Though not without problems, DESERT HEARTS is a triumph for director Donna Deitch and an inspiration for any independent filmmaker. Determined to develop a feature film depicting a sexual relationship between two women--a topic never done justice in an American commercial release--Deitch
adapted Jane Rule's novel Desert of the Heart. The story opens in Reno, Nevada, in 1959. Helen Shaver is Vivian Bell, a college professor from New York, staying in Reno temporarily to obtain a divorce. She stays at Frances Parker's (Audra Lindley) small ranch outside of town. Also living there is
Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau), an employee at one of the local casinos, who is more like a daughter to Parker than a tenant. Bell and Rivvers gradually become close friends but, when their relationship changes, others are affected as well.
Deitch deals sensitively with her theme, eliciting fine performances from her two leads. Charbonneau, after a memorable entrance worthy of the coolest of screen male lovers, portrays Rivvers as a fiery natural force. Shavers's portrayal of the repressed college professor with her hair in a tight
bun is a model of restraint and latent passion. We know that when this cool lady finally melts, it will be something to see. The film falters a bit with some of the plot development, a reflection, no doubt, of Deitch's budget rather than her talent. DESERT HEARTS unfolds in a format typical for
commercial filmmaking, which isn't a detriment, but doesn't allow for some of the more complicated emotions and issues within the story to surface. leave a comment