Many governments have recently demanded from their citizens to sacrifice a lot for the sake of “being on the right side of history”. This noble ideal is, however, much easier to achieve if the history in question actually belongs to past and the issues appear to be settled for good. This could be seen in Heart of Dixie, 1989 drama directed by Martin Davidson, a film whose authors tried very hard to show that they were on the right side of history.
The film is based on Heartbreak Hotel, novel by Anne River Siddons, which was inspired by author’s experiences as a student at Auburn University in 1950s Georgia. The plot is set in unnamed Southern state in 1957 and the protagonist, played by Ally Sheedy, is Maggie DeLoach, English literature student at fictional Randolph University. She is one of the most prominent member of sorority and is engaged to Boots Claibourne (played by Don Michael Paul), good-looking student who also happens to be an heir to one of the state’s richest and most prominent families. Maggie likes to hang out with him and her beautiful friend Delia June Curry (played by Virginia Madsen) whose wild ways often cause trouble. Maggie, however, gets in her own trouble while writing for university newspaper. After witnessing a young black man cruelly mistreated by police for daring to attend Elvis Presley concert in violation of racial segregation laws, Maggie expresses his opinion in an article that would challenge established order and create chasm between her fellow students, university administration and Boots.
Heart of Dixie was made in time when Hollywood tried to exploit the last ounces of Boomer nostalgia by having films set in late 1950s and early 1960s. Unlike most of those films, that were showing those years as simpler, more innocent and better times, Heart of Dixie tries to create a different impression, at least in case of American South, which is portrayed as a place characterised by racial prejudice, violence, oppression and hypocrisy. This portrayal, however, comes from the perspective of a character who belongs to privileged white upper class and whose epiphany must be aided by her trusted black servant (played by Francesca P. Roberts) and news agency photographer (played by Treat Williams) who becomes her friend and tells her about the world beyond her society’s bubble. Ally Sheedy, actress who become successful in 1980s teen-oriented films, tries very hard to establish herself in more serious and socially important role, but her efforts are compromised by poor script and inept direction by Martin Davidson, which makes some potentially emotional scenes look unconvincing. The worst thing about the script is character of Aiken Reed, Maggie’s rebellious beatnik friend (played by Phoebe Cates); although Cates tries very hard to play character completely different than the she had played in Shag, film with similar period setting, Aiken looks like a walking cliché and something that was artificially inserted in the story in order to give it “proper” context and add elements of feminism and glimpses of emerging 1960s counterculture. This effort fails, just like the potentially most powerful scene – arrival of first black student to now racially integrated Randolph University – appears inserted only to artificially provide happy ending. Although most of the audience is likely to appreciate authors’ intentions, Heart of Dixie will ultimately leave them disappointed.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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