If These Walls Could Talk
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| Genre | Drama Thriller |
| Written by | Susan Nanus I. Marlene King Nancy Savoca Earl W. Wallace Pamela Wallace |
| Directed by | Nancy Savoca Cher |
| Starring | Demi Moore Sissy Spacek Cher Xander Berkeley Hedy Burress Anne Heche Jada Pinkett Shirley Knight |
| ComposerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Cliff Eidelman |
| Template:Pluralize from text of origin | United States |
| Original languageTemplate:Pluralize from text | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Cher Demi Moore Suzanne Todd |
| ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text | Martin Ganz Doris Kirch Laura Greenlee |
| Cinematography | Ellen Kuras Bobby Bukowski John Stanier |
| EditorTemplate:Pluralize from text | Peter Honess Elena Maganini |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Production Template:Pluralize from text | HBO NYC Productions Moving Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
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If These Walls Could Talk is a 1996 American anthology television film, broadcast on HBO. It follows the plights of three women and their experiences with abortion. Starring Anne Heche, Cher, Demi Moore, and Sissy Spacek, each of the three stories takes place in the same house, albeit 22 years apart (in 1952, 1974, and 1996, respectively). All three segments were co-written by Nancy Savoca, who directed the first and second segments; Cher directed the third segment, and was an executive producer, along with Moore and Suzanne Todd. The women's experiences in each vignette are designed to portray the popular views of society on abortion during each of the respective decades shown.
Debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, If These Walls Could Talk became a surprise success, becoming the highest-rated movie in HBO history.[1] It was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie, and three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Miniseries or Television Film.
Plot
1952
The 1952 segment deals with Claire Donnelly (Demi Moore), a widowed nurse living in suburban Chicago, who becomes pregnant by Kevin (Jason London), her brother-in-law; she decides to undergo an abortion, in order not to hurt her late husband's family. However, at the time, the procedure is strictly illegal. She eventually finds another nurse, who provides Claire with the phone number of a woman who can locate "someone" to perform an abortion. The woman on the phone tells Claire that the only trustworthy care provider she knows is located in Puerto Rico, and Claire cannot afford the travel costs—with air fare and hotel costs, the total trip would have cost about $1,000 (about $11,844 in 2024). After a failed attempt to self-terminate the pregnancy with a knitting needle, Claire contacts a man who comes to her home and performs a clandestine, hasty procedure as she lies atop her kitchen table. Claire finally manages to abort the fetus, but dies shortly afterwards due to massive blood loss.
1974
This segment deals with Barbara Barrows (Sissy Spacek), a struggling, aging mother-of-four, and her night-shift-working, policeman husband, who discovers she is pregnant, while having recently gone back to college. She considers abortion with the support of her teenage daughter, Linda (Hedy Burress), but ultimately chooses to keep the child. Barbara and her husband are frightened by their economic prospect and the future, but they promise each other to try their best so that their new son can have a normal life.
1996
The 1996 segment deals with Christine Cullen (Anne Heche), a college student impregnated by a married professor, who decides on an abortion when he breaks up with her and only offers her money. After consulting with her roommate, Patti (Jada Pinkett), Christine schedules an appointment with Dr. Beth Thompson (Cher). However, on the day of the procedure, there is a violent anti-abortion protest outside the clinic; just after the actual abortion has been successfully completed, an enraged and unhinged protester (Matthew Lillard) abruptly storms in the building, shoots Dr. Thompson, and flees. Christine finds herself alone, and comforts the dying Dr. Thompson as she slowly bleeds to death.
