Desert Hearts **** (1985, Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau, Audra Lindley, Andra Akers, Dean Butler, Jeffrey Tambor, Gwen Welles) – Classic Movie Review 5405

Producer-director Donna Deitch’s triumphant 1985 lesbian drama Desert Hearts is wonderfully stirring, romantic and heartwarming.

Based on the novel Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule, Natalie Cooper’s screenplay is about 30-something New York woman professor Vivian Bell (played by Helen Shaver) who seeks a divorce in Reno, Nevada, in 1958 and finds fulfillment with casino working girl Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau) who pursues her.

The touching performances, the delicate, always believable screenplay and Deitch’s surefooted direction reach the parts other films on this subject haven’t even considered.

The film’s other assets include Patsy Cline singing on the soundtrack, the eye-catching cinematography, atmospheric period designs and a fairly explicit lesbian love scene.

A milestone in the portrayal of lesbians in the movies, it is one of cinema’s most rousing takes on Sapphic love.

Also in the cast are Audra Lindley, Andra Akers, Dean Butler, Jeffrey Tambor, Gwen Welles, James Staley, Katie La Bourdette, Alex McArthur, Tyler Tyhurst, Denise Crosby, Anthony Ponzini, Brenda Beck, Sam Minski, Patricia Frazier, Sheila Baker and Tom Martin.

Desert Hearts runs 96 minutes, is made by Desert Heart Productions, is released by Samuel Goldwyn Company, is shot by Robert Elswit, is produced by Donna Deitch and Linda Remy, is scored by Robert Estrin and is set designed by Jeannine Oppewall.

See also the 1983 Lianna.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5405

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com