Remember the stomach-turning scene in "Cape Fear" where Robert De Niro's character, in psycho mode, chews off a woman's cheek?
Illeana Douglas played the victim in that breakthrough film, and she reprises the wronged-woman role in "Grace of My Heart." Eric Stoltz cheats on her, Bruce Davison cheats on his wife with her, and Matt Dillon makes an ungraceful exit before she realizes that she has cheated herself out of real happiness.
Douglas plays Edna Buxton, an aspiring singer and songwriter from a very wealthy Pennsylvania family. When the precarious chanteuse wins a contract with a New York record label, she heads for the Big Apple with dreams of singing her own songs her own way.
The reality of what sells in the late '50s, however, quickly dashes away Buxton's hopes for diva status. Female singers like Peggy Lee were no longer "swell," and male rock groups would soon become "the most." When manager Joel Millner, overplayed by John Turturro, walks into Buxton's life, she sells out - not to make money, but to keep making music.
Buxton changes her name to Denise Waverly and settles into work at the Brill Building, a place that in reality used to churn out hit pop songs that are now relegated to oldies stations. The film traces the path of Buxton's career across a decade of turbulent relationships, concluding rather melodramatically with the materialization of her initial dream.
Director Allison Anders has gotten much-deserved attention for her work, which has centered on women's experiences. In "Grace of My Heart," Anders' collaboration with Martin Scorsese as executive producer results in a film that wavers between a woman's story and a period piece. She seems to be aiming for too many things at once, and the film, like Buxton, loses its voice in the process.
Douglas lip-syncs her heart out, and Turturro and Stoltz look like they stepped out of an old beatnik-inspired Cappio commercial. Despite this appeal to authenticity, the film lacks a certain genuineness that even its impressive cast cannot bring to the screen. Although Douglas' quirky vulnerability enhances the Buxton character, the dialogue with her men often seems forced.
Stoltz stands out as Buxton's appealingly slick co-writer and first husband Howard Caszatt. As Jay Phillips, a psychedelic surf rocker, Dillon does his best Jim Morrison impression. Like his "Drugstore Cowboy" role, Dillon plays dazed and confused well, as he bravely sports a wig that would make Shaggy of "Scooby-Doo" fame jealous.
Despite the distractions the supporting cast provides, however, some major gaps in the plot detract from the film's continuity. Luma (Brittany English Stevens), a teen-age mother Buxton once wrote about, suddenly lives with her, and Buxton's old friends, Doris Shelley (Jennifer Leigh Warren) and Cheryl Steed (Patsy Kensit) pop up in Los Angeles - all with no explanation.
The result is a wide range of slang, from "the most" to "far out," and fashion, from capri pants to hip-huggers, that parallel a widely stated message: follow your dreams, be yourself and so on. With new songs and old substance, "Grace of My Heart" might have a good beat, but you might not want to pay $6.75 for it.
Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon and John Turturro star in Allison Anders' latest film, "Grace of My Heart."