Cast
1952 segment
- Demi Moore as Claire Donnelly
- Shirley Knight as Mary Donnelly
- Catherine Keener as Becky Donnelly
- Jason London as Kevin Donnelly
- CCH Pounder as Jenny Ford
1974 segment
- Hedy Burress as Linda Barrows
- Sissy Spacek as Barbara Barrows
- Joanna Gleason as Julia
- Xander Berkeley as John Barrows
- Janna Michaels as Sally Barrows
- Ian Bohen as Scott Barrows
- Zack Eginton as Ryan Barrows
1996 segment
- Anne Heche as Christine Cullen
- Cher as Dr. Beth Thompson
- Jada Pinkett as Patti
- Eileen Brennan as Tessie
- Lindsay Crouse as Frances White
- Craig T. Nelson as Jim Harris
- Matthew Lillard as protester
- Rita Wilson as Leslie
- Diana Scarwid as Marcia Schulman
- Lorraine Toussaint as Shameeka Webb
- Sally Murphy as Doreen
Development
As executive producer, Moore spent seven years trying to get the film made,[2] until the project was eventually greenlit by HBO.[3] HBO vice president Colin Callender said: "I don't believe there's a studio in the world that would finance this picture",[3] and praised Moore and Cher for having the courage to use their celebrity to address the issue of abortion.[4] Cher commented that "It took someone with Demi's power and fortitude to have something like this made. Without that power, you couldn't do it. These topics are not on everybody's top 10 list of things to do."[3]
Reception
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. If These Walls Could Talk holds an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.[5]
Among the positive reviews were Siskel & Ebert, who both gave the film "Two Thumbs Up."[6]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997
|
CableACE Awards | Editing a Dramatic Special or Series/Movie or Miniseries | Peter Honess and Elena Maganini | Won | [7] |
| Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels | Fiction | Won | |||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated | [8] | ||
| Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Demi Moore | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Cher | Nominated | |||
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series | Jada Pinkett | Nominated | ||
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated | [9] | ||
| Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated | ||||
| Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated | ||||
| Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Limited Series | Nominated | ||||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Suzanne Todd, Demi Moore, Laura Greenlee, and J.J. Klein |
Nominated | [10] | |
| Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special – Single Camera Production | Elena Maganini (for "1952" and "1974") | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special | Clare M. Corsick, Enzo Angileri, Sally J. Harper, Renate Leuschner, Voni Hinkle, Serena Radaelli, and Cammy R. Langer |
Nominated | |||
| The President's Award | HBO Films and Anasazi Productions | Nominated | |||
| Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated | [11] | ||
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television | Cher | Nominated | |||
| YoungStar Awards | Best Young Actress in a Made-for-TV Film | Hedy Burress | Nominated | [12] | |
2000
|
Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards | Lucy Award[a] | Won | [13] | |
2019
|
Online Film & Television Association Awards | Television Hall of Fame: Productions | Inducted | [14] | |
Sequel
A sequel anthology, If These Walls Could Talk 2, aired in 2000. However, the subject addressed in this iteration was lesbianism.
Notes
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- ^ To the Creators and Cast of If These Walls Could Talk and If These Walls Could Talk 2. In recognition of excellence and innovation in a creative work that has enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."HBO's 'Walls' Tell Eye-Opening Stories". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. March 5, 2000.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Demi Moore speaking to reporters at the 1997 Golden Globes". Getty Images. January 19, 1997.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Abortion film for Cher, Demi Moore". Manila Standard. September 18, 1996.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cher, Moore tackle abortion with 'Walls'". Austin-American Statesman. September 16, 1996. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."If These Walls Could Talk". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."That Thing You Do!, Bound, Michael Collins, Infinity, if These Walls Could Talk, 1996 – Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews".
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."CableAce Nominations". Variety. September 24, 1997. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."If These Walls Could Talk – Golden Globes". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."1st Annual TV Awards (1996-97)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."If These Walls Could Talk". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."International Press Academy website – 1997 1st Annual SATELLITE Awards". Archived from the original on February 1, 2008.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ellis, Rick (May 4, 1997). "1997's 2nd Annual Young Star Awards". AllYourEntertainment, Inc. www.allyourtv.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2000 Women in Film Lucy Award Retrospective". womeninfilm.org. August 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Television Hall of Fame: Productions". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
External links
- If These Walls Could Talk at IMDbTemplate:Edit at Wikidata
- Template:Wikidata/enwp If These Walls Could Talk at the TCM Movie Database (archived)Template:Edit at Wikidata
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