Tom Wingo (played by Nick) wasn't just playing a southern man; he was playing a severely traumatized man.

I gave this movie a 4 star rating because I was awestruck by the way in which Barbra Streisand played various facets of the psychiatrist role - cool and professional at the beginning, tough as nails to protect the life of her suicidal patient, quiet and analytical with Tom, asking the right questions, putting the pieces together (Savannah's "splinter that festers") and, finally, showing so much compassion. The scene where she held Tom when he cried was priceless. In this fantasy world, Barbra held the person who was hurting. People who hurt that badly need to be held. This probably doesn't happen a great deal in real life because of professional boundary concerns or sexual harrassment worries. There are many Barbra Streisand movies I have not seen, but her acting in this movie showed so much versatility. I don't think any another actress could have portrayed love, compassion, sorrow, and loss with such intensity. January 26, 2008

 Read the book !!!
Like I said in the title read the book, and more of Pat Conroy. And forget about this movie. It only shows two actors, too old for the part playing together and not talking about this great story. January 25, 2008

 A flawed, but well-done film
Barbra Streisand's second film as a director is also her most successful, most well-liked, and by far her most oscar-nominated. It isn't hard to see why, as the film tackles the near-universal topic of dysfunctional family life, and how it ends up effecting other families as time goes on.

At the same time, this film has many controversies and flaws to it. Many fans of the novel condemn Streisand for totally changing the story around, and attempting to make the movie more about her character, Susan, when originally her role was not quite as central. It is also (agreeably) criticized for implying that revealing a secret repressed with just magically make everything better.

As far as flaws go, most of them come in the form of bad casting and unrealistic performances. The biggest miscast was Barbra's son, Jason Gould, as her son, wannabe football player Bernard. He comes across far too dorky and does not have the proper body to be completely believable as a football player. The other major problem is Barbra Streisand's performance as a psychiatrist. It has to be said that the way she acts is extremely unprofessional behavior for a psychiatrist. Real psychiatrists don't get confrontational, talk to their patients like they are stupid, yell at their patients, and certainly do not become friends with/date their patients. But you could argue that that is just something you need to suspend disbelief on.

Those flaws mentioned and ranted about, there are plenty of strong aspects to the movie. For one, the photography is just stunning, with some stunning scenery, sunsets, and even Barbra Streisand herself, looking very lovely, and difficult to take your eyes off of. Another strong point, perhaps what saves this production, are the fantastic performances. Nick Nolte, Kate Nelligan, and Blythe Danner especially give truly raw performances as complex, emotional, and not always likeable people. But nobody, not even Streisand and her son, gives a terrible performance. Finally, the storyline is very involving and heartbreaking, and even the romance between Nolte and Streisand, while a little more prevalent than it should be, is very touching.

Though nominated for many Academy Awards, it isn't hard to see why it won zero. When watched today, it has the feeling of a Lifetime tv-movie, and I'm sure the Academy felt that what could have been a raw, educational look at psychiatry and coming to terms with your past was made into not much more than a soap opera. But still, this is a very engrossing film that, love it or hate it, will stick with you. Not destined to be a classic, but good nonetheless. November 18, 2007

 Barbara's inner drive.......
Barbara strived to be someone as she was growing up in Flatbush. She was always told that she couldn't do this, wouldn't be this, and with that nose........
Barbara gives a performance of dignity and determination. Her personal belief and life's experiences are interwoven in this production.

The Price of Tides.......it will make you proud and give you hope. November 16, 2007

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