Big Stone Gap (film)

Big Stone Gap

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Adriana Trigiani
Produced by
Written by Adriana Trigiani
Starring
Music by John Leventhal
Cinematography Reynaldo Villalobos
Edited by Christopher Passig
Production
company
Altar Identity Studios
Distributed by Picturehouse
Release dates
  • November 6, 2014 (2014-11-06) (Virginia Film Festival)
  • October 9, 2015 (2015-10-09) (United States)
Running time
 103 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1 million[1]

Big Stone Gap is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Adriana Trigiani and produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios, a subsidiary of Media Society. Based on Trigiani's 2000 best-selling novel of the same name, the story is set in the actual Virginia town of Big Stone Gap circa 1970s. The film had its world premiere at the Virginia Film Festival on November 6, 2014.[2] The film was released on October 9, 2015, by Picturehouse.[3]

Plot

A story revolving around the life of Ave Marie Mulligan, in the heart of her community Big Stone Gap, Virginia in 1978.

Ave Mulligan was born and raised in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Her mother came to the town many years ago, as an immigrant from Italy, and became the town seamstress. Ave has let time slip by and before she knows it, she's 40 and proclaims herself the town spinster. She spends most of her days working at her family pharmacy filling prescriptions and home delivering the country folk their medications. She is a volunteer on the town's Emergency Response Team. The highlight of her year is directing the town's annual production of "The Lonesome Pine."

While delivering medications for Nan McChesney, Ave is startled when Nan's son Jack, a local coal miner, comes out of the bathroom in long john underwear. Jack and Ave used to be school mates from childhood. Nan tries to feed Ave while inquiring if and when she'll ever marry and reassures Ave even though she's an old maid, she's still able in her age to have kids. Ave takes that as a sign to hurry and leave. Jack, trying to make small talk with Ave, shows her out, then proceeds to show Ave his new pick up truck he just bought.

On the evening of the production's last dress rehearsal of the season, the town's lawyer, Ave's surrogate brother, and the head of the town's Emergency Response Team, Spec Broadwater, approaches Ave while she is sitting with Jack and tells her to come with him, she assumes it is another regular run, but he somberly tells her it is her momma.

Many turn out for the graveside service for Ave's momma, several wearing garments that she had sewn for them in the past, sharing with Ave the stories behind them. As Ave stands staring blankly into the sky, Jack can't keep his eyes off Ave. Once the crowd is gone, Ave lays a rose on the tombstone beside her mother's gravesite, Fleeta Mullins, Ave's outspoken friend and co-worker at the pharmacy, who has remained at the site with her, chastises Ave for placing a rose on her father's grave, remarking on how bad he had treated Ave while he was alive.

Once back home and alone, Ave opens her wardrobe to find her mother had made her new clothes, knowing she was ill unto death. Ave, single, in a big empty house, puts on one of the outfits, goes to the kitchen to find all the food the neighbors have brought, she starts writing things down to occupy her time. She opens the freezer to put a dish inside, and realizes her mother has filled it with frozen prepared meals, another sign that she knew she was sick. Now upset, Ave slams the freezer shut, and walks away.

The next day, when Ave pulls up in front of the pharmacy, her "Aunt Alice" pulls up and mouths to Ave her disgust that a letter has fallen off the end of the family name on the pharmacy sign. She says that Ave is letting things go and ought to be ashamed. Ave tells her in honor of her momma being Italian, now all things are going to end in vowels and walks off. Fleeta walks over and tells Alice she needs to leave.

Ave goes and sees Spec in his office about her momma's will. He hands her an envelope that contains a letter where Ave's momma tells her that her real father is in Italy. She had gotten pregnant but her father did not approve of Ave's real father, so she left. She came to America where she'd gotten a job as a seamstress. She met Fred Mulligan, who knew she was pregnant, felt sorry for her, and married her. The envelope also had a picture of Ave's real father. Ave leaves Spec's office in a daze and walks across Main Street in front of traffic, unknowingly in front of a truck driven by Jack, who looks at her longingly.

