Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

AlmaCuerpocaliente This is a very good presentation of a very good story. I have a bit of a love hate feeling for Tennessee Williams. The emotions are so beautiful and raw, and make you truly feel. But the stories are so sad and depressing. Although there is a glimmer of hope, for the most part you feel like the lives of the characters suck and are going to continue to suck, and that change (whether hinted at or imagined by optimistic me) will be hard won.Unlike other types of movie that I like (the rom-com, thrillers, or scifi/fantasy...where all is right in the world in the end) this story is much more realistic. Life gets hard, even for those of us that have it good.SPOILERS I really enjoyed how she recognized that she would always find her social interactions difficult, and outright believes that no one will ever love her. She is a sweet soul, but is so socially inept that she puts everyone off. I can't help but draw a parallel to Bones, where the socially inept Brennan is loved by everyone she works with. Makes a good TV show, but not as realistic. Although perhaps Williams is a bit on the dark side. But those dark and upsetting feelings do occur, and I loved how they were portrayed so beautifully by Howard. Evans did a great job as well. This is the second time I have watched this film, and this time, I really felt a connection to Fisher's character. I think Tennessee William's films are lovely like that, so nuanced, and so many levels on which you can connect depending on your own frame of mind.

charlytully Voters and message boarders dissing this movie no doubt want A)a happy ending, or B)inbred southern Gothic genre pulp along the lines of TEXA$ CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Unfortunately for them, Tennessee Williams--who wrote the screenplay for THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND--did not write stories with "happy endings." That is, unless the viewer is one of those sanctimonious self-deluded see-no-evil "silent majority" types who believes Blanche is better off relying on "the kindness of strangers" about to lobotomize her in the nuthouse at the close of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. As for southern Gothic pulp fiction, Williams himself was doomed to choke to death on a bottle cap, so why need he make up anything MORE implausible to give sensationalists some jollies? THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND has plenty of pathos to go around, without resorting to voodoo curses or hermaphrodite fortune tellers. Bryce Dallas Howard as Fisher does not need to eat any crappy pies from THE HELP in order to engage the sympathy of any right-minded viewers in her quest for as much normalcy as she can muster. By the movie's close Chris Evans as Jimmy manages to swallow his pride to join her in at least partially escaping the sins of their fathers.

Bogie27 This Tennessee Williams period story focuses on life in the south in the late twenties. Williams enthusiast and director Jodie Markell brings the overlooked play to the screen. While not for everyone, Loss of a teardrop diamond is a change of pace and refreshing as a breath of cool evening river wind. The story begins with the character of Fisher Willow, who returns to her father's Mississippi river plantation after an education in Europe. Fisher is played by Brice Dallas Howard and is as smooth as Jack Daniels in this sultry southern role. Social troubles have plagued Fisher after her father has committed a despised act toward the southern end of the community by blowing the river levee on his property. Fisher becomes rebellious and indignant to a society who blames her for her fathers sins.For reasons unknown to the audience Fisher has developed a strong attraction to Jimmy Dobyne. It seems that Jimmy's family has seen better times. Since the years his grandfather was governor of the state, his family has fallen from prominence into near poverty. Jimmy's alcoholic father finds himself dependent on employment from the Willow family.It appears Fisher's Aunt Cornelia is in control of the family and demands Fisher complete her social debut. Fisher employs Jimmy to escort her to the debutante parties, that her aunt Cornelia, has insisted she attend. Jimmy who feels manipulated and somewhat controlled resists Fishers advances toward him. The story, while somewhat tame does contains some racy scenes that center around a Halloween party where things get out of hand. These scenes would have been tricky if not impossible to film in the fifties. No doubt from experiences in his early life, and probably from places like New Orleans, Williams creates a mosaic of wildly contrasting characters to illustrate this story. With the lives of so many different characters coming together, the sparks begin to fly toward the end of this film.

gradyharp LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND is a film that tries hard to be significant and important and barely keeps the viewer seated until it is over. The 'screenplay' is credited to Tennessee Williams (who has been dead since 1983), having been written in 1957, a year after 'Baby Doll', and while the screenplay may have been completed by Williams, it has obviously been 'touched up' by someone else: Williams more than likely never planned to have the work on celluloid. The cast is adequate, given the material, and the direction (Jodie Markell) is pretty shoddy. It probably would have been best to leave this 'screenplay' by one of America's greatest playwrights on the shelf. Fisher Willlow (Bryce Dallas Howard) is from wealth in Tennessee, but her family is disliked because of a levee built by the father that ruined the hopes of farmers in the area. She is a shallow, resented, needy, attention hungry woman, unmarried and past her Southern prime, having spent her 'debut years' abroad studying in Paris (and being hospitalized in Zurich for mental illness). She returns home, fancies the hunky Jimmy Dobyne (Chris Evans) who is the grandson of the ex-mayor of the town, but who spends his time caring for this alcoholic failure of a father (Will Patton) and his institutionalized mentally ill mother (Barbara Garrick). Not having viable social connections, Fisher invites Jimmy to be her social escort, buys him tuxedos and clothes to make him look like a wealthy suitor, borrows the family teardrop diamond earrings from Cornelia (Ann-Margaret), and is off to a Halloween party hosted by Julie (Mamie Gummer). On the way into the party Fisher loses one of the teardrop diamonds, and flies into a panic. She is summoned upstairs by the mother of Julie - Addie (Ellen Burstyn) - who has had multiple strokes and longs to die. Knowing that Fisher is a headstrong woman, Addie convinces Fisher to 'assist' her death by handing her what amounts to be an overdose of pills. Meanwhile, downstairs, Jimmy has taken up with a guest of Julie's - Vinnie (Jessica Collins), who has a history of being a salesclerk in a drugstore thus making her not of the same echelon as the others at the party. Apparently Jimmy and Vinnie had been friends before and passion enters seemingly binding the two social misfits. But reality steps in when Fisher discovers the developments and the social rules win out. The ending is too sanguine to mention. The elements that were the recipe for Tennessee William's highly successful plays and films are repeated here, but now we have no character with whom we can empathize: everyone is a plagiarized caricature of Williams' popular tropes. A shame. Grady Harp