Household Saints

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Household Saints
Directed by Nancy Savoca
Written by Nancy Savoca and Richard Guay
Starring Tracey Ullman
Vincent D'Onofrio
Lili Taylor
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Running time 124 minutes
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Household Saints is a 1993 film starring Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Lili Taylor. It was based on the novel by Francine Prose and directed by Nancy Savoca. The film explores the lives of three generations of Italian-American women over the course of the latter-half of the 20th century.

The first-half of the film follows the courtship and marriage of Catherine Falconetti (Tracey Ullman) to local butcher Joseph Santangelo (Vincent D'Onofrio), as well as Catherine's relationship with her overbearing Old World mother-in-law, played by Judith Malina.

The second-half of the film focuses on Catherine and Joseph's daughter Teresa (Lili Taylor). Teresa is a devout Catholic more similar to her superstitious grandmother than with her modernized and secularized parents. As a child and young adult she puts herself through a series of trials so that she might one day be canonized as a saint. Teresa's teenage fantasy to become a nun (spiritual bride of Christ) is strained after starting a relationship with a marriage-minded young man (Michael Imperioli).

The film explores both family dynamics over the course of time as well as, on a larger level, the relationship between religious faith in miracles and modernity.

The film's executive producer is Jonathan Demme, a long time friend of Savoca's, and her first real employer in the world of film.

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[edit] Response

The film was on the "Best Films" list of over twenty national critics and was nominated for a Spirit Award for Best Screenplay by Savoca and Guay.

[edit] Casting

Director Nancy Savoca cast many favorite New York actors for the film which was not shot in Manhattan's Little Italy - but at DeLaurentis/Carolco (now EUE Screen Gems) Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Tracy Ullman and Vincent D'Onofrio, as Lili Taylor's screen parents, are only eight years older than her.

[edit] DVD release

Although the film met critical success and features performances by a number of celebrities, it has as of yet only been released on VHS with no public plans for a DVD release.

[edit] External links