Ave meets up with her theatrical, long time, non-intimate, sort of boyfriend, Theodore Tipton. She tells him the true story behind her real father and now guesses the truth behind why Fred treated her the way he did while she was growing up was because she wasn't really his.

While out driving around delivering medications, still in a fog thinking about the news delivered to her, her best friend, town librarian and local romantic, Iva Lou Wade, tracks her down in the County's Book Mobile and gives her a book on Chinese Face Reading and a copy of Jane Eyre, hoping both will help kick start Ave in the romance department, because whatever it is she's got with Theodore is dull and Ave needs something exciting.

A frustrated in life Ave is working once again behind the counter filling prescriptions when three bratty teenage girls walk into the pharmacy. Fleeta gets onto them for thumbing through the magazines, when they start making rude comments about another girl's clothing when she walks by them, saying she'd gotten her outfit from the local Goodwill. Ave puts them in their place by announcing over the loud speaker that their "birth control" prescription was ready. They hurry and grab the bag and leave in a huff. Ave goes to the back of the store and finds Pearl Grimes, the girl they were making fun of. She's slouched down in the floor, sad. To make her feel better, Ave offers Pearl a job at the pharmacy, doing odd errands and cleaning. Ave even offers to pick her up each morning and bringing her to work.

First night of the Lonesome Pine and anxieties are high. Props aren't working right, the show is sold out, and Theodore is overly dramatic which leads to him and Ave arguing. While working the box office, Iva Lou flirts her way onto giving up the last seat to Lyle Makin, Jack's childhood friend from a county over, and spends the evening watching the show while sitting on his lap. During the cast's after party, it is announced that Senator hopeful John Warner will be stopping in Big Stone Gap for a campaign visit with his movie star wife, Eizabeth Taylor, and Theodore Tipton was in charge of the event. He's so happy he grabs up Ave in front of everyone, dips and kisses her and leads her off the stage, resulting in another non eventful, non-intimate night of sleeping together, with an awkward goodbye the next morning.

Later that afternoon while decorating at the pharmacy, Ave and Fleeta hear an explosion from the mine. As a member of the emergency response team, Ave hurries to the mine to help, but she never sees Jack in the chaos. She goes to the hospital to find that he's been checked and is ok. She offers him a lift home and while they are talking outside, Sweet Sue interrupts. She shrugs off Ave and in doing so, Ave berates her for always pronouncing her name wrong.

While at Ave's one afternoon, Theodore is planning the Elizabeth Taylor visit, Iva Lou and Ave go to make tea and Ava stumbles across old love letters between her momma and her real father, written in Italian. Theodore gets frustrated with the two of them and leaves, giving Iva Lou opportunity to confront Ave about her non-existent love life and her need to get one.

While everyone in town is excited about the campaign visit, Pearl sits Ave down to try out some new make up. Jack walks in with Sweet Sue's young boys. The look of Ave's make up has one of the boys call her a clown, which Jack says is not nice and makes him apologize. Later, Jack's mother, Nan, confronts him and asks him what it is he is doing with his life and what his intentions are with Sue. She then tells him she's not fond of Sue. Jack is honest with his mom and tells her he wants out of life what she and his dad had and whereas he never comes out and says he loves Sweet Sue, he does tell her that he likes her boys. The conversation ends with Nan basically telling Jack if he chooses Sue, she'll tolerate her for his sake.

Jack visits Ave under the ruse of delivering apple butter to her one evening. She invites him in for a beer and they end up going out for a bite. He tells Ave he's broken up with Sweet Sue. They end up at the outside theater where Jack tells her about him having a crush on the little Italian girl that sat beside of him in elementary school. Next thing, he explains to her that he's a good man, with a good job, he's reliable and he thinks they ought to get married. Ave is so offended that he doesn't even think she's worth being courted, that she storms out and rides the whole way home in the back of his pick up truck.

