Have a Little Faith

With July 4th having come around again recently, I was reminded of one of Michelle Pfeiffer’s more forgotten films, Sweet Liberty (1986). Written and directed by the great Alan Alda, Sweet Liberty Is best described as a middle-age/midlife crisis film. Alda plays college history professor Michael Burgess, whose historical novel about the American Revolution is being adapted into a film, with production taking place in the professor’s small, North Carolina town. Hilarity and poignant moments ensue as Alda comes into conflict the Hollywood movie making crowd, deals with relationship troubles, and cares for an aging, senile parent.

Michelle plays actress Faith Healy and, to the surprise of no one, Michael becomes infatuated with her. More accurately, it’s really the character she’s playing that drives his feelings. Even though she’s young, Faith isn’t an innocent bystander for Michael’s fantasy projections. She’s complex and not what she seems at first glance. Whether in Faith’s period costumes or just relaxing in her room after filming, Michelle is radiant throughout. This movie captures a period in her career just before she achieves superstardom, which is always a fun and fascinating period to revisit as a fan.

At its heart, Sweet Liberty is a sweet (ha) and thoughtful film. It’s very much a grownup movie. I love revisiting it for Michelle’s performance but also because it’s a quiet, cozy film to spend some time with every now and then.

*A quick note on this post. You may have noticed today’s Monday and this post is about Michelle Pfeiffer. So why not call it “Michelle Monday”? Well, the simple truth is I’m getting bored with using the same title for so many Michelle posts. I want to get back to, ya know, actually writing about Michelle’s films and that includes giving each post’s title a little more individual flavor. Not saying “Michelle Monday” posts are gone for good, but I’m trying to be a little less beholden to rigid structures. Ha, story of my life, kids, story of my life.