Mrs Soffel *** (1984, Diane Keaton, Mel Gibson, Matthew Modine, Edward Herrmann, Trini Alvarado, Jenny Dundas) – Classic Movie Review 7340

Director Gillian Armstrong’s 1984 drama Mrs Soffel looks good on paper: the then new star Mel Gibson on the crest on a wave, Oscar-winning Diane Keaton in mid-career, and bright new star Matthew Modine in a film directed by Armstrong, maker of the 1979 Aussie hit My Brilliant Career.

But the result is this ambitious box-office flop of a star-crossed romance, with Gibson playing prisoner Ed Biddle, a 1901 convict escaping with Kate Soffel (Keaton) the wife of the Pittsburgh prison governor, Warden Peter Soffel (Edward Herrmann). Kate helps both Biddle and his brother Jack to escape, abandoning her husband and children to accompany them into the wintry wasteland.

Mrs Soffel is doom-laden and chilly material, though the fascinating true story and the two capable, unmannered star performances keep it watchable. Modine as Biddle (Gibson)’s brother Jack and Edward Herrmann as the stuffy husband are also both fine.

Mrs Soffel is worthwhile, intelligent drama, but it is a bit of a struggle to watch as it is a film without heart in Ron Nyswaner’s screenplay. Keaton was Golden Globe nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Armstrong was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear.

Also in the cast are Trini Alvarado, Jennie [Jennifer] Dundas, Danny Corkill, Harley Cross, Terry O’Quinn, Pippa Pearthree, William Youmans, Maury Chaykin, Joyce Ebert, Wayne Robson and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7340

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