It is the day of the Elizabeth Taylor, John Warner Campaign visit to Big Stone Gap. Everyone is outside the Visitor Center when the campaign bus pulls up. What is supposed to an organized visit, turns into chaos, with the crowd surrounding the couple, Theodore blurting out nonsense to Ms Taylor, the local radio DJ asking unflattering and embarrassing questions to Ms Taylor about how many times she's been married and she barely manages to make it inside, where she's presented with a huge platter of fried chicken. Ms Taylor barely takes one bite from the smallest piece and chokes on a bone, resulting in an ambulance trip to the local hospital and everyone disappointed that the day didn't go as originally planned. To make matters worse, Iva Lou breaks the news to Ave that Jack bought a ring and got engaged to Sweet Sue, resulting in Ave confronting in Jack and arguing, with Jack telling Ave that coal mining is easier than dealing with her. Ave then confides in Spec, asking him what makes him happy, and he confesses it's a once a week lunch, innocent as it is, with the true love of his life, who in turn, is not his wife.

When Ave gets home from the campaign disaster, she finds her uncle and Aunt Alice has let themselves into her house. Aunt Alice calls Ava a bastard, says she doesn't deserve to live or own the family house and hands her papers and tells her she's taking Ava to court. Uncle Wayne says they just want whats "coming to us" then leaves.

Theodore and Ave have lunch at Carmine's where he breaks the news that he's been offered the band director's job at University of Tennessee Chattanooga. When Ave asks what about their relationship, Theodore rattles off several reasons as to why they can't keep going around pretending about their relationship, both agree that it is exhausting, he also mentions other factors, such as his selfishness, being persnickety, his family's trouble with alcoholism and finally Ave quietly mentions the fact that he likes men, which he agrees.

It comes Christmas time, and Ave's life is crumbling around her, Aunt Alice wants her home, the pharmacy, Theodore is leaving, Jack is engaged, her momma is gone, she doesn't know who her real father was, everything she took for granted is now slipping out from under her feet and people like Fleeta and Pearl are noticing. Ave's not eating, she's not sleeping, and she's walking around in a fog. When she goes to the local mansion to help decorate, Jack's mom Nan, confronts Ave, desperate for her help because Sweet Sue is planning on marrying Jack by New Year's Eve and Nan wants Ave's help. Ave collapses, resulting in a nervous breakdown.

Ave sleeps for days on end. Iva Lou, Fleeta and Theodore hold bedside vigil. In an act of desperation, Iva Lou has Pearl confront Jack as he leaves the mines one evening, asking him to help bring Ave out of her sleep, telling him they are meant for each other. He argues she doesn't want anything to do with him and walks on. Pearl goes back to Iva Lou, thinking it is a lost cause, but Iva Lou considers it an act of passion. Later that night, while everyone is sleeping beside Ave, Jack sneaks in, checks on Ave, slips something from the bedside table into his pocket, leans down and kisses her on the forehead and leaves. Iva Lou slips one eye open, she's seen what Jack has done.

Ave dreams in black and white and the letter written by her momma can be heard read in her momma's accent. All of a sudden Fleeta yells out Ave's awake. Spec arrives and Ave announces she's going to Italy, that she saw her father in her dreams and she's got to go find him. Spec thinks the medicine the dr's been giving her is making her crazy and tells Ave that before she goes, she needs to take everything she owns, out of her name so no one can take it away from her while she's gone.

Ave goes to Pearl's house where she runs into Leah Grimes, Pearl's mother, while she's making soap. Ave offers to sell some of her soap at the pharmacy. Ave then asks Pearl if she has a dollar on her. When Pearl gives her the dollar, Ave shakes her hand and tells her she just bought herself a pharmacy. Ave then explains what Spec told her about the need of getting everything out of her name. That she thought about who she knew was deserving, who would push people, who treasured their momma, who would go the extra effort and she realized it was Pearl. She told her it would get her through college and give her a good life. She then gives Fleeta a piece of paper with a number on it, letting her know, through everything that she's thought of her and is taking care of her too. Ave asks that she looks after Pearl and helps her learn the business and Fleeta tells her she will.

Iva Lou shows up at the pharmacy throwing rose petals and announces Lyle's proposed and asks Ave to be her Maid of Honor. Both Lyle and Iva Lou are drunk, barely manage to make to the altar where they end up in a heap, not exchanging any vows, with Ave and Jack holding them up, just allowing time for the preacher to announce them man and wife. During the reception at Ave's house, Leah proudly shows off to Fleeta that Pearl has taken care of her and bought her a new pair of upper teeth. Aunt Alice and Uncle Wayne barges into the reception and rudely yells to Ave about her giving away the family pharmacy to Pearl but she won't be giving away the family home. Ave then announces she has a surprise for Pearl and Leah and that she's giving them the house too, which leads to Aunt Alice yelling racist comments about Pearl to Ave. The crowd then chimes in their dislike to Aunt Alice and Spec tells Aunt Alice it is time that she leaves. Before she goes, Aunt Alice calls Ave an Italian thief. Ave corrects her pronunciation in the word Italian before Aunt Alice and Uncle Wayne storms out.

While Ave is eating wedding cake in the kitchen, Sweet Sue comes in for a slice. During conversation, Ave finds out she is no longer with Jack, that she has reconciled with her last husband, Mike, and they are renewing their vows. It all happened during Ava's "mental collapse." Jsck comes into the kitchen and gets Ave to go out to his truck with him, where he gives her a book on the Italian alps, the place specifically where her real father is supposed to live. He tells her he had it specially ordered from Richmond. They talk about happiness being out there somewhere and he asks her if she goes out there will she ever come back. She speaks about travelling so much she changes to where she won't want to come back and Jack tells her he wants her to stay and they finally kiss. He finally admits back when she asked if he was ever scared of anything, it's that he was afraid he was going to spend his whole life without her that scared him the most.

Next day, no matter how bad they had been or what they'd put her through, Ave pulled her cadillac up into the front yard of Aunt Alice and Uncle Wayne's house, put a note on the windshield and walked away. Her aunt and uncle rushes out to realize that Ave have given them her car.

Spec arrives at Ave's while she's wrapping up the last bit of furniture. He's there to pick up a chair. While there he admits to her he always thought it was impossible to be a friend with a girl, but she proved he could and he will always treasure that. Theodore arrives to help deliver the remaining furniture to where it needs to go, then plans to take her out to eat, then discusses her last day in Big Stone Gap.

Ave's last day in Big Stone Gap, has her protesting to Theodore that she doesn't have time to stop by the Outdoor Theater, but he tells her they have plenty of time before her flight. When they get there, Ave notices most of the town has gathered near the stage and Theodore drags her up to them where Spec, Iva Lou and Fleeta tell her there is someone there they want her to meet. Ave looks out to see a man in a suit walking toward them, she then realizes it is her Poppa from Italy. He hugs her. Fleeta then also introduces Ave to her momma's sister, her real Aunt. She asks her poppa how he found her and he tells of how Jack wrote to him and told him of the woman her momma became, the girl Ave was, the woman she became, and the only peace she was looking for in life was finding her father. He also said Jack sent tickets Ave, knowing Jack was a coal miner and not a rich man, asks how he did it, that is when Jack approaches her, tells of how he sold his pick up truck. Ave reminds him that he loved that truck, but he reminds her that he's loved her since the 6th grade and they kiss. Theodore has the theater choir start a hymn that Ave's Italian aunt helps sing.

As the movie ends, Jack tells of how he and Ave went on to get married. How they had two children, he remained working in the mine until it was closed, she kept working at the pharmacy delivering prescriptions to homes until the jeep finally wore out.

Cast

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Virginia Film Festival on October 6, 2014.[2] on March 26, 2015, it was announced Picturehouse had acquired all distribution rights to the film.[3] The film was released on October 9, 2015.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Big Stone Gap (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Unknown, Unknown (2014). "Big Stone Gap - Virginia Film Festival". Virginia Film Festival. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Sneider, Jeff (March 26, 2015). "Ashley Judd, Whoppi Goldberg Movie 'Big Stone Gap' Sells to Picturehouse". Variety.com. Retrieved July 30, 2015.

External links

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